Welcome to the New Year. Yes, you’re at the office in body, if not spirit. Chase that headache away with a Tylenol or, if you prefer, more hair of the dog that bit you. But since we don’t advocate drinking on the job, you may want to ask your immediate report if a little whiskey later in the day is appropriate. Or if you’re the boss, you can turn your people loose after 3 p.m., because that’s the kind of boss you are, right?

Not all of us will be at the office of our own free will this week, but we’re thinking about those midnight-oil burners/nose-to-the-grindstone pros/insert-your-own-idiom workaholics, who have already exploded out of the starting blocks in order to get a jump on the competition. This look at the keys to a successful 2025, as part of our January State of the Industry trends and predictions report, is for you! The rest of you can go back to YouTube videos and Facebook Marketplace. This article will feature dealer observations.

Hard to believe, but December (and 2024) have slipped into the history books. It was a sometimes weird, often wonderful and occasionally astounding year. What will 2025 hold in store?

Well, last week’s reveal that Xerox was acquiring Lexmark was a reminder to always expect the unexpected (and that M&A is a always trendy). But the year as a whole brought about new trends to watch and a few others that were a continuation from the previous campaign and continue to shape our industry.

As we continue our Best of 2024 series to put a bow on the year, there were more than a few candidates for the Year’s Most Shocking Story trophy. In the end, we identified one event that stood out among the pack of top stories, as seen in our December issue’s Top 10 Stories of 2024.

An argument can be made for the agreement between Konica Minolta and FUJIFILM to join forces in the procurement of parts and raw materials. But considering the Toshiba-Ricoh joint venture from 2023, OEMs forging deals to strengthen supply chains and gain production efficiencies is certainly big news, but not wholly unexpected. In fact, we’re geared up to see more partnerships take shape in the coming years (sorry Xerox, your pending acquisition of Lexmark, while a 2024 event, is too late for consideration).

A new report from Hornetsecurity has found that 427.8 million emails received by businesses in 2024 contained malicious content.

“Once again, phishing remains the most prevalent form of attack, responsible for a third of all cyber-attacks in 2024,” Hornetsecurity’s researchers write.