Unit 1

Xerox takes road towards reinvention

1. Pronounce the following words and word combinations. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Synonymous, photocopier, cryptic, access, archives, nimble, impetus, rigorously, timely, tangible, legacy, comply, inefficiencies, allot, flood, giant, aspirations.

2. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word combinations.

To move on to an intranet, to streamline workflow, a clear impetus, technology consultancy, to be bogged down by content, to provide timely access, revamped, to steer away from bankruptcy, a service-led solution, to play to the weaker economy, process inefficiencies, to allot some percent of revenues on smth, digital commercial printing, to digitise the office with ‘multifunction devices’, to step up consuting services, to control the flood of information, to pose a threat.

3. Read the text again and answer the following questions.

1. What does the name Xerox associate with?

2. What information do Xerox’s recent print advertisements contain?

3. What kind of transformation does Xerox try to achieve?

4. Why has the company decided to take up ‘document management’?

5. Which acts require companies to document processes and to provide timely access to regulators?

6. Why was Xerox Global Services launched in 2001? Is it profitable or not?

7. What new territory is Xerox stepping into?

8. What are the company’s high-growth areas? What are they driven for?

9. What are other companies, wishing to control the flood of information, doing?

10. How does Xerox’s role differ from that of traditional IT consultants’?

11. Does Xerox have any competitors in the printing business and in the document management world?

4. Complete the sentences with the information taken from the text.

1. Xerox’s recent print advertisements carry cryptic texts about helping companies … … or move millions of documents on to an … to … … .

2. The company wants to transform itself from a maker of ‘big box’ office equipment to a … … that helps companies manage information and … … .

3. A fast-growing area with a market value of $18bn is … … .

4. Streamlining workflow of Xerox can result in … … of 10-30 percent.

5. Customers are ready to spend money as long as you demonstrate a …-… … .

6. … documents on an intranet or helping companies … with federal regulations is new territory for Xerox.

7. Xerox’s …-… areas are in … commercial printing and … the office with …-… machines.

8. Ikon, a US distributor of office equipment is stepping up … … and … in … .

9. Canon and Ricoh do not have the … … to support demands from large global clients.

10. Hewlett-Packard has aspirations to be a … in the document … … .

5. Explain the following English words and word combinations in your own words.

‘Big box’ office equipment, re-branding, document management, cost savings, a bottom-line return, total group revenues, networked machines, document and imaging companies.