Inkjet Wholesale News aims to provide updates on the latest significant occurrences in the field of printing. Whether it’s the launch of a new technology or volatility of market prices, we’ll be here to give you the lowdown on what happened, when it happened, and what it means!
Kodak Reveals Prosper Sale Delay
For a long time, Kodak has been saying that the Prosper Sale has been on track. Last time we reported as such was in august last year along with Kodak’s Q2 financial results. Since then, at regular intervals, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) has come out a number of times and restated the fact that the sale is on track. In fact, at the Q3 financial results announcement the OEM had again announced that it was expecting to announce details about the buyer before the end of the year with the deal being concluded by the first half of 2017.
However, now the situation seems to have turned around and the expected sale has gone beyond the deadline set for it. The Prosper sale was supposed to have been completed before the end of last year but now Kodak has admitted that it will pull well into the New Year. The discussions are still going on and there has been no progress significant enough to announce. The Prosper Sale will also involve the restructuring of the high-speed inkjet business, which includes the much touted Ultrastream technology.
The OEM revealed that it is currently looking at options to streamline the operations of Prosper so as to get the most out of the operations as well as tap into opportunities in the market such as packaging, high volume direct mail and publishing. The restructuring will also result in the business’s focus being shifted to further evolving the Ultrastream technology and improve print head components of various types.
This latest information about the Prosper Sale came through Philip Cullimore who is the President of the Enterprise Inkjet and Micro 3D Printing & Packaging Divisions. Cullimore also specified that the OEM is “gratified by the interest” that they’ve received. Further, he talked about the performance of Prosper in the last three-quarters, a period in which saw the placement of 12 presses. With respect to annuity revenues, the third quarter was one of the best for Prosper since there was an increase of 41 percent vis-à-vis the same period of the last fiscal.
Apart from telling everyone that the Prosper Sale will be delayed, Kodak has refused to reveal any other information about the on-going negotiations or discussions. However, experts suggest that the availability of the Ultrastream technology in the Prosper Sale is the key reason why there has been so much interest in the sale. In 2016, Kodak’s Ultrastream technology has developed significantly.
Cullimore explained about the performance of the Ultrastream technology as well. He revealed that “16 leading printing equipment manufacturers and integrators” have already gone ahead and signed Letters of Intent (LOE) for products that are based on the Ultrastream technology.
New HP Secure MPS Capabilities Launched by OEM to Counter Cyber-Attacks
HP Inc. has redesigned its Managed Print Services (MPS) and launched new, more secure MPS capabilities. The purpose of this redesign was to protect printing systems from cyber-attacks. The new HP Secure MPS capabilities are being touted by the OEM to produce “World’s Most Secure Printing”.
These capabilities of the new Secure MPS incorporate various software solutions and advanced security professional services. Furthermore, the OEM has also expanded the core delivery capacity of its MPS especially for those businesses that have multivendor print fleets. Apart from this, HP has also announced that it has pre-configured its print devices with an eye on improved security.
The new Secure MPS capabilities include a number of industry leading professional security services. The foremost of these is the Print Security Implementation Service. Through this service, HP Inc. offers its own technicians specialising in security support to users. Another service similar to this one is the Print Security Advisory Retainer Service wherein security advisors give specialised advice on creating and evaluating business security plans, dealing with compliance issues, and even risk profiling. Other services that make up the HP Secure MPS capabilities include:
- Remote Management Tools & Services: These tools and services have been completely redesigned from their previous versions. Their purpose is to ensure automation in areas such as updates and password management.
- Enhanced Reporting & Reviews: Reporting and Reviewing tools have also been introduced into the mix which ensures greater visibility to fleet users.
- Increased Training: The training of the HP Secure MPS professionals has also been upped to a point wherein they’re certified by industry related certifications such as CompTIA.
- Print Security Governance and Compliance: This is a separate service within the HP Secure MPS mix wherein the OEM will help businesses achieve compliance through new management settings in the software.
Along with announcing the HP Secure MPS, the OEM also announced the fact that its printers will now be pre-configured for even more security. They’ve done this by ensuring that business printers are shipped with the lesser secured ports such as FTP and Telnet being closed. As a result of this, buyers will now have to open the said ports after receiving the business printers. Along with this, the company has also started partnering with the software community so as to incorporate more secure interfaces and close additional interfaces.
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