HP India embarks on second phase of printing strategy

Hewlett Packard (HP) India Ltd is rolling out a strategic initiative of offering printing solutions built around its imaging and printing products in a bid to address the evolving printing needs of organizations. From the earlier thrust of just pushing boxes, the shift is now towards offering total printing and imaging solutions right from understanding the clients' needs, designing the requirements, to taking care of the day to day printing needs.

There are various solutions on offer most of which have been customized to suit the needs of Indian corporations. Said JT Jacob, Group Country Manager, HP (Commercial Sales) Imaging and Printing, "The CIO has started prioritizing the printing needs of organizations now. From focusing purely on computing needs, CIOs are now taking printing needs of organizations seriously."

The initiative, which has been underway for over the past eight months, has bagged around 22 customers, wherein HP offers various kinds of printing solutions to the customer and charges on the basis of the number of printouts. This also means that HP has extended its offering beyond the realm of its traditional offering of boxes to solutions built around its product range.

The offerings extend from fleet management where HP takes over the organization's end to end printing solution to generating bills and statements, putting it in envelopes and giving it to the customer as a final product.

"For companies in the service industry like credit card companies, banks and telecom companies, this is a major headache as it is not in sync with their core competency," said Jacob.

There are also other solutions on offer like cheque printing for banks wherein the printer is equipped with magnetic ink character recognition, in accordance with the RBI guidelines to recognize the unique number printed in cheques. Another initiative launched recently, is the possibility of migrating customers from line printer to laser printer.

HP's strategy is basically to get to understand the customer and offer solutions that would directly impact the client's return on investment. There are instances among HP's global customers where it has taken an active part in the client's promotional campaigns by offering customized printing solutions.

While the addressable market segment in India is still small, there is no denying that there is opportunity waiting to be tapped. Competitors Canon and Lexmark have also recently unveiled their total printing solutions for corporate.

Balaka Baruah Aggarwal


(CNS)