HP Looks to Ease Workflow Transformation With New JetAdvantage Solutions

by Robert Palmer | 12/3/15

On December 3, in what could be viewed as its first official product announcement since the split, HP Inc. unveiled a host of new products and solutions. Under the umbrella of its JetAdvantage framework, HP has rolled out two new solutions aimed at making it easier and less costly for businesses to deploy digital capture and workflow capabilities. In addition, the firm has introduced several new scanners and MFPs.

During a conference call with analysts, Vice President and General Manager for HP JetAdvantage Solutions Ed Wingate explained that most organizations understand the need to reduce dependence on paper, but the transition is occurring slowly and sporadically. Citing figures from a research study published by AIIM, only 35 percent of organizations have actually initiated a paper reduction plan, while 40 percent of businesses are converting more than one process to paper-free each year.

Wingate says that businesses are looking at workflow solutions to improve productivity and reduce costs, but the ad hoc nature of implementation means that businesses are all at different points in their overall “solutions journey.” Wingate says that HP’s new solutions are designed to help businesses migrate to a hybrid world where paper is the exception. “It is important that we don’t fight this migration — we enable it,” he says.

HP’s new solutions are specifically designed to address three key barriers to adoption when it comes to advanced document capture and workflow. First, most organizations believe that workflow transformation requires significant changes in IT infrastructure in the form of servers dedicated to run specific on-premise solutions. Second, the complex nature of converting paper-based processes typically requires specialized configuration and integration and lots of ongoing change management. Lastly, the first two issues combined likely means significant up-front investment.

HP says that its new JetAdvantage solutions make it simpler and less expensive to deploy scanner and MFP-based digital capture. As opposed to a complex and highly customized solution, the new HP offerings enable customers to deploy faster with less upfront investment. There are three new HP JetAdvantage Solutions.

HP Scan Configuration Service provides template-based scan workflows for use with HP Embedded Capture. HP has also introduced templates for health care and financial services, with additional industry templates to follow. These templates enable setup of repeatable digital capture processes that support common business functions for specific vertical industries. For health care, the supported processes are patient admission and discharge. The financial services template supports processes for loan application and account opening.

The HP Scan Configuration Service leverages predefined templates to help reduce deployment time significantly for implementing scan flows and lower the cost for deploying custom scan flows, with pricing set at a one-time fee of $25 per device when bundled with the purchase and installation of HP Embedded Capture.

HP has also upgraded its Capture and Route solution so that it is now available as a one-button implementation on HP Enterprise MFPs and Digital Senders. The solution makes it easier for those customers that only need to deploy a single process, or who are looking to implement a slow transition to digital capture and workflow. With its modular deployment and flexible pricing models businesses can start small, implementing a single process, then add additional processes over time as needed.

HP is also introducing the HP JetAdvantage Capture app, which allows individuals to capture, store, and route digital files from a mobile device. The app also supports using mobile devices to initiate scanning and receive scanned documents from Wi-Fi-enabled HP MFPs and scanners.

New Scanners & MFPs

Building on its new solutions portfolio, HP has introduced three new HP ScanJet devices, which all feature faster scanning speeds compared with predecessor models. The HP ScanJet Pro 2500f1 and ScanJet Pro 3500f1 are PC-connected flatbed scanners with speeds up to 40 images per minute (ipm) and 50 ipm, respectively. Both scanners feature automatic document feeders and provide single pass duplex scanning with scan to cloud capabilities. The HP ScanJet Pro 4500fn1 is a network-connected scanner designed for SMBs and enterprise departments. The flatbed scanner supports Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi direct connectivity, and offers single-pass duplex scanning of up to 60 images per minute.

HP has also introduced two new A3-sized MFPs for managed print services customers. The HP MFP S965dn prints up to 65 pages per minute, while the HP MFP S975dn prints at speeds up to 75 ppm.  Both devices can scan up to 200 images per minute with single pass dual sided scanning. Wingate says that the new machines offer the fastest printing and scanning speeds in HP’s current MFP lineup.

For more on HP’s latest announcement, see press release here.

Our Take

With its new JetAdvantage offerings, HP has created packaged solutions based on the expertise it has gained working with specific customers in specific vertical markets. The template-based solutions will allow businesses in healthcare and financial services to address key areas for workflow optimization, while reducing investment in time, money, and resources.

It is unclear exactly how much additional customization or integration might be required when using the template-based solutions. Nevertheless, by addressing fears associated with migrating to a complex, on-premise service, HP is hoping that it can help customers move quicker along the “solutions journey.” Meanwhile, HP continues to expand its JetAdvantage portfolio, which strengthens its overall ability to meet customer needs by wrapping a solutions ecosystem around its hardware platforms.

Robert Palmer is chief analyst and a managing partner for BPO Media, which publishes The Imaging Channel and Workflow magazines. As a market analyst and industry consultant, Palmer has more than 25 years experience in the imaging industry covering technology and business sectors for prominent market research firms such as Lyra Research and InfoTrends. Palmer is a popular speaker and he presents regularly at industry conferences and trade events in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. He is also active in a variety of imaging industry forums and currently serves on the board of directors for the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA). Contact him at robert@bpomedia.com.