New York, NY -- Back in September 2009, there was an abundance of talk everywhere that Vyomesh Joshi was finished or close to finished with HP. Printer sales were down, and computer sales were up. Now eight months later, he is still hanging in, and producing new solutions. An engineer by trade, Mr. Joshi is still going strong at HP and Monday was due to present on printers geared up for the “iPhone age.”
Mr. Joshi, or “V.J.” as he likes to be called, has always believed that people’s printing habits will not change simply because the way they access the Internet or manage their documents has changed. HP in the near future will be rolling out a new line of printers each of which will be equipped with their own e-mail addresses, touch screens, and Web access. They are designed to allow people to print more easily from their Google Docs library as well as smartphones and other handheld devices.
Mr. Joshi’s focus going forward will be more on the “how” of manufacturing and less on the marketing end of things. However, there is some pressure on him because his theory must be proven true once the users are given the tools he projects they will want to use for printing. An analyst from Barclay’s capital has said that this new strategy is “crucial to how investors will evaluate the long-term prospects of H.P.”
The new printer models will cost between $99 and $400. They built a limited number last year as a test group and were happy enough to try to market them. The key feature in HP’s eyes is the printer’s email address. They are banking on most people’s familiarity with email so the transition won’t be as steep. The idea is that instead of printing a document in the usual way, they would simply e-mail it to the printer’s address so you really could print from anywhere.
Some of the new printers should be available for consumers this month and for small businesses by the fall. HP is projecting that they will sell over 15 million of these units by next year.
It may be an uphill battle getting people to change the way they print. Remember when everyone printed out directions from Mapblast and Mapquest? Now many of those same people own Garmins and no longer need that type of job. The article also points out that people tend to print less during recessions. Mr. Joshi boldly stated that
“ ‘We [HP] think by next year more printing will be done from the Web than from word-processing applications.’”
The email address solution created by HP for their printers helps remove one of the largest barriers currently plaguing mobile device users, any software or apps required to make the printer recognize the device and vice-versa. Congratulations, iPad users!
The article notes that while in the past, HP invested significant funds into its printing and imaging business to ensure they remained the top dog, that practice has been reeled in since Mark Hurd took over as CEO. Mr. Joshi has encouraged the people at his company to find ways to reduce the amount of money they spend on manufacturing their products. While Hurd has said that the printing and imaging group has made progress, he feels there is still more than can be done.
Many thought Joshi was the heir apparent at HP, some decisions regarding HP executives proved otherwise. This believe likely led to the rumors that have circulated about him. Mr. Joshi said that he “chose to ignore the public speculation about his future.” He exudes nothing but happiness about his 30 years (in October 2010) and feels that printing is still a vital part of what HP is and does.
