HP Inc.’s Apogee Pivots to Growing Managed IT and Document-Outsourcing Services

In August 2018, HP Inc. made headlines with its announcement that it was purchasing U.K-based Apogee, which was said to be Europe’s largest provider of managed print services (MPS), multi-brand office printers and MFPs, and document-processing technology.

HP acquired Apogee for £380 million (U.S. $538 million), stating the acquisition would grow its A3, A4, and MPS businesses. At the time, Enrique Lores, then president of HP’s Imaging and Print business, said the acquisition was designed to enable HP to “aggressively pursue the A3 market.”

Since then of course, the office-imaging industry has been drastically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with subsequent office shutdowns, in turn resulting in lower office print volumes and equipment shipments.

Reflecting this, in an interview with CRN, Apogee CEO Aurelio Maruggi stated that Apogee is shifting its focus from managed print services (MPS) to being a managed service provider, stating: “We’re an MSP, not a managed print provider.”

Maruggi also expects that Apogee will lose 15 to 20 percent of its print volume post-COVID-19 versus pre-pandemic. CRN stated that other MPS providers had told it that they expect to lose between 20 to 30 percent of their print volume from mid-size and corporate customers post-COVID-19 versus pre-pandemic.

Muraggi also said Apogee’s deployment of printers and MFPs will also fall to about 15 to 20 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels.

The Apogee CEO said the firm is focusing on growing its managing IT services and document outsourcing services to its existing MPS customers. While this segment represents only about 10 percent of Apogee’s existing business, it’s expected to be a main driver of growth in the future.

In recent news at Apogee, in April 2021, the firm announced that it made its first acquisition since being acquired by HP, purchasing U.K.-based Direct-Tec Group, a provider of print, document, and IT solutions. Apogee said Direct-Tec will help broaden its focus on managed print services, as well as managed IT and document outsourcing.