{"id":2197,"date":"2012-06-01T13:09:32","date_gmt":"2012-06-01T13:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/?p=2197"},"modified":"2015-09-09T23:13:06","modified_gmt":"2015-09-10T03:13:06","slug":"the-week-in-imagings-top-40-solutions-and-service-providers-that-should-be-on-every-dealers-radar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2012\/06\/the-week-in-imagings-top-40-solutions-and-service-providers-that-should-be-on-every-dealers-radar\/","title":{"rendered":"The Week in Imaging\u2019s Top 40 Solutions and Service Providers That Should be on Every Dealer\u2019s Radar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each week throughout the month of May we\u2019re going present 8 of our \u201cTop 40 Solutions & Service Providers that should be on Every Dealer\u2019s Radar.\u201d The organizations recognized here have been selected by an informal panel of independent dealers and industry analysts based on their experiences either in the field, or in the case of the industry analysts, from talking to successful dealers in the field and their own testing and reviews. What you\u2019ll find over the next five weeks are some obvious inclusions along with some wildcards that may surprise you\u2026or not.\u00a0\u00a0Here’s the complete list of Top 40\u00a0solutions and services providers from starting from the eight we are announcing this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>ABBYY<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.abbyy.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Think document recognition, data and image capture, and linguistic technologies and services, and you have to think ABBYY. \u00a0Its products access information from paper-based documents and images, automatically retrieve data, and process and store information. Notable products in the ABBYY product line include the ABBYY FineReader line of optical character recognition (OCR) applications, ABBYY FlexiCapture line of data capture solutions, ABBYY Lingvo dictionary software, and development tools, that support a variety of platforms and computing environments. With companies such as Canon, HP, Microsoft, Notable Solutions, and Samsung among the many that license ABBYY technologies and when one considers ABBYY OCR applications are shipped with equipment from Epson, Fujitsu, Fuji Xerox, Microtek, Panasonic, Plustek, Ricoh, Toshiba, and Xerox, you can\u2019t not have this company on your radar.<\/p>\n

Loffler Industries, a Bloomington, MN-based Canon dealer uses ABBYY\u2019s FlexiCapture data and forms capture product. \u201cWe use it in an accounts payable process to be able to read purchase orders and forms and present it to a user in a custom interface we\u2019ve written or sometimes n the ABBYY interface and ultimately push it to workflow,\u201d explains Jeff King, director of consulting services for Loffler.<\/p>\n

Asked what verticals are most interested in FlexiCapture, King responds, \u201cAnybody who has intensive AP processing and who deals with a lot of vendors and a lot of inbound invoices. We\u2019re finding on the ABBYY side, our smaller customers, it\u2019s a little more difficult for them to afford the expense, so it\u2019s really got to be a medium to a large size company that is best suited for FlexiCapture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report maintains that ABBYY is still emerging in the MFP market. \u201cThey tend to be more under the hood, for example the OCR in the Konica Minolta bizhubs is from them. They have some forms recognition products that are getting a little bit of traction. They have a distribution agreement with Global Imaging and Kofax uses them. I would say they\u2019re respected in the document management market but tend to be more behind the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>InfoDynamics<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.infodynamics.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve heard of INTACT, INBOOKS, and INPOINT, you\u2019ve heard of InfoDynamics, the company behind those products. InfoDynamics\u2019 content management products are used by companies of all sizes for managing electronic documents and paper. The company offers a suite of software that works with core business applications and integrates directly into popular handheld devices, scanners, copiers, and now tablets. InfoDynamics latest product Intact SMART offers version control, inter-application connectivity, instant searching, and a large feature list. The software is used by dozens of dealers around the country and offers direct integration with products from the likes of Canon, Lexmark, Sharp, Xerox, Muratec, Inituit, and Microsoft Dynamics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re small, but have been around for 20 years,\u201d says Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report. \u201cThey seem to have the most impact with Sharp and seem to focus on the SMB accounting market. It\u2019s kind of a horizontal application that fits a lot of dealers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>MaxxVault<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.maxxvault.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s not to love about a provider of electronic document management solutions to small, medium, and large companies across a range of vertical industries? What\u2019s particularly appealing about MaxxVault is that it scales from a modest feature set within a single department to a full enterprise-wide installation. For dealers looking to connect their customers with a document management solution that can reduce costs by automating tasks and improve productivity whether you\u2019re talking paper-based or electronic files, MaxxVault is worth a look. An impressive array of partners include Apple, Canon, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Kofax, Microsoft, Nuance, Samsung, Sharp, and Xerox.<\/p>\n

Documation in Austin, Texas has been using MaxxVault for a little over 3\u00bd years now. Justin Espinoza, software director explains the reason why. \u201cWe\u2019re a best of breed dealer so we take the best of breed and go to market with that on the hardware side and on the software side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Espinoza reports that he replaced three vendors when he added MaxxVault to Documention\u2019s menu of solutions. He likes the fact that it\u2019s written to accommodate the latest technology and can connect to almost anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I want to connect to a main line of business application, I can, and the end user is more apt to use it because they don\u2019t have to load an entire new product,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re learning just another functionality based on a Microsoft Office or whatever application [they\u2019re using].\u201d<\/p>\n

The other reason he chose MaxxVault is because of what he calls their \u201cpremier level of service,\u201d which fits nicely with the type of service Documation provides.<\/p>\n

\u201cDocumation is not the cheapest, we\u2019re like the Lexus dealer of the industry and we absolutely provide white glove service and I require the very same service from my vendors,\u201d states Espinoza. \u201cWhen I need help with a customer I need it now. They\u2019ve never failed to provide the utmost in service during the past 31\/2 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked where he\u2019s finding opportunities for MaxxVault, he replies, \u201cWhere am I not? \u00a0This month alone I have it going into an underwriting firm, a law office, a manufacturing firm, and a medical office. Honestly it fits in a lot of different offices. The smallest is probably a three-person office and the largest is probably a 9,000-person office. It\u2019s extremely flexible. That\u2019s another reason. You can go really small to a really big automated solution. I can log into any business regardless of line of business and have a business solution for them. If theye have a business problem with documents we can probably resolve that [with MaxxVault].\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Intellinetics<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.intellinetics.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019d be hard pressed not to include this company and its Intellivue ECM solution in the Top 40, especially after seeing a preview of the solution at the MWA booth at Transform 2012 in Orlando. The Intellivue ECM platform is available with more than 200 on-demand business solution templates and it can be deployed with a cost-per-page model where users pay a low monthly fee based on the number of pages the software manages. Reportedly, many organizations realize a return on investment in the first month of deployment.<\/p>\n

Be sure and read Art Post\u2019s blog in this issue or in the Sales & Service department of The Week in Imaging<\/em>, for the perspective of a down-the-street sales rep as to why Intellivue is a solution worth noting. As he says,\u201dI see Intellivue as a tremendous value for the SMB customer.\u201d And since most of our readers target that group, listen to Post and check it out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>N-able Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.n-able.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing like going to Photizo\u2019s Transform and visiting the many solutions providers exhibiting to find another two or three that ought to be on every dealer\u2019s radar. One of those that I wasn\u2019t as familiar with prior to Transform was N-able Technologies a Canadian company that touts itself as a global leader in remote monitoring and management automation solutions for managed service providers and IT departments. Its N-central software and complementary toolsets can reportedly reduce IT support costs, improve network performance, and increase productivity via the proactive monitoring, management, and optimization of IP-enabled devices and IT infrastructure. The main topic of conversation at Transform was N-central, what they\u2019re calling \u201can industry-first freemium<\/em> model that drives down the cost of remote management and accelerates the mass adoption of managed services.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>ODC<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.officedocumentconsulting.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Office Document Consulting may sound like a consulting company and strategic sales training is just part of what they do, but what they also do is provide a cloud solution called DOCassess with a variety of features such as DCA data upload, a print environment balanced report card, fleet virtualization, device mapping, surface level assessment, enterprise assessment, current and proposed financial information, individual device TCO, a carbon footprint calculator and proposal generation. The company\u2019s goal is to provide sales reps with a tool they could and would use to sell the conept of MPS and perform a professional assessment.<\/p>\n

Jeff Dunlop, vice president and principle owner of IDS (Integrated Digital Solutions) in London, Ontario Canada has been working with Office Document Consulting Inc. and [PPresident] Mike Lamothe for the past six months. \u201cI can honestly say we wouldn’t have been able to compete and win MPS business without his group and DOCassess. Their software has given our sales reps the ability to pitch the concept of MPS with the Print Environment Balance Score Card. The part I like is the rep goes in and performs the assessment. This methodology behind DOCassess is teaching our reps more about managed print by directly becoming involved with the process. I would highly recommend ODC and DOCassess to any organization looking to successfully sell managed print services.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fabsoft<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.fabsoft.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nMaybe you\u2019ve heard the name before, maybe not, but FabSoft is a developer of document automation solutions. FabSoft specializes in streamlining workflow via intelligent document distribution and enhancement with products that are compatible with all operating systems, applications, and devices. FabSoft solutions include automatic document capture, routing of print jobs and scan documents to printers, fax, e-mail and archive systems; electronic form enhancement and multi-part form distribution; barcode and image link; check printing; and security printing. Something must be going right for them because they\u2019ve got more than 16,000 installations around the world. Their target market is companies of all sizes they are looking for resellers. Noteworthy partners include HP, DocuLex, Laserfiche, and Ricoh. If you\u2019re a Ricoh dealer you\u2019ll be glad to know they offer cloud integration to Ricoh MFPs. As Art Post noted in his column earlier this month, \u201cI believe that cloud integration of MFPs offers end users a multitude of choices and services that can make companies just as productive as their employees.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photizo Group<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.photizogroup.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

When you look at the sum of its parts, between the consulting practice, the research, the conferences, and their approach to MPS, one would be hard-pressed to leave Photizo Group off the list of services providers to the imaging industry. Indeed, the sum of its parts is extremely impressive. Although I wouldn\u2019t include the average research or testing organization in my listing of services providers, I can make an exception in this instance because this organization has already been providing the industry with MPS consulting services prior to the acquisition of Lyra Research earlier this year. With that acquisition those consulting services have risen to new heights, making Photizo one that any dealer looking to transform his business ought to take note of as the services component of the business becomes ever more critical to survival. And for those of us who attended Transform 2012 in Orlando, the quality of that event underscores Photizo\u2019s inclusion as a services provider that should be on your radar\u2026no question about it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>West Point Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.westpointproducts.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Office technology dealers looking to maximize their cost-per-copy and managed print services programs have a variety of options available to them when it comes to remanufactured toner cartridges and one of the most overlooked, at least in the minds of some dealers is West Point Products. That\u2019s somewhat surprising to hear since the company has been in business since 1972 and as an ISO 9001:2008 and STMC-certified manufacturer of premium replacement laser toner cartridges and provider of related imaging supplies and services, they\u2019ve got a strong quality story to tell. And that\u2019s backed by what many of their customers and resellers describe as top-notch customer service.<\/p>\n

Northeast Print Supplies in Pittston, PA has been using West Point Products for supplies fulfillment for the past 6 years. Owner Carmen Pitarra originally found them via a Web search. That was one of the best decisions he ever made after leaving a copier dealership where he was sales manager to start his own business. \u201cThey have one of the best quality products we ever used,\u201d he says. \u201cTheir support is outstanding; they bend over backwards for you and work with you on service needs, sales needs, product needs\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Quality issues can be devastating to dealers who delve into compatibles and remanufactured products and Pitarra reports that\u2019s virtually never been an issue with West Point. Returns over the six years have been minimal at best. He does a lot of managed print services and for him having a one-stop source for supplies at reasonable cost is a life saver. \u201cWe used to have 3-4 vendors we dealt with and the quality of remanufactured is on a par with what you need to make that business profitable,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s somewhat surprised that more copier dealers haven\u2019t discovered the West Point advantage yet or that West Point is finding it a challenge making inroads into the copier channel. \u201cCopier dealers are so close minded because service personnel [often] run those companies,\u201d he opines. They\u2019re so opposed to remanufactured products. If they\u2019re going in there with OEM on print management, they\u2019re wasting their time because they\u2019re just not going to make any margin; it\u2019s just not there.\u201d<\/p>\n

If variety is the spice of life, then West Point offers the variety to spice up Northeast Print Supplies\u2019 managed print services program. \u201cYou have to have somebody who can provide you with products if you\u2019re doing a service like managed print because you take on so many devices like Xerox, Lexmark, etc.\u201d notes Pitarra. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have the supply chain in place even before you get all that rolling you\u2019re not going to be able to offer the service that needs to be offered on those programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Kofax<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.kofax.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with Kofax, you ought to be. The Irvine, California-based company provides capture-enabled business process management software solutions. These solutions automate information intensive processes and manage the capture of information. When information enters an organization, Kofax Capture Enabled BPM solutions automatically capture, extract, validate and classify it through a touchless process. It doesn\u2019t matter if it originates as paper, fax, e-mail, SMS, XML or PDF format. The company has an extensive list of alliance partners, including Canon, DocuLex, Docuware, Epson, Fujitsu, HP, Lexmark, Ricoh, Samsung, Sharp, and Xerox among many others, which gives them some serious street cred in our book.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would place Kofax as the one to watch even though there’s not a lot of public information on them,\u201d says Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like about Kofax is they have a clearly articulated strategy,\u201d adds Holly Muscolino, research director for IDC. \u201cThey also just acquired a business process management company called Singularity and they\u2019ve integrated it with their capture solution so they\u2019re evolving from being a purely capture and image processing solution to capture-enabled business process management. They have this concept of capturing information as close to the point of transaction as possible. So whether it\u2019s through a Website, smartphone, MFP, or desktop scanner you can capture information anywhere and it can be deposited in some sort of repository or transformed using their business process management tool and automatically incorporated in some sort of back end or back office processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>ColumbiaSoft<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.documentlocator.com<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

ColumbiaSoft is known for their document management solutions, most notably Document Locator.\u00a0 Using its software, users can capture, manage, and share paper and electronic documents, e-mail, and faxes, and meet higher standards of compliance. They\u2019re a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Autodesk (AutoCAD) Partner, Adobe Solutions Partner, and eCopy Software Alliance Partner. That\u2019s impressive. What we think dealers will like about Document Locator is its ability to seamlessly integrate an array of electronic document management capabilities within the MS Windows environment, an environment that most business users are familiar with, which means it\u2019s easy to use.<\/p>\n

Loffler, a Canon dealer based in Bloomington, MN, is the company\u2019s document management provider of choice. \u201cLoffler has a tendency to pick products and sell products from companies that specialize and focus strictly on the product sets that they\u2019re trying to sell,\u201d explains Jeff King, director of consulting services with Loffler. \u201cAll they do is document management.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0PrintFleet Inc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.printfleet.com<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When you talk about data collection for managed print services, let\u2019s not leave PrintFleet out of the conversation. Here\u2019s a software company that specializes in the development of print management software, training, business development, and support programs for dealers and distributors in the imaging industry. According to the company, their software manages more than 2.5 billion pages per month worldwide. The company offers data collection, data integrity, and backend support within its family of print management software, ranging from simple rapid assessment to advanced independently hosted print management. Further validation for PrintFleet comes from the company it keeps and the MPS programs that it supports from the likes of West Point Products, Supplies Network, GreatAmerica Leasing, Parts Now!, LMI Solutions, SP Richards Co., PrintGuard, and Synnex.<\/p>\n

PrintFleet\u2019s software serves as the backbone to the infrastructure for Loffler Companies\u2019 MPS program. \u201cWe\u2019re not really selling it but use it in all of our MPS clients,\u201d says John Hastings with Loffler. \u201cWe have a pretty successful MPS program and have had PrintFleet for about five years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Hastings likes is the flexibility. \u201cWe looked at others and this one seemed to be the most flexible for us,\u201d he says. \u201cIt had a lot to do with the roll out of it and the acceptability of it from IT personnel, but also the reports we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Adobe <\/strong><\/p>\n

www.adobe.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In some respects Adobe may be one of the most obvious solutions providers on the list, in other respects, one of the most least likely since solutions like Acrobat and Photoshop have become so ubiquitous. Plus how do those products tie into the office technology dealer channel as a solution? Well forget all that and take a closer look at Adobe LeanPrint, the company\u2019s enterprise-class, software printing solution that can help reduce print costs via a method for redoing the layout of documents when printing from popular applications and browsers. With Adobe LeanPrint users can track print jobs and costs, analyze paper and toner savings from LeanPrint implementation at the document, user, and organization level. Underscoring the viability of LeanPrint is Adobe\u2019s relationship with Toshiba who is Adobe\u2019s first partner to go to market with LeanPrint and a collaborator in its development.<\/p>\n

Jon Bees an analyst with IDC sees all sorts of potential for LeanPrint within corporate America. \u201cFor internal communications in the vast majority of businesses a product like LeanPrint can save all kinds of money because these documents aren\u2019t for client viewing. It\u2019s interesting that somebody like Adobe has stepped in to make a play for saving money with a tool that can be used in the MPS world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, this is the type of product that will give Adobe some added play in the dealer channel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Preo Software Inc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.preosoftware.com<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to print management solutions for the enterprise, the name to remember is Preo Software. The company also provides print management systems to select OEMs as well as managed print services providers worldwide. The company bills its Printelligence cloud-based solution as \u201cthe only print management system that adapts itself to an organization\u2019s printing behavior, thanks to a unique adaptive rules engine that modifies the messaging delivered to end-users at the desktop, based on individual behavior.\u201d Underscoring the power of Printelligence is the fact that it has been deployed in more than 5,000 organizations around the globe. A couple of other recent announcements further illustrate why Preo should be on your radar and that\u2019s their agreement to license Printellignece v4 MPS technology to Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples where it will be part of Staples Technology Solutions MPS service offering. The second is the recently announced partnership with Supplies Network that combines the two company\u2019s expertise in the MPS arena and integrates both organization\u2019s software and services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re another solutions company that tracks end user print behavior with the purpose of better managing print workflow and [increasing] productivity,\u201d says Jon Bees, an analyst with IDC. \u201cThey have some pretty sophisticated solutions. Preo\u2019s Printintelligence solution provides detailed information and analytics about print behavior, hardware utilization, and print traffic patterns. They\u2019re doing some interesting work. They\u2019re a small but interesting company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>LaserFiche<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.laserfiche.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got customers interested in enterprise content management, the name to know is \u00a0Laserfiche. But don\u2019t let the ECM component frighten you away, their solutions, including Laserfiche Rio and Laserfiche Avante are ideal for verticals such as government, financial, education, healthcare, and commercial as well as SMB. Laserfiche solutions have been deployed in more than 30,000 organizations around the world, so what you\u2019ve got here is a well established entity with a highly viable solution. The Laserfiche ECM system is designed to give IT managers central control over their information infrastructure, including standards, security and auditing. The Laserfiche product suite is built on top of Microsoft technologies to simplify system administration, supports Microsoft SQL and Oracle platforms, and features a seamless integration with Microsoft Office applications and a two-way integration with SharePoint.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like LaserFiche because they\u2019re capture and document management,\u201d says Holly Muscolino, research director for IDC. \u201cThey\u2019ll call themselves an enterprise solution, but they\u2019re definitely more of an SMB solution. They also have a loyal following among resellers and customers. Their channel loves them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

DocRecord from Prism Software<\/p><\/div>\n

Prism Software<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.prismsoftware.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a company that develops print and document management software for use in Fortune 5000 and mid-sized companies with the latter being ideal for many office technology dealers. Its suite of software products target the electronic document management, workflow, variable data printing, and legacy data printing and conversion markets. Products of note include DocRecord, DocSystem, DocForm, and DocTransform. Name a vertical market, and any of these products will fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have an affinity with manufacturers because they\u2019re small and are willing to customize a broad range of applications from legacy print to document management to capture, and have partnered with almost every manufacturer out there,\u201d says Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report. <\/em>\u201cThey seem to understand this channel and they\u2019re willing to work quietly behind the scenes with vendors to provide a solution that works for their channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Square9<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.square-9.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

They may not get the ink that some of the other document management companies seem to get, but that hasn\u2019t stopped some dealers from making Square9 Softworks their document management solutions provider of choice and landing them squarely in this week\u2019s group of \u201cTop 40 Solutions & Services Providers That Should Be on Every Dealer\u2019s Radar.\u201d\u00a0 Square9 markets business-centric software, including the SmartSearch Document Management Suite. The nice thing about Square9 and its SmartSearch Document Management Suite is that it makes document management accessible to businesses of all sizes. Plus the company\u2019s solutions are built on an open architecture, which should enhance its appeal to the average office technology dealer.<\/p>\n

Edwards Business Systems (EBS) in Scranton, PA, spent 18 months on a rigid selection process and marketing strategy to identify and deliver what they call industry leading document management solutions that will ultimately provide enhanced and scalable partnerships and increased value to Edwards\u2019 clients. \u201cWe made the strategic decision to forge direct relationships with our solution development partners,\u201d explains Dexter Loeble, senior marketing director with EBS.<\/p>\n

During the selection process EBS narrowed its offerings from 60+ software solutions to 12 approved solutions from five partners. \u201cThis allowed us to leverage resources and ultimately achieve 300%+ growth in the revenue channel,\u201d adds Loeble.<\/p>\n

One of those partners was Square9. \u201cWe selected Square9 as a single source solution for their enterprise content and document management system capabilities,\u201d states Loeble. \u201cSquare9 provides a scalable .NET platform with a wide range of integrated components that allow us to provide end-to-end solutions in this space for every size client. Over the past 12 months we have more increased awareness and built long-term relationships with many of our major accounts that would traditionally only be retained through traditional methods.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Agiliant<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.agiliant.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>If there were a Yellow Pages<\/em> for master managed services providers for the dealer community, Agiliant might be the first name in the book. Indeed, any dealer even remotely considering making a move into managed services should take a serious look at Agiliant. They\u2019ve created a program called MITOS, a managed services solution suite, which integrates managed network services and managed print services into a single solution delivery model. They\u2019re targeting businesses of all sizes across North America, which plays right into the wheelhouse of the average office technology dealer.<\/p>\n

Aric Manion, president of Kelley Imaging Systems in Seattle, Washington, is found that partnering with Agiliant has made a difference in helping them capture a bigger piece of the managed services pie, something they might not have been able to do without the MITOS program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IT space is a lot harder sell than equipment,\u201d acknowledges Manion. \u201cIt\u2019s more complex and there\u2019s different curve balls thrown at you every day. The product management Agiliant provides saves us from having to go out and research who\u2019s the best in backup solutions, who\u2019s the best in hosted e-mail, who\u2019s the best in Microsoft SPA.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Agiliant program has simplified the concept of managed network services and managed print for Kelley\u2019s traditional salespeople and completed the sales process piece of the puzzle. As with any solution or service there\u2019s a cost associated with it and Manion realizes the average office equipment dealer is sometimes reluctant to make that investment. He wasn\u2019t because he understood that Kelley did not possess that expertise internally. \u201cWhen you look at the cost of trying to do it yourself, you can do it yourself and hire the people or you can plug into all those people [at Agiliant]. It\u2019s less costly bringing in all of the expertise they have on staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agiliant has even helped Kelley acquire an IT company. \u201cThat just closed at the beginning of this year and adds $700,000 a year in revenue and gives us a customer base that we can reference [to potential customers],\u201d concludes Manion<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Parts Now! <\/strong><\/p>\n

www.partsnow.com<\/a><\/p>\n

As we assembled this list of solutions and services providers one thing became clear and that\u2019s the impact the MPS movement has made on the industry and the opportunities for companies like Parts Now! the supplier of laser printer parts in North America. The company also offers tools, technical support, and training, which underscores their inclusion as a Top 40 Solutions & Services provider. It doesn\u2019t hurt that they\u2019re an authorized distributor to four OEMs either.<\/p>\n

Parts Now! has been providing laser printer parts since 1989, not a bad track record in this day and age. Dealers can also rely on the company for toner and other consumables and with six locations in the U.S. and Canada all sorts of supplies are within fast and easy access. As far as new developments, we\u2019re impressed by the R4 Assessment Pro, introduced in January 2012. This tool identifies ways to maximize the efficiency of an imaging fleet while reducing costs for dealers and their customers. For dealers focused on MPS, it reportedly offers the ability to reduce service program costs, identifies devices at a client site that are ready to be refreshed, identifies devices that should be retired and where to redistribute its volume, and of course, offers the all-important replenishment criteria such as availability and cost of supplies while also providing stocking strategies and automated management to reduce the time associated with these tasks and the expense.<\/p>\n

DPOE in Des Plaines, IL is a long-time Parts Now! customer. DPOE uses them primarily for HP parts. The reason DPOE President Chip Miceli likes them is simple, \u201cThey have every part we need in stock. They\u2019re in Wisconsin, which for me is great because we can put an order in today and have it tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Katun<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.katun.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With managed print services all the rage, reducing costs for customers has taken center stage and one area where dealers have long found ways of taking some of the costs out of the print equation is with compatible cartridges. One of the prime sources for those compatibles has been Katun, however, dealers don\u2019t just rely on them for compatible cartridges, they\u2019re also a viable supplier of parts for the wide array of hardware that\u2019s on every dealer\u2019s price list. With 16,000 customers in 135 countries, Katun is without question a company that should be on every dealer\u2019s radar if they aren\u2019t already.<\/p>\n

DPOE\u2019s Chip Miceli relies on Katun for his toner cartridges, especially as his dealership gets more heavily focused on managed print services. \u201cWe do a lot with Katun because they are forward thinkers and they\u2019re always looking for ways to improve my bottom line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Notable Solutions, Inc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.nsius.com<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s so notable about Notable Solutions (NSi) and its AutoStore 6, distributed content capture and business automation solution? \u00a0How can you not appreciate a solution that allows users within an organization to automate their business processes by capturing paper and electronic documents from various sources, process them into usable information and store that information into business applications and databases for retrieval and distribution? Besides NSi Autostore, the company\u2019s solutions offerings now encompass NSi Autocapture, NSi WebCapture, NSi SmartTicket, NSi Quick Capture Pro, and NSi OpenForms 360. Need further validation as to why NSi should be on your radar, how about the fact that Kyocera and Xerox rely on NSi\u2019s expertise to power their distributed content capture solutions, KYOcapture and Smartdocument Travel, respectively?<\/p>\n

David Foechterle, MFD program manager for the Department of Information Technology of the Fairfax County Government in Fairfax, VA, is a perfect example of the type of NSi customer that dealers might target with this solution. When he joined the County a few years he found himself responsible for an area that no one else really wanted and he was unfamiliar with, copiers and MFPs. He spent about a year of research into hardware, software and services behind MFPs and what\u2019s available. \u201cOne thing I kept coming across, I understood the print part, that\u2019s easy, the scan part, didn\u2019t know anything about, so I looked into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He discovered that most manufacturers allow you to scan to a network folder or to an e-mail address. Although it was a relatively simple process, it wasn\u2019t centralized and he\u2019d have to configure every MFP he was responsible for. \u201cAnd 500 MFPs with 20,000 end users is a nightmare,\u201d says Foechterle. \u201cI needed a solution that was centrally managed, and also wanted to figure out what else can you do with the scan piece, I can go to e-mail, I can go to network folder, but where\u2019s the value behind that. I started doing research and the one vendor I kept coming across was NSi and their Autostore product. I went to Sharp, Xerox, Ricoh, and NSi was always there. For me that was a huge win because we are somewhat brand agnostic when it comes to print devices and scan devices in the County. I knew it would work across the gamut of hardware we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first year of implementation saw 1.2 million impressions go through Autostore and Foechterle expects to see that double year over year for the next three to four years. Not too shabby, huh?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dealer Marketing Systems<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.dealermarketingsystems.com<\/a><\/p>\n

When your marketing efforts fall short and you\u2019re still grappling with how to leverage social media in your dealership, who you going call? For many dealers the people to call are the marketing experts at Dealer Marketing Systems. That\u2019s because they have a thorough understanding of the industry because that\u2019s the only industry they service. Dealer Marketing Systems provide training and marketing tools and provide an array of marketing services, including Website design and hosting, custom sales collateral, case study writing, dealership newsletters, and direct mail-to-Web campaigns.<\/p>\n

Josh Smith, sales director with Datamax in Little Rock, AR, brought in Dealer Marketing Systems in 2010 to raise the profile of the company\u2019s Website. It was developed by another company and updates were far and few between, which meant that Datamax was missing tons of promotional opportunities. What made Dealer Marketing Systems a good fit for Datamax was their knowledge of the office technology industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked the fact that they are industry specific,\u201d says Smith. \u201cThey knew my industry, they both came from my industry, they knew what we were facing, and they\u2019d worked with other dealers in our area and with other dealers in the Sumner Group organization at other Datamax locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new Website has made a difference and Smith gauges its success on the comments he\u2019s received about it. \u201cYou never can tell how any advertising is effectively working for you unless you survey every customer you do business with,\u201d acknowledges Smith. \u201cWe don\u2019t do that but we\u2019ve had so many comments from customers and other dealers who have asked us specifically about our Website and who did it and why we chose them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dealer Marketing Systems has also helped Datamax branch out into social media with Facebook and Twitter pages. A blog on Datamax\u2019s Website feeds directly into their Twitter account as well as their Facebook page, showcasing fresh content every single day. It\u2019s a great way to promote special events and specials. They\u2019ve got about 500 followers so far. \u201cThat\u2019s probably been the biggest draw,\u201d says Smith, \u201cand is all due to them getting us into social media. We\u2019ve taken it to another level. Other dealers are calling and asking about it and who does it for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Perceptive Software<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.perceptivesoftware.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a provider of enterprise content management (ECM) and business process management (BPM) software products and solutions with a strong customer focus, look no further than Perceptive Software. The company made a name for itself in the imaging world with the ImageNow document imaging, document management and workflow suite along with its LearnMode integration methodology. They\u2019ve built a nice business for themselves and their products and solutions are used by customers across all industries in more than 30 countries worldwide. The company\u2019s solutions are designed to integrate seamlessly with any business application, which provides the reseller and the customer with piece of mind throughout the integration process. Resellers and their customers aren\u2019t the only ones who\u2019ve come to appreciate the value that Perceptive brings to the ECM solutions and BPM products space, Lexmark has noticed too and in 2010 acquired the company. That\u2019s a strong testament to their Top 40 status. With Perceptive\u2019s recent acquisition of Pallas Athena, a Netherlands-based BPM software provider, has only strengthened their position in the BPM market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPerceptive Software is an excellent company,\u201d says Jerry Jones with Cannon IV in Indianapolis, IN. \u201cOur biggest opportunities [with that] are in education\u2014K-12 plus higher education. Those are all great success stories for us when it comes to Perceptive Software.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cannon IV discovered Perceptive a few years ago while investigating the various solutions on the market. \u201cWe found they were a company with a great solution platform. They just get it.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Drivve<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.drivve.com<\/a><\/p>\n

This developer of image capture, document management, and workflow applications that enhance business processes is a familiar face at technology fairs at OEM dealer meetings.<\/p>\n

No wonder. Its solution enables users to place hard copy documents in their scanner or MFP input trays and convert that into usable electronic data that can be shared within and outside of an organization. The nice thing about what Drivve does is that it can bring this document management capability to not only large offices but offices with as few as five employees. Like other solutions providers who adapt to changing times, Drivve is now extending their reach beyond the scanner and MFP to smartphones. You\u2019ll notice too that Drivve likes to boast about just how turnkey their solution is. If you\u2019ve ever seen one of their demos, that\u2019s no exaggeration and one of the reasons dealers find Drivve an excellent solution for helping customers better manage their paper-based information.<\/p>\n

Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report<\/em>, notes that Drivve seems to be gaining traction in the Sharp and Toshiba channel as well as Kyocera. \u201cThey have a nice Apple client,\u201d says Bissett who adds that the company seems to be in the midst of repositioning somewhat from document management to more universal capture software. \u201cThey\u2019ve done pretty well,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In addition Buyers Laboratory editors selected Drivve DM 2.4 as an \u201cOutstanding SMB Document Management Solution\u201d in their Winter 2012 \u201cPick\u201d awards. Between Bissett and BLI, we count that as high praise for Drivve, and validation of their placement in this year\u2019s Top 40.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Equitrac<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.equitrac.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

For years whenever anyone spoke about cost tracking solutions, the one solution that always seemed to be top of mind was Equitrac. And they still are. Acquired last year by Nuance the company still offers the same menu of products they\u2019ve always provided to the dealer channel\u2014products that allow them to penetrate key verticals such as legal and education as well as provide customers of all stripes with a proven cost tracking solution. Products such as Equitrac Office, Equitrac Professional, and Equitrac Express remain viable solutions for organizations looking to control and management their printing, reduce costs, enhance document security, and for an increasing number of organizations, foster sustainable printing practices. With a notable roster of partners, including Canon, Kyocera, Konica Minolta, HP, Sharp, Xerox, Toshiba, Fuji Xerox, and Oc\u00e9, Equitrac remains one of the imaging industry\u2019s top-tier solutions providers and one that is already on most dealer\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n

\u201cEquitrac is the total solution for tracking prints, sending prints to where you want them to be, print security, equipment use security, and for providing a complete breakdown of what each piece of equipment is doing and whose doing what on each piece of equipment,\u201d states Andrew Ritschel, president of Electronic Office Solutions in Fairfield, NJ. \u201cFor some organizations, proposing [this solution], is what helps you get the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot with Nuance, but the one we do the most with is Equitrac,\u201d adds Matt Molner, corporate solutions manager with ComDoc, and a big fan of Equitrac. \u201cBy far the largest vertical for that is education. We have a lot of K-higher education customers, but we also have a fair amount of legal and general office customers interested in tracking and rules-based printing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

BEI Services<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.beiservices.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of us already know that BEI Services provides service benchmarking and assessment of imaging devices. With the monthly tracking of more than 1-million service calls on 1.33 million machines, BEI Services has the statistics and benchmarks that dealerships need in this competitive environment to compare their MIF and technician\u2019s performance. With this information, BEI can help dealer\u2019s identify where improvements can be made to reduce service costs. They also provide a pay for performance program that has been accepted by nearly 200 dealers and more than 3,000 technicians. Their client list represents the cream of the independent dealer crop and their product captures data from thousands of devices from virtually every OEM in the office technology business. That\u2019s good enough to land them in this year\u2019s Top 40.<\/p>\n

Chip Miceli, president of DPOE in Des Plaines, IL, was introduced to BEI Services through Katun. After meeting with them and hearing the pitch, he knew right away that the data BEI Services could provide would have a huge impact on his bottom line. \u201cI said, \u2018We\u2019ve got to do this because we have to get a handle of what our techs are doing.\u201d He still had to convince his service director and service manager who didn\u2019t see the same potential in this data as they did. Seeing is believing and when asked how they feel about BEI Services today, Miceli replies, \u201cThey love it.\u201d They now sit down with every technician at the end of the month and talk about where their strong suits are, where they need help and what they need to do to improve. \u201cBecause of that it\u2019s fantastic,\u201d says Miceli. Turns out his technicians are fine with it too thanks in large part to the BEI Services bonus program. \u201cNow that they\u2019ve improved they\u2019re making more money with the bonus program,\u201d states Miceli.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

MWAi’s Headquarters<\/p><\/div>\n

MWA Intelligence<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.mwaintel.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Any dealer looking to take their customer service to the next level had better have MWAi on their short list of solutions providers. MWAi provides enterprise-class M2M (machine-to-machine) and M2P (machine-to-people) solutions and accompanying professional services. Solutions provided by MWAi include asset and resource management tools and related software, hardware, and communication technologies to manage employees, assets, and business operations more efficiently. MWAi has developed a platform-independent approach to asset, service, and mobile workforce management that they say is flexible and scalable to accommodate a dealership\u2019s unique requirements and grow as their business model evolves. Another asset of working with MWAi is the talent that goes along with it. The company\u2019s management team knows the office technology business inside and out, and there\u2019s nothing like talking to someone who truly gets it when looking to match a solution to your dealership. And with a litany of strategic partners, this is a solutions provider that is well entrenched in the industry.<\/p>\n

Rick Bastinelli, president of Centric Business Systems, brought MWAi into his dealership about eight years ago after searching for an automated dispatch system. \u201cThat product has been incredible in helping us operate a dramatically more efficient service operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years ago Centric added MWAi\u2019s remote monitoring software to the mix. \u201cThe reason we did that was MWAi was one of the first remote monitoring software programs to not only remotely capture meter reads and other alerts, but have that data go directly into our operating system without going through that extra step,\u201d recalls Bastinelli. \u201cTo us it\u2019s been a seamless and flawless process that has enabled us to gain a lot of efficiency in that part of our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>

Supplies Network’s Corporate Headquarters<\/p><\/div>\n

Supplies Network<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.suppliesnetwork.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s forget about Supplies Network as a wholesaler of IT consumables and the fact that independent dealers represent 99 percent of the company\u2019s business. What impresses us is the \u00a0Supplies Network\u2019s leadership position in print management services and their track record in helping independent dealers get on the managed print services bandwagon thanks to the CARBON SiX all-inclusive \u201cturn-key\u201d MPS program. If you\u2019re not aware, CARBON SiX allows dealers to delve into MPS without having to invest in software or capital and encompasses detailed step-by-step training, follow-up support, and ongoing consulting. There\u2019s a lot of MPS solutions available today, but CARBON SiX was one of the first and foremost and is a program that\u2019s made a difference not only for traditional office technology dealerships but smaller dealers on the office supplies of the aisle looking to grow their machine business.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rob Richardson, owner and founder of Allied Document Solutions & Services in Swedesboro, NJ started with Supplies Network some 10 years ago once their HP prices became more competitive. \u201cWe also sell a lot of their compatible products and for my money they were the first wholesaler I found that did their due diligence with respect to quality control and bringing in the brand. It wasn\u2019t \u201cwhat can we make the most money? it was \u2018what can we be profitable on, but also works?\u2019 It\u2019s one thing to sell a product and make a couple of extra bucks on it, it\u2019s another to sell a product and be deluged with returns, defective rates and soured relationships. They really seem to go the extent of being able to provide quality compatibles which makes it hard for us to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richardson also likes that customers can order all their supplies from him via Supplies Network and that it\u2019s all shipped in one carton to the customer. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been in business for 18 years and there were times when there would be five different items in an order and I\u2019d need three different suppliers to complete that order.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also sings the praises of the people who work there. \u201cI\u2019ve never worked with anyone there I\u2019ve had a problem with,\u201d says Richardson. \u201cThey\u2019re all professional, knowledgeable, driven, and quality people. If there\u2019s turnover, it\u2019s seamless from one person to the next. They\u2019re just as helpful, just as knowledgeable, and there\u2019s never been an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richardson has also found Supplies Network\u2019s MPS initiatives top notch. \u201cThey\u2019re the most progressive provider out there. A lot of people talk about it, but nobody does it as well as they do. They continue to show me, as an independent dealer, that the relationship makes sense because they continue to make enhancements and improvements to the program and reach out to their independent dealers for recommendations and suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Strategy Development <\/strong><\/p>\n

www.strategydevelopment.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

We used to see these folks in our travels at various dealer meetings and read their bylined articles in industry trade publications, but it wasn\u2019t until a couple of years ago that we truly understood all that Strategy Development has to offer the independent dealer channel. It helps too that we have interviewed many dealers that this organization has helped with their consulting services for service operations, managed print services, sales optimization, and sales mentoring. Those interviews have placed the company\u2019s influence in perspective for us. From top to bottom this is a consulting organization that has a proven track record of success illustrated by the growing number of dealers who have relied on them for their industry expertise and continue to rely on them as well as the many training sessions and seminars they\u2019ve presented at dealer meetings and BTA regional events. We\u2019re also impressed by their recently opened Sd|University, a new model for training a dealer\u2019s entire staff. With folks like Tom Callinan and Ed Carroll at the helm, both engaging presenters, a dealer couldn\u2019t find a better organization to guide them along the path to success.<\/p>\n

Professional Business Systems (PBS) in Bentonville, Arkansas, is one of those forward-thinking dealerships that understand the value of education and the guidance an organization like Strategy Development can provide. PBS has used Strategy Development for service management, sales management, and MPS consultations and training. PBS President Matt Mawby says education was essential in identifying the costs associated with making the transition to managed print and putting a plan in place.\u00a0 \u201cUs copier guys know we roll the dice based on consumables. And we\u2019ve got all this history to be able to do so, but we didn\u2019t have that history with managed print. Strategy Development brought a lot of that to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>GreatAmerica Leasing<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.greatamerica.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

As national commercial equipment finance companies go, GreatAmerica Leasing remains one of the key leasing companies for the office technology dealer and one that stood by that segment even as the industry took a nosedive during the economic downturn. Since the early 1990\u2019s the company has fashioned a reputation for working to understand the needs and trends of the markets they serve and their customers within those markets. This is a leasing company that truly understands the office technology dealer and has the ability to adapt to changing trends. The most notable example is GreatAmerica\u2019s Collabrance LLC subsidiary for managed services. What this provides to dealers is the infrastructure and the expertise via a team of customer service and IT professionals, to allow them to reap the rewards of a new revenue stream without a huge upfront investment. That alone is a solid enough reason to place GreatAmerica Leasing on every dealer\u2019s radar, but when you had its legacy in leasing to the mix, you\u2019ve truly got a winning combination.<\/p>\n

Cannon IV in Indianapolis has been partnering with GreatAmerica Leasing going on four years now. \u201cTheir people are outstanding,\u201d says Jerry Jones, president of Cannon IV. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of an extension of our own staff. They\u2019re very customer centric.\u201d<\/p>\n

The relationship began when Cannon IV started kicking around the idea of starting their own leasing company. \u201cThey have a wonderful program as far as allowing you to get started and allowing you to get part of the deal. It\u2019s just worked out real well,\u201d says Jones.<\/p>\n

DPOE\u2019s Chip Miceli has a long history with GreatAmerica. In addition to being his go-to leasing partner he also uses their FleetView (from PrintFleet) remote monitoring solution for his managed print services program. The main thing that stands out for Miceli about GreatAmerica is the communication. \u201cThey listen to what the dealers are looking for and what they need to go forward,\u201d says Miceli. \u201cTheir vision a lot of times is on the same page as my vision. When I have a vision I call up Dave Pohlman and run it by him and then he comes back and tells me what I can do legally. I like the fact that they worry about the dealers being around. A lot of leasing companies are in it for themselves and don\u2019t care if the dealer\u2019s make money\u2026zero percent, whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>FMAudit<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.fmaudit.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

If it seems the office technology industry is awash in cost recovery solutions, you may be right, but the fact that a company like FMAudit remains one of the leading providers in this segment, means they must be doing something right. What began in 1998 has evolved into a global powerhouse and a key solutions provider for dealers looking to build a managed print services program. The company\u2019s assessment solution which offers the requisite assessment, data analysis, TCO proposal generation, consumable level monitoring, automated meter collection and service alert filtering, fills a huge need for the office technology dealer. With their WebAudit, Web-based meter collection solution and non-networked device meter collection options, dealers have a choice of cost recovery options to meet the needs of virtually any client of any size by providing a complete understanding of total cost of ownership.<\/p>\n

Jerry Jones of Cannon IV in Indianapolis is a fan of FMAudit and likes the flexibility the solution provides, especially since his dealership represents a variety of hardware manufacturers, including Toshiba, Lexmark, and HP. \u201cFMAudit\u2019s people #1 are very forward thinking and really provide great solutions from an agnostic approach. You don\u2019t have to be in bed with one particular manufacturer. The reality is in today\u2019s market, you need a lot of things to pick from you can\u2019t just go in representing one company.\u201d<\/p>\n

FMAudit has been a big part of Maryland-based Centric Business Systems\u2019 enterprise solution for gathering meter reads and remote monitoring. With a number of choices in the market, Centric went with FMAudit after President Rick Bastinelli assembled a team of administrative, service, and sales personnel, asking them to meet with all the companies that provide this software. After evaluating a number of them, they recommended FMAudit. \u201cThat was based on the reliability and ability of the product, but also the fact that setting up devices with FMAudit was very much a seamless process,\u201d reports Bastinelli. He also tout\u2019s the software\u2019s online capabilities and its reporting capabilities. \u201cWe thought was impressive and is one of the key reasons why we selected them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>DocuLex<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.doculex.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re talking paper documents or electronic documents, document management solutions are a must-have solution within a dealer\u2019s solutions offerings. That\u2019s where DocuLex comes in. Since 1996 DocuLex has specialized in developing enterprise document management and content management solutions. Those solutions offerings provide network-enabled capture and image processing on MFPs, scanners, fax, and wide format devices, as well as document and content management applications. The DocuLex product that should be on a dealer\u2019s radar is Archive Studio, a content management software suite that encompasses an array of scalable products that meets everything from basic content management needs to enterprise-wide document management, workflow, e-mail archiving, records management, and distributed or centralized image capture. With all those capabilities, chances are there\u2019s a good fit for Archive Studio within almost any dealer\u2019s customer base.<\/p>\n

Gulf Coast Office Products in New Orleans has been selling DocuLex for about 10 years now. \u201cThe nice thing is their Web search feature, which allows you to do a key word search through all of your documents,\u201d says Roy Gibbons, Gulf Coast\u2019s digital solutions specialist. \u201cIt searches the full content of the document by key words or you can do topic searches.\u201d He also likes the fact that the search engine is fully customizable. \u201cYou can search either for particular types of documents or you can customize it for the end user. All of my users use it differently. It depends on the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gibbons has found that most customers are potential prospects for DocuLex although vertical markets who are required to have retention policies find it particularly useful. \u201cThe retention policy they\u2019ve got built into DocuLex is nice,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of vertical markets have new regulations where they must maintain a document for a certain period of time and by using the automated retention policy it allows them to get rid of files at the time they\u2019re supposed to.\u201d \u00a0The retention capability is also useful with auditing. \u00a0\u201cThe DocuLex system streamlines your audit process should you get audited. I had a customer that was audited and had to hire seven people to find all of her paper files and get them ready for the audit process. A few years later after she\u2019d switched to DocuLex instead of hiring seven people to go through her files, she ran a search through DocuLex and in an hour she had all the documents she needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Print Audit<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.printaudit.com<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As corporate America\u2019s and the imaging industry\u2019s consciousness becomes increasingly raised about the high costs of printing, the interest in print management solutions is arguably greater than it has ever been. That\u2019s where a company like Print Audit and its flagship product, Print Audit 6, comes in. Print Audit 6 allows companies to analyze, reduce, and recover their printing, copying, scanning, and faxing costs. The company\u2019s latest introduction, Print Audit Premier, is a subscription plan that gives dealers access to all of Print Audit’s products for one low monthly fee.<\/p>\n

If a company can be judged by the company they keep, then Print Audit is in good company counting Toshiba, Konica Minolta, Canon, Xerox, Ricoh, and Sharp, among many others as partners. If growth is a measure of credibility, then let\u2019s also note that Print Audit has enjoyed an average of 362 percent annual growth over the past 10 years. \u201cIt’s always been a tough sale to ask a customer to lay out thousands of dollars for 20-25 seats of software,\u201d says Art Post, a dealer sales rep and founder of the Print4Pay Hotel MFP Solutions blog. \u201cIn most cases I’ll get the hardware sale and the customer will think about the software. The beauty of Print Audit Premier is that you can include the software in monthly cost-per-page cost or offer it as a base monthly charge-per-device or seat. This allows a dealer to rent the software, thus if the customer decides to get hardware elsewhere at the end of the lease they would also lose the benefits of Print Audit software.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Pharos Systems<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.pharos.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

For Pharos Systems it\u2019s all about intelligent printing. What started as a company focused on university pay for print software has evolved into a solutions provider that markets solutions to manage and optimize print. Options include software and services, software only, or just services. The average office technology dealership will also appreciate the fact that Pharos is that hardware-neutral. Notable OEM partners include Canon, HP, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Sharp, and Xerox. Lou Slawetsky of Industry Analysts is one of Pharos Systems\u2019 biggest fans and is surprised that they\u2019re still looking to gain traction in the dealer channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have formed some very interesting partnerships and can give the dealer access to larger accounts, which the dealer couldn\u2019t access by himself,\u201d he says. \u201cIn larger accounts they put people onsite to ensure adherence to rules-based printing. They really reengineer document flow. For example, they know how much print is being made on a device and who\u2019s printing to it; I don\u2019t know of anybody else that can do that. They are also the engine behind what Konica shows as enterprise OPS. [Pharos] gives the dealer a broader offering into a much larger enterprise-size [account] than what they\u2019re currently calling on. They are closer to MWAi but they take it to the next step. The missing link has always been not what are the page volumes per device\u2014any software can do that\u2014the missing link is who\u2019s doing the printing and what applications are they running and this will report on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>EFI<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.efi.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes to obvious solutions providers, no one is more of an obvious selection than EFI, especially in the world of color output and production printing. After all, most color copier manufacturers rely on EFI and their Fiery digital print controllers and solutions to enhance their color output. As the company has grown into a worldwide powerhouse, their offerings have grown into print production workflow and business process automation software not to mention their foray into output devices and UV and solvent inks, which although not appropriate in this context, is a testament to their ongoing legacy within the digital printing arena.<\/p>\n

ComDoc in Uniontown, Ohio relies heavily on EFI. \u201cWe sell a light of light production so we have a lot of their Fiery controllers,\u201d says Matt Molnar, ComDoc\u2019s corporate solutions manager. We also sell their EFI PrintMe Mobile, they\u2019re clouding printing solution and are getting a lot of traction with that.<\/p>\n

Molnar is also excited about EFI\u2019s Digital Storefront, the company\u2019s new ecommerce Web-to-print solution. \u201cBetween those three they\u2019re a really strong vendor and from a partner perspective I would put them just behind Docuware. They do a lot of good things with keeping us going and strategizing and giving us a lot of support.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Copier Careers<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.copiercareers.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the go-to recruiting firm that dealers within the document imaging industry can count on to find the right man or woman for the job. Not many personnel companies cater to the copier industry and when you find one that does to the extent Copier Careers has you take notice. In addition to finding talent, the company has become known for their annual salary surveys that take the financial pulse of key positions within the copier industry and allow those in existing positions as well as job seekers and employers to benchmark where they stand in comparison to the rest of the industry. Need to fill a position? A great starting point is with Copier Careers, which places them firmly within the upper pantheon of services providers to the imaging industry.<\/p>\n

Dean Edwards with Bristol Office Supply in Bristol, Virginia saw an ad for Copier Careers a couple of years ago and has since used them to fill a half dozen positions within his dealership. \u201cThey take time to understand who we are and our culture,\u201d says Edwards.<\/p>\n

Prior to Copier Careers, Edwards used Monster and ads in the local paper. \u201cBut this is a lot more efficient,\u201d he says. \u201cThey understand what we\u2019re about and save us a lot of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards adds that the biggest benefit of working with Copier Careers is the personal service. \u201cYou feel like you\u2019re getting value for the money you spend. It\u2019s more relationship-based and that\u2019s our culture and how we do business too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>PaperCut<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.papercut.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

These are the men from down under who have created a print management solution that has reportedly helped more than more than 50,000 organizations reduce their print costs and their environmental impact. Since the release of the solution in 1999 PaperCut now manages printing, copier, and Internet use in tens-of-thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries. With PaperCut users can track all printing in a network environment. It maintains detailed print logs for all user printing activity. This logging helps to understand printing by user, printer, group, department, office or shared account.\u00a0 One of the latest developments is the ability for PaperCut to manage printing from laptops, wireless devices, and anonymous users. A core feature of PaperCut, Web Print enables printing from user-owned devices without the need to install printer drivers and manage server authentication.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve found that there is a minimum of 25 percent of color pages that should be printed in black & white,\u201d says Reed Melnick, president of Nevill Imaging Solutions in Carrollton, Texas. \u201cIf somebody was doing 10,000 pages color at the cost of 8 cents a page it could be eliminated by 2,500 pages and all of a sudden you have a savings of $200-$300 a month by just putting a simple inexpensive system like PaperCut in place to manage that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can sell for 45 percent less than Equitrac,\u201d says Andrew Ritschel, president of Electronic Office Systems in Fairfield, NJ who sells both products. \u201cIt\u2019s a great product.\u201d<\/p>\n

ComDoc in Uniontown, Ohio had multiple customers, including some large ones, that had purchased the solution directly from PaperCut and all raved about it. \u201cThey said it was competitively priced,\u201d reports Matt Molnar, ComDoc\u2019s corporate solutions manager. \u201cWe really looked into it last year and in a short amount of time we got some really good sales. As a point of comparison I\u2019d compare it to Equitrac. It probably does about 75 percent of what Equitrac does. It doesn\u2019t have as many features, but it does it at a very competitive price. So for a lot of our customers who just need its core set of features, you really can\u2019t beat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Docuware<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.docuware.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Was there really any doubt that Docuware was going to make this list? When it comes to document management providers, Docuware remains top of mind in much of the dealer community. Founded in 1988, DocuWare has over 400 authorized software partners worldwide, and its software is available in 15 languages. Add to that more than 100,000 active users and it\u2019s clear that Docuware is one serious solutions provider. If that\u2019s not enough, their annual DocuWorld Conference brings end users and resellers together, underscoring the potential of the company\u2019s document management offerings.<\/p>\n

Ask Matt Molnar, corporate solutions manager at ComDoc, about his favorite solution, number one on his list is DocuWare. \u201cFrom a pure partner [perspective], they have fantastic support and help us with sales strategy. He adds that this is one of the few solutions segments where ComDoc only offer one solution. \u201cIt really covers the span of our whole customer base,\u201d says Molnar. \u201cWe have it in some of our largest accounts all the way down to a three-person office. It scales incredibly well from the very small to the very large. Because of that we\u2019re able to put a lot of focus and effort behind that one product. Another thing is the general feature set.\u201d He also likes DocuWare\u2019s mobile client, which is becoming more popular and has found the new Smart Connect button that allows users to access DocuWare file cabinets from any program they\u2019re working in a huge hit with clients.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Nuance eCopy <\/strong><\/p>\n

www.nuance.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where do you begin with this company and its wealth of solutions? Whether you\u2019re talking about eCopy, Equitrac, or Nuance voice recognition products, a dealer couldn\u2019t find a more valuable solutions provider to round out their solutions menu. For the MFP world, the company\u2019s flagship product is eCopy ShareScan v5, a document capture solution, allows users to capture paper-based information using the program\u2019s OCR engine directly from their MFP. With eCopy paper documents can be connected to business applications and paper-intensive document workflows automated. While Nuance offers a variety of eCopy solutions, we\u2019re picking<\/p>\n

ShareScan as the one that should be on most dealer\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n

Bristol Office Supply in Bristol, VA, is one of the oldest Canon dealers in the country and not surprisingly, an early eCopy adopter. \u201cThe scanning thing came and what do you do with it after you get it,\u201d was the big question that Dean Edwards of Bristol was asking himself prior to eCopy coming to market. He\u2019s found the ability to annotate documents and simply better manage documents from the MFP a big plus for certain types of customers. \u201cWe still have attorneys that really like it,\u201d states Edwards.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fenestrae B.V.\u2019s UDOCX <\/strong><\/p>\n

www.udocx.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

UDOCX (Unified DOCument Exchange) is a cloud-based document processing service from Fenestrae B.V. that enables Microsoft Office users to securely capture, scan to SharePoint, scan to Draft Folder, store, mail, fax and print documents from any MFP located anywhere in the world. Additionally, UDOCX offers what they describe as seamless integration of MFPs with Microsoft Exchange or Office 365 without the need of installing or maintaining additional software or hardware. With UDOCX users can capture all paper documents, process them into usable information, and store or integrate them in PDF\/A and into business applications and databases for retrieval and distribution.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with Fenestrae, the company, based in the Netherlands, was founded in 1990 as a provider of unified messaging and mobility software products that help organizations optimize their unified communications with customers, partners, and mobile employees. Two notable OEM partners include Xerox and Ricoh.<\/p>\n

What Art Post, a dealer sales rep and proprietor of The Print4Pay Hotel likes about UDOCX is its ability to scan to Microsoft SharePoint without explaining to the customer that they need an additional piece of hardware such as a server if they don\u2019t already have one and software that must reside on the server. \u201cUDOCX sells as SaaS,\u201d says Post. \u201cYou pay a monthly subscription fee and you have a choice of 3 different levels depending on your needs. Just talking about UDOCX has opened the door for talking about SharePoint opportunities along with managed services.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each week throughout the month of May we\u2019re going present 8 of our \u201cTop 40 Solutions & Service Providers that should be on Every Dealer\u2019s Radar.\u201d The organizations recognized here have been selected by an informal panel of independent dealers and industry analysts based on their experiences either in the field, or in the case of the industry analysts, from talking to successful dealers in the field and their own testing and reviews. What you\u2019ll find over the next five weeks are some obvious inclusions along with some wildcards that may surprise you\u2026or not.\u00a0\u00a0Here’s the complete list of Top 40\u00a0solutions and services providers from starting from the eight we are announcing this week. ABBYY www.abbyy.com Think document recognition, data and image capture, and linguistic technologies and services, and you have to think ABBYY. \u00a0Its products access information from paper-based documents and images, automatically retrieve data, and process and store information. Notable products in the ABBYY product line include the ABBYY FineReader line of optical character recognition (OCR) applications, ABBYY FlexiCapture line of data capture solutions, ABBYY Lingvo dictionary software, and development tools, that support a variety of platforms and computing environments. With companies such as Canon, HP, Microsoft, Notable Solutions, and Samsung among the many that license ABBYY technologies and when one considers ABBYY OCR applications are shipped with equipment from Epson, Fujitsu, Fuji Xerox, Microtek, Panasonic, Plustek, Ricoh, Toshiba, and Xerox, you can\u2019t not have this company on your radar. Loffler Industries, a Bloomington, MN-based Canon dealer uses ABBYY\u2019s FlexiCapture data and forms capture product. \u201cWe use it in an accounts payable process to be able to read purchase orders and forms and present it to a user in a custom interface we\u2019ve written or sometimes n the ABBYY interface and ultimately push it to workflow,\u201d explains Jeff King, director of consulting services for Loffler. Asked what verticals are most interested in FlexiCapture, King responds, \u201cAnybody who has intensive AP processing and who deals with a lot of vendors and a lot of inbound invoices. We\u2019re finding on the ABBYY side, our smaller customers, it\u2019s a little more difficult for them to afford the expense, so it\u2019s really got to be a medium to a large size company that is best suited for FlexiCapture.\u201d Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report maintains that ABBYY is still emerging in the MFP market. \u201cThey tend to be more under the hood, for example the OCR in the Konica Minolta bizhubs is from them. They have some forms recognition products that are getting a little bit of traction. They have a distribution agreement with Global Imaging and Kofax uses them. I would say they\u2019re respected in the document management market but tend to be more behind the scene.\u201d InfoDynamics www.infodynamics.com If you\u2019ve heard of INTACT, INBOOKS, and INPOINT, you\u2019ve heard of InfoDynamics, the company behind those products. InfoDynamics\u2019 content management products are used by companies of all sizes for managing electronic documents and paper. The company offers a suite of software that works with core business applications and integrates directly into popular handheld devices, scanners, copiers, and now tablets. InfoDynamics latest product Intact SMART offers version control, inter-application connectivity, instant searching, and a large feature list. The software is used by dozens of dealers around the country and offers direct integration with products from the likes of Canon, Lexmark, Sharp, Xerox, Muratec, Inituit, and Microsoft Dynamics. \u201cThey\u2019re small, but have been around for 20 years,\u201d says Brian Bissett, editor of The MFP Report. \u201cThey seem to have the most impact with Sharp and seem to focus on the SMB accounting market. It\u2019s kind of a horizontal application that fits a lot of dealers.\u201d MaxxVault www.maxxvault.com \u00a0 What\u2019s not to love about a provider of electronic document management solutions to small, medium, and large companies across a range of vertical industries? What\u2019s particularly appealing about MaxxVault is that it scales from a modest feature set within a single department to a full enterprise-wide installation. For dealers looking to connect their customers with a document management solution that can reduce costs by automating tasks and improve productivity whether you\u2019re talking paper-based or electronic files, MaxxVault is worth a look. An impressive array of partners include Apple, Canon, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Kofax, Microsoft, Nuance, Samsung, Sharp, and Xerox. Documation in Austin, Texas has been using MaxxVault for a little over 3\u00bd years now. Justin Espinoza, software director explains the reason why. \u201cWe\u2019re a best of breed dealer so we take the best of breed and go to market with that on the hardware side and on the software side.\u201d Espinoza reports that he replaced three vendors when he added MaxxVault to Documention\u2019s menu of solutions. He likes the fact that it\u2019s written to accommodate the latest technology and can connect to almost anything. \u201cIf I want to connect to a main line of business application, I can, and the end user is more apt to use it because they don\u2019t have to load an entire new product,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re learning just another functionality based on a Microsoft Office or whatever application [they\u2019re using].\u201d The other reason he chose MaxxVault is because of what he calls their \u201cpremier level of service,\u201d which fits nicely with the type of service Documation provides. \u201cDocumation is not the cheapest, we\u2019re like the Lexus dealer of the industry and we absolutely provide white glove service and I require the very same service from my vendors,\u201d states Espinoza. \u201cWhen I need help with a customer I need it now. They\u2019ve never failed to provide the utmost in service during the past 31\/2 years.\u201d Asked where he\u2019s finding opportunities for MaxxVault, he replies, \u201cWhere am I not? \u00a0This month alone I have it going into an underwriting firm, a law office, a manufacturing firm, and a medical office. Honestly it fits in a lot of different offices. The smallest is probably a three-person office and the largest is probably a 9,000-person office. It\u2019s extremely flexible. That\u2019s another reason. You can go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14195,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions\/14195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}