PCs, laptops and printers

The desk-side boxes, the laptop, the desktop and the shared printer

On the first day at a new job, most people are handed a laptop. It arrives already set up, with the company's software installed and its security rules in place. Somewhere in the office there is also a printer that everyone shares. The laptop, the desktop and the office printer are the devices of work.

How a PC is made. A PC maker does not make every part itself. The processor comes from a chip company, and the operating system comes from a software company. (More on processors in Market Segment 35.1, Processor and GPU makers, in Industry Vertical 35, Semiconductors and chip design.) The PC maker designs the machine, has it assembled, and sells it under its brand. It also writes the software that makes the parts work together:

Firmware

the software that starts the computer, before the operating system loads.

Drivers

small programs that let the operating system use each part, such as the screen, the keyboard or the webcam.

Management software

tools that let a company's IT team set up, update, lock and track thousands of laptops from one place. (More on how companies manage their employees' computers in Market Segment 16.2, Virtual desktops (VDI) and digital employee experience, in Industry Vertical 16, IT management and workplace tools.)

A PC maker buys in the processor and the operating system, designs the machine, has it assembled and sells it under its brand, and writes the firmware, drivers and management software that make the parts work together.

Two kinds of buyer. Families and students buy one machine at a time, in shops and online. Companies buy thousands at once, with service contracts and management software. Companies usually replace their laptops every few years, and those replacements drive much of the market.

How printers earn. A printer maker often sells the printer at a low price, and earns over the following years from ink and toner. Many companies no longer buy printers at all. They pay a monthly fee, and the printer maker runs all their printers and charges for each page. This is called managed print services.

Two ways printers earn: the printer is sold at a low price and the maker earns over the following years from ink and toner, or, with managed print services, a company pays a monthly fee and the printer maker runs all its printers and charges for each page.

Where the work is done. The makers of laptops, desktops and printers write much of their firmware, drivers, management software and printing systems in India.

Every company named here has posted software engineering jobs in India. Famous companies that don't actively hire software engineers in India are left out.

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Laptops, desktops and printers

Laptops, desktops and printers

Printers and document software

Xerox

with engineers in Kolkata and Bengaluru, makes office printers and copiers. It also makes the software that manages a company's printing and documents. Xerox has the most job postings of any company covered mainly in this Market Segment. In 2025, it bought Lexmark. (More on Lexmark in Market Segment 36.3, Enterprise devices and professional AV equipment.)

Laptops, desktops and printers

with engineers in Bengaluru and Pune, makes laptops, desktops and printers. It is among the largest sellers of each in India.

Two companies covered mainly in another Market Segment make laptops too, and servers as well:

Dell Technologies

with engineers in Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi. Dell has more job postings than any other company named in this Industry Vertical.

Lenovo

with engineers in Bengaluru, the world's largest maker of PCs.

(More on both in Market Segment 3.2, Server and storage hardware, in Industry Vertical 3, Data centres and servers.)

The AI PC.

Laptops are being rebuilt with processors that can run AI models on the machine itself. This is better for privacy, speed and battery life. The PC makers are writing the software that decides what runs on the laptop and what runs in the cloud. PC sales grew slowly for years. The AI PC is the industry's bet that people and companies will replace their machines sooner.

That is the business of the devices of work: laptops, desktops and printers, sold to families one at a time and to companies by the thousand. Their makers write much of the software inside them in India.

Who they hire

Who these companies hire, and for what, is on What electronics and device companies hire for.

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