Somewhat interesting announcement by Kofax, highlighting several recent deals - totaling more than $5 million, in which its MarkView A/P purchase-to-pay (P2P) software was included. MarkView is the P2P application that Kofax picked up when it acquired 170 Systems in 2009. Scuttlebutt has been that sales of MarkView have been somewhat underwhelming since the acquisition, and this announcement is probably designed to show that Kofax now has that business headed in the right direction.
When Kofax bought 170 Systems, it was reportedly producing $28 million in annual revenue, although I was later given the impression that a good majority of that was coming from professional services. Two of the three deals highlighted in today's release include the mention of other Kofax software products sold along with MarkView, so I'm assuming the $5 million figure isn't all MarkView.
That said, that type of integration was kind of the point of the whole acquisition - to give Kofax a better competitive offering vs. ReadSoft. However, none of the deals mention integration with SAP, which has been one of Kofax's goals- and an area where ReadSoft is strong. Two of the MarkView deals do mention integration with Oracle software, which is where MarkView has been historically strong.
Basically, I'm glad to see Kofax has something to brag about regarding MarkView, but based on the content of the release, I'm not sure how excited I should be getting.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 09, 2012
Visioneer Releases Xerox Version of Eye-Fi Scanner
Scanner vendor Visioneer has announced a Xerox-branded version of its Mobility Air scanner-the one that includes an Eye-Fi card for completely wireless mobile capture to any device with a wireless ratio- like a laptop, PC, or even mobile phones and tablets. The Xerox version of the device will list for $250 and be called the "The Xerox Mobile Scanner."
Visioneer announced the new Mobility in October.
Visioneer announced the new Mobility in October.
QAI Re-Ups Multi-Million Deal with NIH
Fulton, MD-based document imaging services specialist Quality Associates, Inc. (QAI) has signed another five-year contract with the National Institute of Health. The contract, which has one base year band four renewal options, is initially valued at $18 million. It's the second consecutive such contract for QAI, which offers both document conversion and systems integration services.
According to the press release, "Efforts to transition NIH’s grant applications function to a paperless process will thus proceed uninterrupted and benefit from the expertise accrued during the initial contract period. In addition, the new contract expands the service offerings QAI will provide NIH. Notably, QAI will offer 508 compliance consulting and training and will design, install and manage end-to-end electronic content management (ECM) systems. QAI’s Microsoft Gold Certified SharePoint subsidiary, DocPoint Solutions (DPS), will spearhead the design and installation of a comprehensive end-to-end SharePoint ECM."
According to the press release, "Efforts to transition NIH’s grant applications function to a paperless process will thus proceed uninterrupted and benefit from the expertise accrued during the initial contract period. In addition, the new contract expands the service offerings QAI will provide NIH. Notably, QAI will offer 508 compliance consulting and training and will design, install and manage end-to-end electronic content management (ECM) systems. QAI’s Microsoft Gold Certified SharePoint subsidiary, DocPoint Solutions (DPS), will spearhead the design and installation of a comprehensive end-to-end SharePoint ECM."
Friday, January 06, 2012
Kodak Bankruptcy Rumors
You've probably all seen these by now. Basically, here's the way we understand it: Kodak is attempting to sell an imaging-related patent portfolio that is reportedly worth $2-3 billion. If it can execute this sale successfully, it could potentially avoid bankruptcy. But, there seems to be some discrepancy about whether or not Kodak can execute this sale without filing for bankruptcy first, due to potential creditor claims on the portfolio.
How this is going to affect the document imaging business is unclear. When we spoke with Kodak VP Dolores Kruchten last October, after the Kodak bankruptcy rumors first surfaced, she denied that Kodak as considering bankruptcy. She also insisted that the document imaging business was profitable and that Kodak would do absolutely nothing to hurt a profitable area of operation.
From what we've read, Kodak would hope to emerge from bankruptcy as a printer-focused business, and with a former HP exec running the show, that makes sense. Of course, from our standpoint, printing is inexorably tied to document imaging, so it would make sense for Kodak to retain that part of its business as well.
That's about all we know for now. Stay tuned.
How this is going to affect the document imaging business is unclear. When we spoke with Kodak VP Dolores Kruchten last October, after the Kodak bankruptcy rumors first surfaced, she denied that Kodak as considering bankruptcy. She also insisted that the document imaging business was profitable and that Kodak would do absolutely nothing to hurt a profitable area of operation.
From what we've read, Kodak would hope to emerge from bankruptcy as a printer-focused business, and with a former HP exec running the show, that makes sense. Of course, from our standpoint, printing is inexorably tied to document imaging, so it would make sense for Kodak to retain that part of its business as well.
That's about all we know for now. Stay tuned.
CVision Showing Mobile Recognition at CES
Recognition technology specialist CVision will be showing some new mobile technology at next week's Consumer Electronics (CES) in Las Vegas. According to the press release, "Applying their high accuracy OCR engine to the realm of mobile technology, CVision has created a recognition tool that allows users to conveniently recognize and process documents by simply taking a photo of it with their mobile devices."
CVision has received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop its "super-fast" OCR technology and apply it to smartphones and tablets. "This mobile recognition technology enables...end-users to take a photo of a document or object with their mobile device to receive real-time information."
CVision has received funding from the National Science Foundation to develop its "super-fast" OCR technology and apply it to smartphones and tablets. "This mobile recognition technology enables...end-users to take a photo of a document or object with their mobile device to receive real-time information."
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Brainware Announces $2 Million Deal
Intelligent data extraction specialist Brainware has announced a $2 million deal with a European service provider. This customer specializes in financial and accounting processes and Brainware's software will be used for invoices and "other financial documents." This represents that latest of several large deals for the Ashurn, VA-based ISV that has seen some impressive growth in the past few years. It is also a nice size win in a European market where some have speculated there is weakness due to macro-economic conditions.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Kofax integrates Capture with DotImage
Kofax has released a new version of the DotImage SDK it acquired with Atalasoft last year. The new DotImage Enterprise Edition is desgined to image-enable Web-based line of busienss applications.
From the press release, "As an example, when processing a mortgage application, most lenders now allow prospective borrowers to apply for mortgages online but that process is typically not capture enabled. Applicants must provide paper copies of documents evidencing their proof of identity, income and other supporting information to the lender for processing. Capture enabling a lender’s portal applications allows applicants to easily scan those paper documents and submit all information electronically, thereby eliminating paper from the process. This accelerates the mortgage application process, better serves customer needs and allows lenders to be more responsive to applicants and gain competitive advantage."
From the press release, "As an example, when processing a mortgage application, most lenders now allow prospective borrowers to apply for mortgages online but that process is typically not capture enabled. Applicants must provide paper copies of documents evidencing their proof of identity, income and other supporting information to the lender for processing. Capture enabling a lender’s portal applications allows applicants to easily scan those paper documents and submit all information electronically, thereby eliminating paper from the process. This accelerates the mortgage application process, better serves customer needs and allows lenders to be more responsive to applicants and gain competitive advantage."
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Scannx Licenses ABBYY SDK
Scannx has signed an agreement to license ABBYY's FineReader SDK. SCANNX is an ISV focused on providing cloud services for scanning and capture. The ABBYY license is for traditional OCR/ICR software that will initially be incorporated in the book scanning software that is going to be bundled with the new Xerox book scanners that are being marketed by Scannx.
From the press release: "We are integrating ABBYY’s technology into our software and bundling it into a self-service book scanning center for library patrons and staff”, said John C. Dexter, president and COO of Scannx. “The book scanning center includes a 15-inch touchscreen computer preloaded with the Scannx and ABBYY software, and a patented book-edge scanner to protect the spine of the book. The scanner’s beveled edge enables students to scan to the edge of the book spine, producing clear and legible text in the center of the book. When the clear image is converted into searchable or editable text by ABBYY’S FineReader technology, the result is unmatched accuracy. Moreover, our implementation for OCR conversion is more than twice as fast as competitive systems.”
From the press release: "We are integrating ABBYY’s technology into our software and bundling it into a self-service book scanning center for library patrons and staff”, said John C. Dexter, president and COO of Scannx. “The book scanning center includes a 15-inch touchscreen computer preloaded with the Scannx and ABBYY software, and a patented book-edge scanner to protect the spine of the book. The scanner’s beveled edge enables students to scan to the edge of the book spine, producing clear and legible text in the center of the book. When the clear image is converted into searchable or editable text by ABBYY’S FineReader technology, the result is unmatched accuracy. Moreover, our implementation for OCR conversion is more than twice as fast as competitive systems.”
Thursday, December 22, 2011
J&B, Regulus Combo Rebranded as TransCentra
In a follow-up of a story we have been covering in our premium newsletter throughout the year, the transaction processing software and services entity made up of the former Regulus and J&B Software businesses, has been rebranded as TransCentra. Regulus, a payment and billing outsourcing specialist, and J&B, a payment and document processing software developer, were each acquired by India-based technology services company 3i InfoTech in 2007-2008. Earlier this year, they were spun off and acquired by an equity investment firm. For the past few months they had still been using the 3i Infotech brand, but that was expected to change, and now it has.
In other re-branding news, AccuSoft Pegasus, the imaging SDK specialist, has re-branded the viewing technology it acquired with Adeptol earlier this year. Featuring zero-footprint capabilities, the technology is now known as Prizm Content Connect. AccuSoft has been using the Prizm brand for viewing technology since it acquired it along with TMSSequoia in 2004.
In other re-branding news, AccuSoft Pegasus, the imaging SDK specialist, has re-branded the viewing technology it acquired with Adeptol earlier this year. Featuring zero-footprint capabilities, the technology is now known as Prizm Content Connect. AccuSoft has been using the Prizm brand for viewing technology since it acquired it along with TMSSequoia in 2004.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Presidential Memo Demands Improved Records Management
A recent memo issued by the office of the President of the U.S. has created quite a bit of buzz around the document imaging and records management software markets. The memo basically calls for improved records management within federal government agencies and sets out deadlines of one-month, three months, and six months, for making things happen.
From the "Purpose" section of the memo: "This memorandum begins an executive branch wide effort to reform records management policies and practices..... Greater reliance on electronic communication and systems has radically increased the volume and diversity of information that agencies must manage." The second part is certainly a pitch we have heard many ECM vendors make in recent years.
From the "Agency Commitments" section: "Within 120 days of the deadline for reports submitted pursuant to section 2(b) of this memorandum, the Director of OMB and the Archivist, in coordination with the Associate Attorney General, shall issue a Records Management Directive that directs agency heads to take specific steps to reform and improve records management policies and practices within their agency." Sounds like they're serious.
My take: It seems like the federal government is serious about laying out improved RM plans. This would seem to present a great opportunity for software vendors in our market. However, at least from my perspective and understanding of the federal government's financial situation: it would behoove anyone selling into this RM space to come to the table armed with ROIs, because I didn't see anything in the memo about funding.
From the "Purpose" section of the memo: "This memorandum begins an executive branch wide effort to reform records management policies and practices..... Greater reliance on electronic communication and systems has radically increased the volume and diversity of information that agencies must manage." The second part is certainly a pitch we have heard many ECM vendors make in recent years.
From the "Agency Commitments" section: "Within 120 days of the deadline for reports submitted pursuant to section 2(b) of this memorandum, the Director of OMB and the Archivist, in coordination with the Associate Attorney General, shall issue a Records Management Directive that directs agency heads to take specific steps to reform and improve records management policies and practices within their agency." Sounds like they're serious.
My take: It seems like the federal government is serious about laying out improved RM plans. This would seem to present a great opportunity for software vendors in our market. However, at least from my perspective and understanding of the federal government's financial situation: it would behoove anyone selling into this RM space to come to the table armed with ROIs, because I didn't see anything in the memo about funding.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
HSA Publishes Mobile Capture Software Report
Harvey Spencer Associates (HSA) has published a report detailing what it feels are explosive growth opportunities in the market for document capture software related to mobile computers. We all know that the number mobile computing apps are growing through the roof - riding the wave of mobile computing hardware sales. Veteran industry analyst Dave Wood has teamed up with HSA to produce "A Study of the Mobile Capture Market in the United States."
The report predicts the market to grow fromunder a half-million a couple hundred million (I misread the chart, sorry) dollars in 2012 to more than $3 billion in 2018. Wood projects scan-to-cloud apps to be the largest of the eight sub-segments he studies, with segments like field service, transportation, and home healthcare also represented. Wood says that small business, in particular, will benefit from mobile scan-to-cloud technology.
In a report summary, Wood discusses some characteristics he thinks will emerge as part of successful mobile capture apps. We were particularly intrigued by this comment, "Forms conceptualized in this way could, for example, permit different classes of users to interface to the app differently. In Healthcare this might mean old doctors can dictate their notes while young ones use a keypad, or old nurses use a tablet with keyboard and stylus while young ones prefer a smartphone with voice." It seems to stress the versatility required by emerging mobile capture apps - a trait that is also becoming increasingly important in the traditional batch capture market.
Click here for the press release along with contact info on how to receive more info on the report.
The report predicts the market to grow from
In a report summary, Wood discusses some characteristics he thinks will emerge as part of successful mobile capture apps. We were particularly intrigued by this comment, "Forms conceptualized in this way could, for example, permit different classes of users to interface to the app differently. In Healthcare this might mean old doctors can dictate their notes while young ones use a keypad, or old nurses use a tablet with keyboard and stylus while young ones prefer a smartphone with voice." It seems to stress the versatility required by emerging mobile capture apps - a trait that is also becoming increasingly important in the traditional batch capture market.
Click here for the press release along with contact info on how to receive more info on the report.
Top Image Lands U.S. Invoices Deal
Top Image Systems recently landed an invoice processing deal with CNH America LLC, "a leading manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment and a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Industrial S.p.A." The implementation involves some 1.5 million total invoices, including over a half-million paper documents and more than 1 million EDI transactions. The implementation is being integrated with an SAP system.
According to the press release, TIS' "eFLOW EDI Visualization functionality enables CNH to identify errors in EDIs before they are processed."
This is a significant deal for TIS for a couple reasons:
1. It's a fairly large U.S. deal, and the U.S. has not recently been a very strong market for TIS. That said, Fiat is based in Italy and I believe the home office may even being using TIS technology. I actually remember having a conversation with someone from CNH at the 2010 TAWPI/IAPP Fusion event, and they were considering TIS at the time.
2. The SAP and EDI integration is interesting and builds on what we wrote in our last premium issue about capture software technology being used more and more often to handle electronic documents.
According to the press release, TIS' "eFLOW EDI Visualization functionality enables CNH to identify errors in EDIs before they are processed."
This is a significant deal for TIS for a couple reasons:
1. It's a fairly large U.S. deal, and the U.S. has not recently been a very strong market for TIS. That said, Fiat is based in Italy and I believe the home office may even being using TIS technology. I actually remember having a conversation with someone from CNH at the 2010 TAWPI/IAPP Fusion event, and they were considering TIS at the time.
2. The SAP and EDI integration is interesting and builds on what we wrote in our last premium issue about capture software technology being used more and more often to handle electronic documents.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Kofax Acquires BPM ISV
Kofax has finally pulled the trigger on its much anticipated acquisition of a BPM software provider. However, instead of being the SharePoint-focused ISV many of us thought it would be, it as Northern Ireland-based Singularity. Singularity, which does its business primarily in the U.K. reportedly did $16 million in revenue for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, with an adjusted EBITA of $1 million.
The reported acquisition price was a maximum of $48.1 million, with $30.3 million being paid up front. In a conference call with analysts, Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish, said his company should end up paying approximately 2.9 times annual revenue for Singularity, which he said compares with the multiples that Open Text paid Metastorm and Global 360 and Lexmark paid for Pallas Athena.
Bish discussed four main drivers behind the acquisition:
1. the opportunity to extend the offerings of Kofax's global sales force--expanding the geographical markets for Singularity.
2. the natural integration of capture and BPM for automating processes,
3. the lower total cost of ownership for customers working with a single platform for both technologies,
4. and the tight integration that can be achieved going forward.
Basically, as more ECM vendors are getting deeper into capture with their own products, either through acquisitions, development or both, capture ISVs like Kofax are being pushed to expand into ECM - and with BPM, in my opinion, the highest value area in an ECM suite (along with capture of course), it makes perfect sense for Kofax to acquire a BPM player.
There will certainly be some challenges related to integration, not necessarily of technology, but of sales and marketing - but overcoming these challenges should help Kofax continue to grow and be profitable in the future. Much more on this in our upcoming premium issues.
The reported acquisition price was a maximum of $48.1 million, with $30.3 million being paid up front. In a conference call with analysts, Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish, said his company should end up paying approximately 2.9 times annual revenue for Singularity, which he said compares with the multiples that Open Text paid Metastorm and Global 360 and Lexmark paid for Pallas Athena.
Bish discussed four main drivers behind the acquisition:
1. the opportunity to extend the offerings of Kofax's global sales force--expanding the geographical markets for Singularity.
2. the natural integration of capture and BPM for automating processes,
3. the lower total cost of ownership for customers working with a single platform for both technologies,
4. and the tight integration that can be achieved going forward.
Basically, as more ECM vendors are getting deeper into capture with their own products, either through acquisitions, development or both, capture ISVs like Kofax are being pushed to expand into ECM - and with BPM, in my opinion, the highest value area in an ECM suite (along with capture of course), it makes perfect sense for Kofax to acquire a BPM player.
There will certainly be some challenges related to integration, not necessarily of technology, but of sales and marketing - but overcoming these challenges should help Kofax continue to grow and be profitable in the future. Much more on this in our upcoming premium issues.
Monday, December 05, 2011
IBML Hires Software Veteran as New CMO
Dan Lucarini, who was most recently senior director of business development of Kofax, has been named to the new position of chief marketing officer for IBML. When I first met Lucarini he was a VP at IMR- which developed the popular Alchemy mid-market imaging software package. Lucarini then left to help start-up an e-discovery company that was eventually acquired by IMR, which was eventually acquired by Captaris. Lurarini left after Captaris was acquired by Open Text before landing with Kofax. He also been a very active member of AIIM over the years and served on the Board of Directors.
He seems like a solid fit at IBML, as the high-end scanner manufacturer continues to evolve its business model to keep up with changes in the market. Said IBML President and CEO Derrick Murphy in a press release, ""Dan’s track record of developing and executing successful product plans and building strong industry alliances will provide key leadership as we expand our product offerings."
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He seems like a solid fit at IBML, as the high-end scanner manufacturer continues to evolve its business model to keep up with changes in the market. Said IBML President and CEO Derrick Murphy in a press release, ""Dan’s track record of developing and executing successful product plans and building strong industry alliances will provide key leadership as we expand our product offerings."
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Thursday, December 01, 2011
Kofax Invests in Mobile App Specialist
This morning Kofax announced it had made a $500,000 investment in MobiFlex, which develops the ViziApps set of tools for mobile application development. Kofax has also signed an OEM, whereby, "MobiFlex has granted Kofax the ability to ensure its exclusive global right to this technology for document centric mobile capture applications."
According to the press release, "The OEM agreement provides Kofax with the basic software tools and infrastructure needed to develop, market and deploy mobile capture applications for customers wishing to utilize smartphones and tablet computers as 'point of origination' gateways into their Kofax solutions." Said Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish, " Our customers have expressed a great deal of interest in these capabilities for some time now and we’re excited about being able to meet this demand with the release our first mobile capture software products during the first calendar quarter of 2012.”
ViziApps has apparently been used for both Android and iOS apps.
Coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally), MobiFlex was founded by Michael Kuperstein, who also apparently founded Symbus, and early automated data capture pioneer utilizing OCR in the document imaging industry. Symbus was acquired by Bish's TextWare back in the the mid-1990s - before I even got into this industry. They came together to become FormWare, which eventually became Captiva.
According to the press release, "The OEM agreement provides Kofax with the basic software tools and infrastructure needed to develop, market and deploy mobile capture applications for customers wishing to utilize smartphones and tablet computers as 'point of origination' gateways into their Kofax solutions." Said Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish, " Our customers have expressed a great deal of interest in these capabilities for some time now and we’re excited about being able to meet this demand with the release our first mobile capture software products during the first calendar quarter of 2012.”
ViziApps has apparently been used for both Android and iOS apps.
Coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally), MobiFlex was founded by Michael Kuperstein, who also apparently founded Symbus, and early automated data capture pioneer utilizing OCR in the document imaging industry. Symbus was acquired by Bish's TextWare back in the the mid-1990s - before I even got into this industry. They came together to become FormWare, which eventually became Captiva.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Brainware Lands Big A/P Deal
Intelligent data recognition (IDR) software specialist Brainware has landed another large deal in the accounts payable space. According to a press release that came out today, the Ashburn, VA-based ISV has implemented a system for a Fortune 50 company that is also one of Fortune's "15 Most Admired Companies." You can imagine some of the names on that list. Oh yeah, and the customer has apparently integrated Brainware's software "as part of the largest single instance of SAP in the world."
Pretty heady stuff. According to the press release, "This project was fully operational in less than 100 days of contracting with Brainware for invoice processing automation, and resulted in an immediate redeployment of 80% of the full-time manual data entry personnel previously being used to process this company’s 6 million invoices per year."
Brainware also recently issued a press release in which it stated, "Brainware is pleased that in the last year it has closed 15 transactions that exceed $750,000, of which 10 exceed $1 million."
Pretty heady stuff. According to the press release, "This project was fully operational in less than 100 days of contracting with Brainware for invoice processing automation, and resulted in an immediate redeployment of 80% of the full-time manual data entry personnel previously being used to process this company’s 6 million invoices per year."
Brainware also recently issued a press release in which it stated, "Brainware is pleased that in the last year it has closed 15 transactions that exceed $750,000, of which 10 exceed $1 million."
Monday, November 21, 2011
Ephesoft Announces Large Deal
A couple months ago when we profiled the Ephesoft in our premium newsletter, CEO Don Field had told us that the open source intelligent data capture (IDC) start-up had recently bid-on and won a large deal in which it competed against several leading established capture companies. Not sure if this is the result of that, but, it nonetheless sounds like an impressive deal, involving 450 million pages of mortgage files for a BPO.
Apparently, this BPO is putting a big ephasis on Linux and open source which gave Ephesoft the advantage. From the press release, "The current Ephesoft system uses Linux-based web servers and Windows-based Application Servers," said Ike Kavas, founder and CTO of Ephesoft. "However, they are planning to have a 100% Linux platform to support their business. Since Ephesoft is the only platform today that can deploy an IDC system running on Linux and work with other open source systems such as Ubuntu and RedHat, partnering with Ephesoft was the logical choice. "
Also from the press release, "The solution will process over 450 million pages of mortgage files by automatically classifying and separating a wide variety of document types and then extracting key metadata for further processing. Searchable PDFs will be created in a tabbed format and deposited into their IBM Content Manager ECM."
Apparently, this BPO is putting a big ephasis on Linux and open source which gave Ephesoft the advantage. From the press release, "The current Ephesoft system uses Linux-based web servers and Windows-based Application Servers," said Ike Kavas, founder and CTO of Ephesoft. "However, they are planning to have a 100% Linux platform to support their business. Since Ephesoft is the only platform today that can deploy an IDC system running on Linux and work with other open source systems such as Ubuntu and RedHat, partnering with Ephesoft was the logical choice. "
Also from the press release, "The solution will process over 450 million pages of mortgage files by automatically classifying and separating a wide variety of document types and then extracting key metadata for further processing. Searchable PDFs will be created in a tabbed format and deposited into their IBM Content Manager ECM."
Friday, November 11, 2011
Canon Singapore Integrates Nuance's Scan-to-Cloud
Nuance has announced that Canon Singapore will be making Nuance's eCopy Scan-To-Cloud technology available as a standard feature on its ImageRunner Advance MFPs. The technology takes advantage of Nuance's OmniPage cloud service to apply OCR to document captured with the MFPs. The documents can currently be captured to three destinations: Evernonte, GoogleDocs, and/or SalesForce.com. The application interface is embedded in the touchscreen of the MFP.
According to a Nuance spokesperson, "Canon Singapore is the first MFP distribution entity to offer access to the eCopy Scan-to-Cloud service, and the only one at the moment. Nuance is making this service available to other distribution partners, and they expect that additional partners will begin to offer eCopy Scan-to-Cloud over the coming year."
According to a Nuance spokesperson, "Canon Singapore is the first MFP distribution entity to offer access to the eCopy Scan-to-Cloud service, and the only one at the moment. Nuance is making this service available to other distribution partners, and they expect that additional partners will begin to offer eCopy Scan-to-Cloud over the coming year."
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Crowley Acquires Wicks and Wilson
Imaging specialist Crowley Company has helped consolidate the microfilm scanning market with the acquisition of Wicks and Wilson. Crowley, which is based in Frederick, MD, got into the microfilm scanner manufacturing business with its 2003 acquisition of industry pioneer Meckel. As a result ,Crowley and U.K.-based Wicks and Wilson have been competitors for several years in the market for devices for digitizing microfilm, nmicrofiche, and aperture cards.
"This purchase will allow us to broaden our microform offering, strengthen our international presence and ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of microform capture technology," state Chris Crowley, president of Crowley Company, in a press release.
Crowley plans to maintain and the Wicks and Wilson brand. In addition to selling hardware, Crowley operates a service bureau that specializes in document archiving projects. "Having offices on two continents will allow us to take the next step in our expansion of services and technical support by allowing us to create production efficiencies and to solidify an international network of partners," added Chris Crowley.
"This purchase will allow us to broaden our microform offering, strengthen our international presence and ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of microform capture technology," state Chris Crowley, president of Crowley Company, in a press release.
Crowley plans to maintain and the Wicks and Wilson brand. In addition to selling hardware, Crowley operates a service bureau that specializes in document archiving projects. "Having offices on two continents will allow us to take the next step in our expansion of services and technical support by allowing us to create production efficiencies and to solidify an international network of partners," added Chris Crowley.
Top Image Turns in Solid Numbers
Well, in the wake of Kofax's recent quarterly earnings report, we've been eagerly awaiting Top Image Systems (TIS) third-quarter results, which were released today. That's because TIS sells primarily in Eurpoe, which is where Kofax cited weakness that caused its quarterly numbers to fall short. Granted, TIS is probably one-ninth the size of Kofax, but still, its strong third-quarter number indicate TIS is not seeing any weakness in EMEA.
For the quarter, TIS reported a 32% increase in revenue compared to the previous year's Q3 and a 64% increase in operating income. This is pretty much in-line with the increases TIS reported in the first two quarters of the year. TIS CEO Ido Schechter gave no indication that the EMEA market was weakening and increased 2011 revenue guidance from $26 million - $27 million to $27.5 - $28.5 million. “This quarter we saw continued progress in our new growth geographies such as the UK and Asia Pacific, in addition to our traditional stronghold in Europe," said Schechter in a press release announcing the results.
So, there is certainly debate as to whether there is any significant weakness in Europe, especially to the level where it would force Kofax to lay off 60 people. There are certainly a number of people who view the weakness as a Kofax problem moreso than a market problem.
Michael Ziegler, a former managing director of Kofax EMEA who is currently working as a consultant and has co-founded the Docville group, acknowledged that whereas there may be some weakness in southern Europe due to macroeconomic conditions, the rest of the European market, including Turkey, seems very strong to him for document capture technologies. Ziegler blames Kofax's mismanagement of its formidable European channel for the company's current weakness in EMEA and said that ISVs like TIS and others have had success recently in recruiting Kofax resellers.
We'll have more on this discussion in our upcoming premium issue.
For the quarter, TIS reported a 32% increase in revenue compared to the previous year's Q3 and a 64% increase in operating income. This is pretty much in-line with the increases TIS reported in the first two quarters of the year. TIS CEO Ido Schechter gave no indication that the EMEA market was weakening and increased 2011 revenue guidance from $26 million - $27 million to $27.5 - $28.5 million. “This quarter we saw continued progress in our new growth geographies such as the UK and Asia Pacific, in addition to our traditional stronghold in Europe," said Schechter in a press release announcing the results.
So, there is certainly debate as to whether there is any significant weakness in Europe, especially to the level where it would force Kofax to lay off 60 people. There are certainly a number of people who view the weakness as a Kofax problem moreso than a market problem.
Michael Ziegler, a former managing director of Kofax EMEA who is currently working as a consultant and has co-founded the Docville group, acknowledged that whereas there may be some weakness in southern Europe due to macroeconomic conditions, the rest of the European market, including Turkey, seems very strong to him for document capture technologies. Ziegler blames Kofax's mismanagement of its formidable European channel for the company's current weakness in EMEA and said that ISVs like TIS and others have had success recently in recruiting Kofax resellers.
We'll have more on this discussion in our upcoming premium issue.
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