Transform Copiers Into Total Document Solutions

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•Article: Document Management

Integrating document management software with MFP (multifunctional peripheral devices) helped this $65 million office equipment dealer grow 14% last year.

According to research from ITEX (Imaging Technology Education and Exposition), the business and document solutions market is estimated to reach $40 billion in 2007. The explosion of the market is largely being driven by an increased demand for electronic document management solutions to fulfill compliance requirements or improve operational efficiencies. This demand has resulted in a surge of new VARs, integrators, and solutions providers attempting to gain their share of this sizable opportunity by complementing their core technology solutions with document imaging offerings. These new market entrants include networking VARs, storage integrators, but most notably, office equipment dealers. Copier dealers may have the most market share to gain by becoming imaging savvy, given that they typically have long-standing relationships with their clients and already understand many of their customers’ document processes.

One office equipment dealer that realized early on the impact imaging and EDM (electronic document management) would have on the industry is Milner, Inc. In the early ’90s, Milner executives foresaw a move toward digital technologies and developed a relationship with imaging software vendor Comsquared Systems to provide the infrastructure anticipated to image-enable forthcoming digital copiers. By the turn of the century, digital copiers had evolved into MFPs with not only duplication, but fax, print, and scan capabilities as well. In 2003, continued product developments allowed Milner to bundle Comsquared ImageDirector (see sidebar on page 32) with an MFP, creating a total document management solution where the MFP is used as the front end document capture device. At the same time, Milner developed partner relationships with several document scanner manufacturers to fulfill the needs of customers with more concentrated imaging needs. The transition from pure-play copier dealer to a comprehensive document management solutions provider has not come without its hiccups, but the move has proven positive for Milner, contributing greatly to the company’s 14% revenue growth in 2006. More importantly, Milner views the transition as a crucial step to cementing the company’s success in years to come.

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•Article: Document Management