Xerox Holdings Corp. on Thursday announced a multiyear deal with Oracle Corp. , which will provide cloud-computing infrastructure and software for use by ventures developed in Xerox’s business incubator.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
For Xerox, the move is part of efforts to fast-track the development of new enterprises—whether in the form of new business units, startups, subsidiaries or joint ventures—that look beyond its flagship printers and copiers.
At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, as companies shifted to remote work and left empty offices behind, Xerox’s net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 dropped to $90 million, from $219 million a year earlier. Net income remained roughly unchanged for the same period this year, at $89 million, the company reported in October.
Naresh Shanker, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Xerox.
Photo: Xerox
Creating new in-house ventures is a strategy that predates the pandemic, but was accelerated by workplace closures and remote work, said Naresh Shanker, Xerox senior vice president and chief technology officer.
The goal, Mr. Shanker said, is to develop businesses offering a range of products and services focused on 3-D printing, industrial Internet-of-Things and sustainable tech, among other emerging technologies—areas the company has identified as having strong potential for fast growth.
“The idea is to create an environment and agility to compete with all the startups around the world in these different sectors,” Mr. Shanker said.
Xerox, based in Norwalk, Conn., is tapping Oracle’s cloud services to furnish the digital backbone for these new businesses, including enterprise apps for e-commerce platforms, finance and accounting, budgeting and financial planning, analytics and a data warehouse, among other tools, he said.
Each new venture is expected to need its own unique information-technology system, depending on its sector and market, Mr. Shanker said. Crucially, he added, these systems have to be installed fast and have the flexibility to adapt to shifting market demands.
“It’s all about speed. That’s what got us here,” Mr. Shanker said.
Alastair Woolcock, vice-president analyst at IT research and consulting firm Gartner Inc., said Xerox’s challenge is to innovate faster than smaller, more agile tech startups.
“The best way to do this is to invest and help co-build and incubate early-stage growth companies,” he said.
Jonathan Tikochinsky, executive vice president of Oracle’s Global Strategic Clients Group, said its cloud infrastructure and business apps are designed to be deployed quickly and with ease. “We continue to invest in new services and the geographical reach of our cloud, making it easier for both enterprises like Xerox and high-growth ventures to adopt our cloud,” he said.
Xerox previously used Oracle cloud services to create its own software business, CareAR, launched in September. The business, which operates as a division within the company, has developed an augmented-reality platform designed to enable technicians to provide remote tech-support services using smartphones, tablets or smart glasses.
Similarly, a new 3-D printing business, launched in February, leveraged Oracle cloud infrastructure that was installed in six weeks. Previously, it would have taken around three months to set up IT systems for new in-house ventures, the company said. Xerox’s 3-D printing business seeks to offer more flexible supply chains for manufacturers, in part by enabling them to order spare parts locally, or simply print them on site.
Write to Angus Loten at angus.loten@wsj.com
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