HP to launch printing consultancy

HANOVER, Germany -- Hewlett-Packard plans to launch a printing consultancy business to help companies cut costs.

The company will launch a consultancy organization that will help businesses find a balance between encouraging employee creativity and reducing printing costs -- a balance that every IT manager is trying to manage, said Frank Cloutier, chief technology officer of HP's imaging and printer group, speaking at the ICT World Forum here Monday.

"This is an organization that will focus on the customer, and the customer's objectives and needs. If someone else's hardware plays better for the customer, we'll not only encourage but specify its use," Cloutier said.

HP will give full details of the new business at the CeBIT technology trade show here Tuesday, Cloutier said.

Printed materials for customers can cost between 6 percent and 15 percent of a company's revenue, Cloutier said. With careful management, he said, that cost can be halved.

HP's imaging and printing group has annual revenue of $22 billion, Cloutier said, with 60 percent of its revenue from outside the Americas. While he does not expect to see very high growth over the next few years, he is still confident of growth in double figures, he said.