"We can't find a customer who wants to talk about technology any more, specifically hardware," she said at the Ernst & Young-sponsored European Technology Forum on 28 September.

"Technology is standing a little bit behind the curtain and I think that's appropriate," Mulcahy added. "We used to say we were in the little i big T business, now we're in the big I little t business."

She said customers were now looking to Xerox kit to provide a solution to "a problem or pain point" in their business and were not just interested in "bells and whistles".

Its latest technology, such as flagship digital colour production press iGen3, had been developed in close co-operation with customers. "Our customers designed it and provided the specifications it was a dramatic shift," she said.

Managed services contracts, where Xerox helps a corporation refine their documents processes, now represents a third of Xerox's 9bn ($16bn) revenues. "It's an interesting twist for Xerox because a lot of what we're doing for customers is taking the paper out of the process," she said.

Mulcahy acknowledged that the potential competition these activities had with Xerox's graphic arts customers was "a never-ending challenge". "The services space is particularly well-suited to partnerships and alliances, the real challenge is making them work."

Mulcahy Factfile
- Joined Xerox as a field sales rep in 1976
- Became CEO and 2001 and chairman in 2002
- Member of the boards of Target Corporation and Citigroup, and member of The Business Council
- Sits on board of Catalyst, a non-profit group supporting businesswomen