Lexmark looks to strengthen its IoT solution to remain competitive

Arguably, two of the most iconic examples of digital transformation are Kodak and Amazon. Kodak failed to keep with the times, leading to the demise of a once dominant commercial empire. Amazon, however, had the foresight to not just “stay in its lane,” but step out and shape the world’s digital infrastructure with AWS.
Now, Lexmark, is taking note of Kodak’s failure and Amazon’s success and piloting into its own. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, Lexmark can be described as a leading provider of hardware, service, solutions and security.
Moving beyond printers, supplies and accessories — which is how Lexmark first made a name for itself — the company’s current motto seems to be “Print, secure and manage your information.” In 2022, Lexmark lists Print and Capture as just two of its solutions, which also include Cloud, Security and IoT. The Lexmark Optra IoT Platform, unveiled September, is featured prominently on the company’s site.
Today, the company is unveiling Optra Edge, the latest addition to its Optra IoT solutions portfolio. Vishal Gupta, Lexmark’s senior VP of connected technology, CTO and CIO, says the company’s new tools and move into IoT are just the beginning.
Gupta is a seasoned executive with stints at the likes of Unisys, Symantec and Cisco, where he played a key role in the company’s IoT efforts. Gupta added some color to Lexmark president and CEO Allen Waugerman’s description of why and how the company is expanding to the IoT space.