JOIN USXerox India, maker of printing equipment for office and graphic communication applications, is now reinventing itself as a services-led technology company.
In an interaction with N V Vijayakumar, Xerox India Executive Director (Technology & Channels and International Distributor Operations) Balaji Rajagopalan said the company has over 30 per cent share in the digital printing products market in the country.
He expressed the company’s desire to give end-to-end solutions in the printing sphere and take head on the challenges from other peers technological upgradation.
How do you view the dramatic changes in printing market and its impact on Xerox India?
We started off our India journey with the printing machine. With the IT revolution, printing underwent dramatic changes and the company had to reinvent itself. Currently, Xerox’s India business is primarily driven by the technology and channels business and services. Xerox has a strong presence in the print services and equipment market with strong service support network across the country.
We continue to push the boundaries in document services and technology — bringing the next generation managed print services, digitising paper and optimising the work flows to improve productivity and usher in efficiency.
The services business comprises two broad portfolios; document management services; Xerox Services (formerly ACS) the business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing services.
Together, the Document Management services and Xerox IT/BPO services make Xerox a back office giant. While most of the IT/BPO services are currently offered in the US and Europe, a large part of the back office work is handled out of India.
Can you elaborate on the printing equipment segment strategy from Xerox?
In the printing equipment space, we brought in the next level of evolution with our revolutionary ConnectKey controller which allows our equipment to seamlessly integrate with the workflows, increased flexibility in scanning to text searchable PDFs and various MS office document formats, mobile printing capabilities, connecting to the cloud and enhanced security.
In the production area, we have further strengthened our portfolio with the introduction of Versant 2100 and C60/C70 that set new benchmarks in productivity, quality and efficiency. It is this combination of cutting-edge capabilities across services and equipment technology that are driving the growth and profitability for Xerox.
What were the revenues from the BPO and IT outsourcing services in the last fiscal and what are your expectations this fiscal?
Xerox Services has a strong presence in India with more than 10,000 employees spread across offices in Noida, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Kochi.
Xerox Services employees based in India work on back office solutions for clients in transportation, healthcare and other verticals, with clients based in the US and European markets. In the quarter ending September 2014, global BPO earnings represented 60 per cent of total services revenues. The global document outsourcing revenues constituted about 28 per cent of services revenue and global IT outsourcing represented about 12 per cent of Services revenue.
How is Xerox doing in the digital printing space in India?
The digital printing market is strong and Xerox is a leader in the digital printing space and has over 30 per cent market share in the digital production printing business.
Furthermore, Xerox offers outstanding post sales service; therefore, more than 60 per cent of business comes from repeat customers. With the launch of Xerox Versant 2100 and C60/ C70, we are confident that we will strengthen our presence even further.
How many products are you planning to line up in the next year?
Xerox offers the largest portfolio of products from entry-level laser printers, mid-segment MFDs under the WorkCenter category and high-end production devices- iGens and 1000 Presses. We are certainly looking to further strengthen our products portfolio across all categories in 2015. The recently launched Versant 2100 is targeted at mid to high-end segment of the digital printing industry.
The press, with an offset-like matte finish, will revolutionise the digital printing industry in India and also expand the market to Tier II cities for on-demand printing in the commercial and photo printing segments.
The digital production engine can print up to 100 pages-per-minute with Ultra HD image quality. It can be used for personalised communications, collateral, brochures, photo publishing and speciality print products.
We also recently launched the C60/C70 and it has a few very exciting features. Suitable in any print environment, including quick print shops, in-plant operations, agencies, small businesses and manufacturers, the device offers turn-key features and media-weight versatility.
Users can easily enhance and expand their application offerings to include rugged polyester labels, menus, signs and vinyl window clings.
In short, we will be further strengthening our portfolio across the A4, A3 and the production category & the wide format category.
What are your marketing strategies to tap MSMEs in the country?
We continue to market our products through our channel partners. With 40-45 per cent of our businesses coming from SMBs, Xerox is focused on the SMB segment and is bullish about strengthening its position further in this segment.
According to research, 90 per cent of SMBs are based in the top 200 Tier II and Tier III cities and hence it becomes very essential to tap these cities.
We already cover the top 200 cities will be consolidating our presence in these cities further through our stronger channel coverage and stronger engagement with channel partners.
Talking about the printing requirements of small and medium businesses, they are very different from large enterprises. They are primarily looking for high quality printers with relevant features at reasonable price points to address their needs and our new range of printers are especially designed keeping that in mind. Streamlined performance, ease of use and compact design make our printers attractive for the SMB segment.
DH News Service