HP’s Enterprise Printing Blog - Page 2

Mike Feldman 
Vice President and General Manager
Managed Enterprise Solutions
IPG-Americas

Hi everyone,

If you’ve been wondering why you haven’t heard from me in a while, I can tell you that it is **definitely not** due to a shortage of HP Enterprise Printing news.  Just the opposite.  The past few months and weeks have been extremely busy for our team.

How busy?

Well, on April 13th, we announced, together with FEDEX and Canon, our intent to redefine retail printing.  Demonstrating the importance of the HP and Canon alliance announced in 2009, that announcement marked a significant milestone in the relationship. As part of this deal, FedEx Office will utilize Canon and HP as sole-source providers in their respective printing categories, and will deploy more than 12,000 new Canon and HP printing devices across more than 1,800 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Good stuff!  But the headline and quote from Brian Philips, President and CEO of FEDEX Office, in the WhatTheyThink story, “FedEx Office, HP and Canon Announce Game-Changing Deal”, summed it up best.  Brian said:   “What attracted us was the collaboration that has been taking place between those two great brands , announced in 2009. Together, their combined value proposition and the technology they bring to the table are helping us create a unique and amazingly powerful ecosystem using technology from our three companies. It will change the print industry and differentiate us from everyone out there.”

On the heels of that announcement, we launched a new marketing program called ‘Print Forward’.  This cool new program includes a portal designed to engage enterprise commercial, government and education customers in a meaningful conversation around document management solutions.  You have the option to engage via the medium you prefer – video cast, podcast, audio cast, webinar or text.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Then, check out the ‘HP Managed Print Services:  The Opportunity is Now’ event we held  just yesterday where we announced a service delivery platform for Managed Print Services called the HP MPS Smart Decision Suite.  This platform integrates devices, solutions, monitoring and management tools with HP’s enterprise services infrastructure. The platform transforms data into information enabling HP Managed Print Services (MPS) global delivery teams to optimize imaging and printing environments, remotely manage and maintain fleets and solutions, and proactively deliver and support customer needs. We also introduced our ePrint Enterprise mobile printing package,  including a strategic relationship with Research In Motion (RIMM) to provide BlackBerry users the capability  to  find  the nearest printer and securely transmit and print pages.  AND, we unveiled HP Access Control Printing Solutions to be sold through HP’s solution provider partner channel.

 Investor's Business Daily; ChannelWeb; eWeek; Computerworld and VNunet were quick to comment on the announcement.  Check out their coverage, which includes great perspective on the importance of Managed Print Services to helping businesses cut costs and boost productivity from HP Senior Vice President of Managed Enterprise Solutions, Bruce Dahlgren.

Very busy, and exciting, times here within the HP Managed Enterprise Solutions group!  What do you think?  Are you considering the value a Managed Print Services engagement will bring to your organization?  The opportunity is now.

Like millions of others, I was staring at the T.V. on Sunday. While the game was great, I must confess I watch the big game more for the commercials than for the action on the field. This year was no exception. Amongst the ads for everything for beer and burgers, I couldn’t help but notice the common theme that most promised cost-savings so that you can spend less and still live well. And that got me thinking, how do the same principles apply to companies?

How can a business improve service, drive customer loyalty and still save money? It sounds like an unattainable goal, but that’s exactly what Humana has done. One of the world’s largest health insurers has used technology to streamline the production and delivery of high volume, customized member communications. As a result, Humana estimates it saves $250,000 per month in document production and $1.5 million in annual mailing costs. And they’re sharing their story during an interactive webinar Wednesday, February 17 at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT).

To learn what Forrester, one of the leading analyst firms, is saying about technology advances that can help insurers enhance the member experience as well as hear first hand how Humana has enhanced member loyalty and retention, increased referrals and significantly improved member communications, plan to join the discussion at http://www.hp.com/go/humanawebinar.

Mike Feldman 
Vice President and General Manager
Managed Enterprise Solutions
IPG-Americas

How important is your company’s data? What solutions are you implementing to prevent security violations? New HP introductions will offer your business the cost and data-saving solutions you need.

Yesterday, HP announced significant enhancements to our Secure Advantage portfolio with the introduction of comprehensive, integrated security solutions. This addresses the growing concern of users gaining unauthorized access to information that can lead to costly data breaches and loss of business.

For those rightly concerned about protecting data held within their printing and imaging environment , HP’s improvements to the HP Access Control Printing Solution Suite include new functionality, enabling advanced user control and cost reductions with pin-enabled pull printing and more.

Additionally, HP announced significant enhancements to the HP Scanjet Enterprise 7000n Document Management Workstation Series, including a family of scanners with industry leading security features such as encrypted scan-to-PDF capabilities and secure disk erase options.

HP consistently makes strides to provide the services and solutions your business needs to protect your valuable data. Read the full news release on yesterday’s HP security announcement with additional information and offerings.

Mike Feldman 
Vice President and General Manager
Managed Enterprise Solutions
IPG-Americas

Hi Everyone,

A little something to help us all stretch our thinking around a hot topic for most of us these days – health care….

After the success of our first Input/Output Webcast session with WIRED’s, Chris Anderson, I’m pleased to announce the second installment featuring the CEO of Kaiser Permanente, George Halverson – taking place tomorrow, Wednesday, November 18.

After opening up an important dialogue on technology and its importance in the traditional business world, this next session titled “IT Making the Biggest Impact in Health Care Reform,” will certainly spark a riveting discussion.

What I enjoy most about these are the interactive conversations, allowing dialogue to flow seamlessly and actively engage listeners through Twitter. By integrating social media with the exploration of IT’s integral role in health care reform, we hope to foster a profound impact and bigger takeaway from these sessions.

Halverson has written several health care reform books as well as led the effort for Kaiser Permanente to expand electronic connectivity between doctors and patients. In light of the current debate over health care reform, I am looking forward to hearing from Halverson and gaining insight into his success integrating technology and the health care industry.

Don’t miss the conversation at 2:30 pm ET on November 18th.  Start submitting your questions now! 

Guest Blog Entry from Scott Draeger, HP Exstream product manager. 

Scott joined the digital document industry in 1997, after earning a BA from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has more than 10 years of experience in the document composition software industry as both a transactional document designer, service provider and a software vendor. He earned his EDP certification from Xplor and his MBA in 2007 from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management...

Last night as I sat at my desk working later than usual, I couldn’t help but notice the sun has already begun to set much earlier than it did even a couple of weeks ago. And that got me to thinking about the down side to “sunsets.” 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love sunsets as much as the next person. But if we’re being honest, sunsets aren’t always good thing. Case in point, working in the technology industry I’ve seen plenty of mergers and acquisitions which have left countless solutions and services “sunset” – meaning the newly formed company would no longer support or invest in these products/services. In fact, you may have heard that a number of technology companies have recently announced the discontinuation of several widely-used document automation solutions, which poses a major issue for businesses in the insurance, banking, and public sector industries, among others, who rely on these solutions to decrease costs, improve productivity and enhance customer responsiveness. In today’s volatile marketplace, the value of digital documents for on-demand access and quick delivery of relevant, customized communications has never been more crucial. Now as a point of practice and in the interest of the existing customer base, many of these software vendors will offer an “upgrade” path to another solution after sunsetting a product – but is it a good idea to take it?

A former colleague of mine recently moderated a very informative podcast on the subject of “sunsetting” lead by a couple of industry-leading document composition experts who provided great insight into what companies can/should do in the face of product “sunsetting.”  Among some of their recommendations:

·         Use this as an opportunity to evaluate what else is on the market.  After all, if a solution/service is being sunset, then it probably means there are other solutions with more robust capabilities –just don’t assume the upgrade your vendor is touting is the best one. 

·         Take time to perform due diligence and see what other offerings are available.  It’s important not only to evaluate functionality, but also look for a solution that can consolidate disparate systems and establishes a solid enterprise platform for your future business needs.

·          Look for a technology partner who is reliable and committed to continued innovation – that’s the only way to know you won’t find yourself in the same situation later down the road.

So if you’ve been informed that the sun will soon go down on your beloved solution, do not fret – help is just a click away.  You can hear the podcast in its entirety at www.hp.com/go/exstreamfreedom.  And here’s hoping you emerge from the darkness to face a brighter day.