01732 759725
18
COVER STORY
A vision shared
HP has had its eyes on the lucrative
A3 copier market for many years
without ever achieving the
breakthrough that its size and
position in the print industry
warrant. Now, with the acquisition of
Samsung Printing Business (including
more than 6,500 printing technology
patents), the launch of a new range
of Laserjet and PageWide A3 and
A4 MFPs and the establishment of
an experienced partner network, its
ambitions might finally be realised.
A 20% share of the A3 market by
2020 is nothing if not ambitious, but HP is
clearly in a much better position to achieve
this goal today than it was in the days of
Edgeline technology and, before that, the
Mopier. There are many reasons why this
is so, from the strength of HP’s offering in
both laser and inkjet printing to the quality
of the dealer network it has assembled.
In the UK and Ireland, HP has taken on
approximately 25 partners to sell its A3
products, ten of whom are new to HP. One
such is Vision, which has been awarded the
highest level of HP Partner Accreditation.
Vision, a fast growing provider of
managed print and document services,
has been managing customers' print
requirements since 1985, providing
solutions from Canon, Ricoh and Samsung
and servicing them through a nationwide
network of field-based service engineers
and network specialists.
The company’s success in the MPS
market – it was recently included in a
list of Europe’s 1,000 fastest growing
companies compiled from 2012-2015 data
by the
Financial Times
and Statista – and
its position as a Samsung Global Partner
are an obvious attraction to HP as it seeks
to make its mark in the A3 MFP market.
Neil Sawyer, HP’s UK & Ireland Channel
Director, is clearly excited to have a
company with Vision’s experience as a
partner.
He said: “We are delighted to welcome
Vision to our partner network. Since
launching our extended range of A3 and
A4 multifunctional devices, HP has been
actively working with Vision to develop a
formidable customer proposition based on
their fantastic reputation in the print sector.
Vision will undoubtedly play a significant
role in the deployment of HP’s broad range
of office and print room solutions to a wide
number of customer across the country.”
Vision is just as enthusiastic about the
relationship, recognising in HP a partner
with the drive and product range to
support its own appetite for growth.
With a shared vision for future growth, Vision and HP make perfect partners
Chief Executive Philip Bond said: “We
continually review Vision’s go-to-market
strategy and value proposition to ensure
we remain competitive and market-leading.
From considerable engagement with HP’s
global team, we have established some
significant synergies with HP’s market
plans as they commence the integration
of Samsung’s printing business. We have a
comprehensive business plan to potentially
double in size by 2020 and this exciting
new partnership will help strengthen our
market position as we continue to execute
on our plans for growth.”
He added: “The HP brand is widely
respected in the technology market
and we’re looking forward to building
an exciting and successful business
partnership that helps Vision continuously
compete and win in our core markets of
Managed Print and Managed Document
Solutions.”
Respected brand
Strong as the Samsung brand is, Chief
Operating Officer Mark Smyth sees the HP
name as a key attraction that will open up
new opportunities for Vision.
“HP is an established and recognised
brand that's highly respected in the
business-to-business and corporate space.
There's an old adage that no IT Manager
ever got fired for buying HP and we believe
that this will help us to make further
inroads into the corporate market.”
As a Samsung Global Partner, one of
just a handful worldwide, Vision is already
familiar with the strengths of the Samsung
print engine on which HP's range is built
and for which HP now has the IP, R&D
and manufacturing facilities. As well as
continuing to support its installed base of
Samsung devices, Vision will henceforth be
selling and supporting HP's new range of
A4 and A3 MFPs, in addition to its existing
offering from Canon, Ricoh and, for a
transitional period, Samsung.
Wide choice
Available to HP managed print services
providers, HP’s range includes 13 A3
Laserjet toner devices and three A3
PageWide MFPs with print speeds of up
to 80 pages per minute in general office
mode. In total, there are 54 SKUs, giving
qualified channel partners the ability
Vision will
undoubtedly
play a
significant
role in the
deployment
of HP’s
broad range
of office and
print room
solutions
