Managed Print Services - Saving Money And The Planet, Down Under

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced that Leighton Contractors has signed a Managed Print Services contract with HP.

As part of this contract, HP will manage and offset the carbon emissions generated by Leighton Contractors’ fleet of 700 HP LaserJet printers; total amount of carbon that will be offset from the printers will be 209 tons.

It is not mentioned if the Carbon footprint reduction was a specification of the contract or a benefit of going with HP.

“Leighton Contractors’ policies ensure that we manage our environmental footprint and minimise our environmental impact,” said Michael Herbert, Leighton Group IT, customer support manager.

“HP’s Managed Print Services offering together with the Carbon Offset program dovetails with the Leighton Contractors’ Group IT’s current “Green IT” Project.”

I first wrote about this program over the summer - 424 companies in Australia have signed up for HP’s Carbon Offset for LaserJet Printers program since its launch in February 2008.

“HP’s JetDirect and SecureJet solutions have allowed us to implement greater security for staff pool printing,” said Herbert.

“Our staff use proximity cards to print, the same cards they use to enter the building, which improves security and reduces wastage.”

According to Herbert, the disparate nature of its printing technology and the lack of a central equipment management function meant they didn’t understand the true cost of its printing infrastructure.

“HP’s managed print services provide visibility into the costs associated with our printing environment. HP looks after all billing, reporting and accounting, so that headache is taken away and taken care of by HP,” he added.

All HP printers rolled out at Leighton Contractors are HP Energy Star qualified. They produce less heat and reduce cooling loads by 15-30 percent.

They also use approximately half as much electricity.

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It is Now Officially "Bizzaro-World": Intel Net Profits DOWN 90%

Absolutely stunning. Banking, manufacturing, finance, home and now technology Giant - can't wait to hear Xerox's report.

IDG News Service

Agam Shah, IDG News Service 01.15.2009

Intel's fourth-quarter profit plunged 90 percent from a year earlier, as the chip maker battled a worsening economy and recorded a steep loss from investments.

The company recorded net profit of US$234 million for the quarter ended Dec. 27, compared to $2.27 billion in last year's fourth quarter. The net profit also fell short of the $257.22 million consensus expectation from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

The results included a loss of $1.1 billion from equity investments and interest, primarily due to a billion-dollar reduction in the value of Intel's investments in Clearwire, the company said.

The company's fourth-quarter revenue was in line with lowered expectations of $8.2 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue was down 23 percent year-over-year and 19 percent sequentially. Revenue from microprocessors and chipsets was lower compared to the third quarter.

The bright spot for Intel this quarter was the sales of Atom chips that go into netbooks, small laptops designed for Web surfing and productivity applications. Revenue from Atom microprocessors and chipsets was up 50 percent sequentially to $300 million.

Intel did not project revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2009, citing "economic uncertainty and limited visibility."

While the economic environment is uncertain, the company is adjusting its business plans to adapt to build for the future, said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO, in a statement. The company is entering new markets and has cut costs by around $3 billion since 2006, he said.

The restructuring yielded $800 million in savings in 2008, Otellini said during a conference call on Thursday. The company ended the year with approximately 84,000 employees, down 3 percent from a year ago.

"Intel has weathered difficult times in the past, and we know what needs to be done to drive our success moving forward. Our new technologies and new products will help us ignite market growth and thrive when the economy recovers," Otellini said.

The company hopes to ramp up to the 32-nanometer process technology to lower chip-manufacturing costs and increase production. It will then be able to make more chips at lower costs, which should add efficiencies to the production process, said Stacy Smith, Intel's chief financial officer, during the call.

"We are absolutely prioritizing the investment that it takes to get to 32-nm process technology ... we are going to get there as fast as we possibly can. That gives us a performance advantage, cost advantage and allows us to get to this higher level of integration that the future markets we want to serve requires," Smith said.
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Seven Deadly Sins… The Qualifications of a Copier Salesman…

Never mind that he is hundreds of miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, he lives on a boat, sells "big-iron" copiers...and has a blog. Introducing Pirate Mike. I received a "hit" today from one of my internet-search-spiders-thingies, and read the resulting post while waiting for the Rover to be washed - it was 86 degrees and sunny - as I scrolled along the post I literally laughed out loud. Upon further research, all good bloggers do this, research that is, the story of Pirate Mike unfolds. I will not steal his thunder. Instead I recommend you read his post here, then go to his site - all of four posts - I am sure with the eyes of the world upon him, he will blog with the best of them... I have copied, edited slightly, and pasted his post here on my site. Enjoy: ------------- Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Seven Deadly Sins… The qualifications of a copier salesman…