Joeri Paeleman is one of the owners and founders of DMP. As key developer of the DMP FLO Suite software, he's got a thing or two to say about both the technical background, and the ways in which the DMP FLO Suite is implemented by the customers.
A lot has been said about cloud computing lately, and undoubtedly more will follow. For those of you who aren't familiar with it: cloud computing basically means hiring software services from the internet. Rather than buying licenses and (where needed) doing your custom development on that new environment, you rent these services from external servers. So what will this mean to printing companies over the next few years?
The hype
A lot of buzz is being generated around cloud computing. Corporate clients are more and more accepting that this type of service can give them greater service for a lower budget. The old downsides against this type of operation (e.g.: being bound to a supplier) no longer seem to be a big issue. But as with any hype, the chance exists that opinions will change in the future. So the time to join is now.
Your own services
But actually, you've already been providing Cloud Computing services for quite some time. Most FLO Suite customers buy the license to provide a service to the end customers. This service sometimes consists of writing a front site for end users, but often also consists of exposing an object model to the content management system of your customers. This allows them to use your graphical expertise (and probably your production capacity as well) without high investments. Rather than buy an InDesign Server license for themselves, for example, they can use yours.
The inner cloud
While Saas and related online services will undoubtedly become an even bigger part of the business of printing companies, the cloud within your own company will become at least as important. There is no one single definite set of software for printing companies. You will have to choose between an MIS, production software for prepress workflows, web2print solutions, and so on. But all of these pieces of software will learn to talk to each other in the future. JDF is only part of this. Even closer connections will be made between the different suppliers. This way, an MIS can put its stock online. A web2print application can incorporate ripped tiff files as they would be printed. And prepress workflows can be initiated from anywhere in the company.