HP Makes Web Print Move With Hiflex Buy

Hewlett-Packard is to acquire Hiflex Software, a privately held solutions provider that specialises in Web-to-print and management information systems solutions for printing services.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Following the acquisition, Hiflex – founded in 1991 and based in Aachen, Germany – will continue to service its current customers, HP said in a statement.

Anywhere Printing

“HP wants to break the traditional barriers of how and where business customers print, making it easy for them to produce custom or personalised materials anywhere, anytime,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP’s imaging and printing group. “Hiflex’s technology provides a powerful platform to deliver on this goal as part of our overall cloud printing strategy.”

Hiflex products include MIS, Print Support and its open Web-to-Print System called Webshop. HP said technologies from Hiflex would enable continued innovation across HP’s imaging and printing offerings and would extend the company’s portfolio of cloud-based technologies and solutions. HP said it also remains committed to supporting a broad range of partner solutions.

Earlier this year, HP announced imaging and printing solutions and devices designed to help small and midsize businesses as well as enterprise organisations enhance employee productivity, both in the office and on the go. These include expanding HP solutions suitable for the enterprise but scaled for SMBs and delivered by channel solutions partners, the introduction of strategic technology partners Hyland Software and Nuance, as well as new workflow solutions for health care and financial services enterprise customers and new and enhanced multifunction printers aimed at the office environment and featuring ePrint capabilities.

Printer Security

HP recently released a statement regarding the security of its print services after a series of articles suggested potential security vulnerability with some HP LaserJet printers. The company said no customer has reported unauthorised access and labelled speculation regarding the potential for devices to catch fire due to a firmware change as false.

The company said the specific vulnerability exists for some HP LaserJet devices if placed on a public Internet without a firewall. In a private network, some printers may be vulnerable if a malicious effort is made to modify the firmware of the device by a trusted party on the network. In some Linux or Mac environments, it may be possible for a specially formatted corrupt print job to trigger a firmware upgrade.

“HP is building a firmware upgrade to mitigate this issue and will be communicating this proactively to customers and partners who may be impacted,” the company said in a statement. “In the meantime, HP reiterates its recommendation to follow best practices for securing devices by placing printers behind a firewall and, where possible, disabling remote firmware upload on exposed printers.”