Hewlett-Packard formed a innovative print services division with a hub on running print as well as imaging hardware and applications in enterprises.

The division, called Managed Enterprise Solutions, aims to unite dissimilar hardware for example copiers, printers as well as scanners in order to cut hardware with printing costs, said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP's imaging and printing group. The component will also offer services with software that put scanned or printed documents in workflow systems to make document management easier.

The company's concentration has been geared toward hardware as well as supplies, but software and services surrounding printing with imaging are a growing chance, Joshi said. The corporation sees a US$121 billion yearly chance in the printing market, of which $64 billion is for hardware as well as $57 billion for software plus services.

There is more to printing than just striking the print button, whispered Roger Douglas, director of managed print services at HP. Such as, software provided with the managed services could allow a statement to be scanned, which can mechanically be put into a company's payroll system. The mechanization reduces the number of steps as well as cost necessary to direct the document, Douglas said. It also reduces the possibility for error throughout physical transcription.

The documents can also be secured through a service by establishing a position to guarantee documents aren't attached, Douglas said. Such as, if a marketing logo is confirmed on a picky document, its position can be appended to make sure no one changes it. This advance is mainly obliging when editing legal documents, he alleged.

The corporation is also varying printer designs to build in more services-related functionality. For example, a touch screen on multifunction printers can be used to input or confirm the work position of scanned documents like patient records.

"A lot of times consumers have treated imaging as well as printing likes a late addition," Douglas said. Managed print is all about stepping back as well as taking a more planned with systematic look at how those documents are managed, he said.

The corporation has also extended the accessibility of a program that guarantees savings for consumers who sign up for its print services outside the U.S. Below the plan, HP assesses a company's imaging as well as printing surroundings as well as calculates the possible savings a company can realize using HP's managed services. If consumers haven't realized the savings in a year, HP will make up the dissimilarity with a credit that can be used for their next printing services contract. The corporation has already signed up 100 consumers ever since it launched that program, Joshi said.

The thing will be a part of the company's imaging as well as printing division, Joshi said. The corporation has pulled some personnel from the accessible services division as well as has seen its services consumer base expand ever since acquiring EDS.

HP has a sturdy occurrence in the printer market, as well as the expansion of services could help it detain a bigger share in the printer space, said Edward Crowley, CEO of Photizo Group, a consulting corporation that specializes in managed print services, who was at HP's press briefing. The increased level of focus on services could also advantage HP's enterprise customers, he alleged.

HP is the former corporation to launch a devoted print services division, according to Crowley. Competitors include Xerox have managed print services spread across diverse company divisions with programs, which can make it harder for consumers to discover the right offering, he said.

More and more customers are focusing on their print costs per page, Crowley said. The new HP division could potentially charge companies per page printed, he said, a fee that would cover hardware, supplies and services such as help desk support.
An analyst agreed with Crowley, saying the new unit will deliver transparency between imaging and printing services and other HP services offerings. "They probably are the first to form a global-focused business unit at this level," said Jon Reardon, group director at research firm Infotrends.

Xerox claimed leadership in the managed printing services space over HP, though, citing research from Gartner. It also disputes the claims that HP is the first with a dedicated print services division and that Xerox's print services are spread across various divisions.

"The race for leadership in enterprise print started a decade ago, it isn't something that another vendor can easily replicate. Xerox has one division that handles managed print services -- Xerox Global Services," said Jim Joyce, senior vice president of Xerox enterprise print services, in an e-mail.

The Xerox Global Services group includes managed print services as well as document and enterprise content management services.