“This first annual forecast provides the strategic, financial, and statistical information that service providers, customers, and companies need as part of their document outsourcing planning processes in the European marketplace,” commented Holly Muscolino, a Director at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. “The comprehensive information and analysis provided in this forecast reveals a number of compelling opportunities necessary for service providers and customers.”

The forecast covers four primary segments: Facilities Management (FM), Statement Printing (SP), Contract Print Services (CP), and Document Process Outsourcing (DPO). Facilities management and contract print services are expected to hold strong over the forecast period, demonstrating respective CAGRs of 6.2% and 4.7%. Digital production colour output and value-added services are the main drivers of CP growth, while personalisation services and mass customisation represent the fastest-growing subsegments for FM.

This year, InfoTrends/CAP Ventures has begun tracking a new segment across all of the geographies that it forecasts (U.S., Canada, Western Europe). This new segment is known as Document Process Outsourcing and is expected to experience an astounding CAGR of 37.4% in Western Europe. DPO represents a new, customer-centric category of document outsourcing and is projected to grow much faster than the marketplace as a whole, partially because of the cannibalisation of more traditional revenue opportunities – particularly contract printing and facilities management – over time.

Statement printing will also experience a slight CAGR of 1.2%, and is expected to reach nearly €3 billion in 2008. This stagnant growth is due to the adoption of several new technologies that reduce the amount of paper being printed, the adoption of electronic alternatives, and the recent slow economic growth.

“The diversity of the European economy has contributed to the growth of the document outsourcing market and will continue to do so in the future,” commented Ms. Muscolino. “Seeking efficiency improvements, slower growth economies are likely to adopt outsourcing services to improve utilisation and drive down costs, and growing economies are likely to benefit from outsourcing as a source of capital to fund new initiatives and as a source of skilled, affordable labour.”

The document entitled Western European Document Outsourcing Market Forecast: 2003-2008 is available immediately to clients of InfoTrends/CAP Ventures’ Production Workflow Solutions Consulting Service Europe. For more information about the report or to make a purchase, please contact Alison Hippat , ext. 126 or via e-mail at .

For European inquiries, please contact Jason Russell at + or via email at .

The Western European Document Outsourcing Forecast is the cornerstone of the Production Workflow Solutions Consulting Service Europe. In addition to the Western European forecast, document outsourcing forecasts for the United States and Canada are also available for purchase.