a buyers laboratory document imaging software assessment · buyers laboratory inc. solutions report...

BUYERS LABORATORY INC.Solutions Report

A Buyers Laboratory Document Imaging Software Assessment

May 2005

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Overview

eCopy ScanStation OP v3.0

eCopy ScanStation OP v3.0 is a scan solution for multifunctional products and scanners. While eCopy also offers an embedded version of its software that runs inside MEAP-enabled Canon imageRUN-NER products that enable users to scan from the copier’s control panel, ScanStation OP v3.0 is an external client/server implementation of the solution. The new ScanStation consists of a PC provided by eCopy, an ergonomically designed integrated keyboard and touch screen that rests on a height-adjustable stand that can be positioned next to the MFP to save space.

Users scan documents with the eCopy touch-screen user interface and use the keyboard for enter-ing e-mail addresses or indexing information. Processing of the image and requests from the client (touch screen) are handled by the PC running ScanStation OP v3.0.

The system includes the Administration Console, a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) plug-in that enables a system administrator to configure and manage the system. In addition, ScanStation OP v3.0 comes with a 10-user license for eCopy Desktop, software for client workstations that en-ables users to receive and manipulate scanned documents with OCR and annotation tools to manage and route documents.

BLI lab-tested eCopy’s previous external solution several years ago in conjunction with the Canon imageRUNNER 5000 and was extremely impressed with both its outstanding ease of use and func-tionality, and its close integration with Microsoft Exchange. In a recent visit to eCopy, BLI had the opportunity to review the new ScanStation OP v3.0 and was equally impressed.

Whereas previously the eCopy solution was available only on Canon multifunctional products, ScanStation OP v3.0 can be used with a variety of MFPs. This lets companies with multiple MFP

* Not rated, see report

Overall ..................................★★★★★Ease of use .................................. ★★★★★Compatibility ................................ ★★★★✩Documentation ............................ ★★★★★Dealer Support and Training .......... ★★★★✩Customer Support and Training ..... NR*Upgrade Path ............................... ★★★★★Ease of Integration ....................... ★★★★★Security ....................................... ★★★★★Global Business Readiness ............ ★★★★✩


BUYERS LABORATORY INC. Solutions Report


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Product Profile

Software Vendor: eCopy Inc., Nashua, NH

Test Configuration: BLI reviewed eCopy ScanStation OP v3.0 on a Ricoh Aficio 1022 multifunctional device and with an optional Connector for Interwoven WorkSite.

Supported Devices: Canon, Ricoh, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Océ and Sharp MFPs, as well as Fujitsu and Canon scanners.

Suggested retail price: About $4,000.

Solution: ScanStation OP v3.0 consists of one MFP license for ShareScan OP v3.0, a 10-user license for eCopy Desktop (additional five-user licenses are about $800), PC client, integrated keyboard and touch screen, ergonomic stand and installation.

Written in: Visual Studio.net, C++

Shipping: June 2005.

brands use the same eCopy scan solution for each MFP, providing a consistent look and feel for scanning throughout the organization. Should an end user decide that ScanStation is the best solution for their organization, they now have a range of MFPs to choose from, as the solution is no longer restricted to just Canon MFPs.

Since our first experience with the solution, eCopy has been aggressively adding Connectors to ScanStation. Connectors are middleware applications that provide “native,” or “API-level” integra-tion with document management and other enterprise applications. This lets users scan docu-ments and interact with their network applications from the eCopy user interface at the MFP in the same way they do at their desktop. Users enter the same login and password at the copier as they would at their desktop, so security and compliance issues are addressed. When used with ScanStation, an MFP essentially functions as a client of the application. Because this type of integration helps customers leverage their existing investments in document management and other applications, BLI believes this is a major benefit.

Overview (cont)


Solutions Report BUYERS LABORATORY INC.


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What We ThoughtClearly a scan system that stands out from the competition, ScanStation OP v3.0, as reviewed with the Ricoh Aficio 1022 and an optional Con-nector to Interwoven WorkSite software, proved to be an impressive solution.

Featuring a highly intuitive user interface, the eCopy solution is very easy to use. The large well-labeled buttons are displayed on a 9" x 11.25" (live area) touch screen that’s integrated with a three-quarter size keyboard for entering addresses and indexing data.

We prefer this interface to the small touch-screen address entry that’s standard on many MFP control panels.

According to eCopy, setup takes under two hours for a single MFP. As setup is performed by the dealer, the installation guides won’t con-cern most enterprises, but those organizations that need more behind-the-scenes information will be impressed with the unit’s excellent docu-mentation outlining the straightforward installa-tion procedures.

Another impressive attribute of ScanStation OP v3.0 is the high level of integration it provides with the core applications to which it scans (e.g., e-mail via Microsoft Outlook/Exchange, Lotus Notes). Because of this API-level integra-tion, the MFP essentially serves as a client of the applications with which ScanStation integrates. In the case of scanning to e-mail with eCopy, its API-level integration with Microsoft Outlook/Exchange lets users scan a document to e-mail from the ScanStation OP control panel next to the MFP. The e-mail is sent just as if they were at their PC – a copy of the e-mail will also ap-pear in the user’s sent folder.

ScanStation can be configured to require au-thentication via the user’s Outlook/Exchange login and password, which can easily be entered using the attached keyboard. The e-mail is sent from the user’s Outlook/Exchange account so the recipient knows who is sending the attached

document and doesn’t treat it as spam. Similarly, users sending documents to document manage-ment applications can use the same file structure and procedures they use at the desktop.

In addition to the core Connectors included in the standard offering (Scan and Mail to Exchange/Outlook; Scan and Mail to Lotus Notes; Scan and Mail via LDAP/SMTP; Fax via Mail for Exchange/Outlook; Fax via Mail for Lotus Notes; Fax via Mail for LDAP/SMTP; Fax via RightFax; Scan to Desktop; Quick Connect; Scan to Printer; Fax via Print), eCopy’s optional Connectors currently provide integration with more than 20 document management and other enterprise applications.

eCopy runs on a variety of different platforms, includ-ing Canon, Toshiba, Sharp, Océ, Hewlett-Packard and Ricoh. Shown here is the Ricoh Aficio 1022.




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The company says more are in development. We are aware of only one other vendor that claims to integrate with as many applications.

In our review, the optional Connector for Interwoven WorkSite was already installed and configured on the computer running ShareScan OP. However, the instructions provided in the documentation for installing a connector, which can be installed at the same time as the main program, seem remarkably simple.

Once the Connector is installed, an administrator must configure the solution using the Administra-tion Console according to preferences that likely have already been established for the program. After the Connector for WorkSite was configured, an icon for Interwoven appeared along with the other buttons on the display. Screens prompt the user for the required information, which will be easily recognized by WorkSite users.

The eCopy scan solution also stands out in terms of security. In addition to extending whatever authentication procedures are already in place for the applications that eCopy integrates with (i.e., requiring users to log on with their net-work user name and password), scanned files that are e-mailed or stored to a file which can be protected by 128-bit encryption.

Preview is another distinguishing eCopy fea-ture. Available on only one other scan system BLI has tested, this feature enables the user to preview the scanned image, along with the current application settings, before saving the document. This could be important where there may be image quality issues with the originals or when indexing data needs to be checked.

In addition to supporting scanning in common formats such as PDF and TIFF, eCopy also sup-ports searchable PDF and its own CPY format. The latter is basically a scaled down version of PDF that does not support plug-ins, video or graphics. Another feature is eCopy’s pro-prietary Xpert compression technology, which

reduces color document size by up to 99 per-cent, thereby decreasing network traffic.

eCopy’s QuickConnect feature lets users au-tomate workflow processes for scanned docu-ments by creating their own customized but-tons on the control panel. This enables docu-ments (e.g., resumes, purchase orders, etc.) to be routed to particular folders. These simple workflows can also prompt the user to enter certain indexing information.

Another plus is that unlike some of the propri-etary scan solutions offered by MFP vendors, the ShareScan software works with Canon (in-cluding Canon MEAP), Toshiba, Sharp, Ricoh, Océ and Hewlett-Packard MFPs. (Central ad-ministration in a mixed MFP environment can be managed from any PC on the network using the eCopy Administration Console software.)

Buyers who wish to configure multiple MFPs with ScanStation may do so, although it’s im-portant to note that each MFP requires the purchase of ScanStation (and a PC, provided by eCopy). At $4,000 per MFP, ScanStation OP v3.0 would cost $20,000 for five MFPs. Some products, including eCopy’s embedded MEAP application for Canon imageRUNNERs and Ricoh’s GlobalScan, which support multiple MFPs, can cost less. Ricoh’s GlobalScan 5, with support for five MFPs, costs approximately $5,000, plus between $2,000 and $8,000 for a server and operating software.

BLI is impressed with ScanStation OP v3.0, and has no hesitation recommending it to users who require a powerful scanning solution, despite its high installation cost when multiple MFPs are required. Before purchasing software, we urge users to carefully look at their needs and evalu-ate the total cost of the solution over its expect-ed lifespan. Trying to save money upfront by buying an inexpensive solution could be more costly in the long term if your staff are unable or unwilling to use it, or if it cannot be upgraded as your organization grows.

What We Thought (cont)




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Company Overview

Founded in 1992 by current CEO Edward Schmid, eCopy, originally called Simplify Devel-opment Corporation, was a pioneer in linking digital copiers to enterprise applications. One of the company’s first products was a solu-tion that scanned documents to e-mail using a desktop scanner, when e-mail was used mainly for internal communications. eCopy experi-enced rapid growth as the Internet developed and digital copiers were attached to networks.

Claiming to have more than 1 million users worldwide in government and the legal, health-care, telecommunications, insurance, financial services, engineering and manufacturing in-dustries, eCopy says its products are designed to transform the way companies access, modi-fy, distribute and share information.

To ensure that ScanStation is compat-ible with as many enterprise programs as possible, eCopy has produced a number of Connectors so the solution will work natively with other network applications. In February, the compa-ny launched the eCopy Paper Connec-tion to encourage third-party devel-opers to write optional Connectors for additional enterprise applications.

eCopy makes its software development kit (SDK) available to third-party devel-opers so they can develop Connectors more rapidly than would otherwise be possible. With the SDK developers only have to write one Connector for the eCopy Open Platform architecture, instead of writing a Con-

CEO Ed Schmid

Company Profile

Company: eCopy, Inc., Nashua, NH

Status: Private

Founded: 1992

2004 revenues: $30.4 million. The company claims dealer sales of $90 million (retail) in software and non-MFP hardware.

Investors: Ascent Venture Partners, Landmark Partners, Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Employees: 180 worldwide, 165 US. The staff is expected to total 195 worldwide by June 31, 2005.

Offices: Japan, England, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Latin America, New Zealand, Singapore.

Distribution: ScanStation OP is sold only through OEMs, authorized dealers, independent dealers and VARs.

Large clients: General Motors, Clifford Chance, Siemens, Cisco Systems, Saab and Sony.

Support: eCopy offers dealer telephone support between 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST Monday to Friday (hours will be extended to 8:30 p.m. EST on July 1, 2005). The company has more than 60 channel support employees who provide marketing support, sales assistance and product information. End-user support is provided by dealers.




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The Market

MFPs have revolutionized the copier industry over the past few years. Digital copiers have dramatically reduced the costs associated with the distribution of paper documents without dramatically increasing a company’s technology spending. Scanning to e-mail enables documents to be sent over the Internet, reducing or eliminating fax and overnight mail costs.

Motivated both by the need to comply with regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley and to im-prove efficiency and reduce costs, customers’ interest in scanning and document management is on the rise. According to Daniel Corsetti, a research analyst specializing in hardcopy peripheral solutions and services at IDC, 67 percent of MFPs will be scan enabled by the end of 2008, up from 42 percent in 2002. While scan to e-mail is currently the most common use for scan-enabled MFPs, Corsetti noted that 63 percent of companies with scanning operations feel that document scanning in offices and distrib-uted work environments is critical. He added that 72 percent of medium-size and large companies with scanning operations agree that “paper-to-digital conversion processes must be integrated into back-end systems such as databases, ERP systems, and document/content management systems.”

According to Harvey Spencer, president of Harvey Spencer Associates, very few of these solutions are being used for scanning at the moment. “Our research indicates that only 8 to 10 percent of MFPs are actually used for scanning into document management systems today. However, users are using some of the functions such as ‘Scan to e-mail’ and ‘Scan to Fax.’ We expect this to accelerate quite quickly through the use of simpler solutions such as eCopy.”

nector for every MFP. Currently 38 third-party developers are members of this program. Con-nectors are now available for more than 20 document management, accounting and other enterprise applications, with more on the way.

As part of the Paper Connection, the company has instituted an “eCopy Ready” program for manufacturers who partner with them to make their products compatible with ScanStation. Requirements include providing eCopy with a test machine, access to a technical resource

to answer questions and issuing a press re-lease. Once certified, companies may display the “eCopy Ready” logo. Companies certified include: Ricoh, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Sharp. Canon, a long-time eCopy partner and investor, which offers eCopy software appli-cations that run as embedded applications inside MEAP-enabled Canon imageRUNNERs, and also sells eCopy’s external ScanStation product, has met most of the requirements for certification, but has chosen not to display the “eCopy Ready” logo at this point.

Company Overview (cont)




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Product: ScanStation OP v3.0

Operating Environments: Windows XP, Win-dows 2000, Windows 2003 and Canon MEAP

File Formats: PDF, searchable PDF, TIF and CPY

Output Resolution:Color: 300 dpi B & W: User-definable. 100, 150, 200,

300, 400, 600 dpi

System Requirements: Pentium PC – 2.0 GHz or equivalent, with 512 MB RAM (provided by eCopy)

CLIENT SOFTWARE: eCopy Desktop

System Requirements: Pentium PC or equiv-alent with 256 MB RAM recommended for color documents and, depending on the operating system, 64 MB of RAM (Windows 98) or 128 MB of RAM (Windows 2000 and NT 4.0) recom-mended for black-and-white documents.

Security: Scanned documents can be protected by 128-bit encryption. In addition, any security fea-tures enabled for the applications that eCopy inte-grates with are extended to the MFP. Consequently, users can be required to log in with their network user name and password. After login, users can perform the same functions and access the same folders and documents at ScanStation as they can at their desktops. The security provided by the inte-grated applications is the same as if the action was initiated at the user’s desktop. For example, when scanning to e-mail from ScanStation, a user can be asked to log in with their user name and password. The “From” field of the e-mail is automatically populated with that information and, consequently, there is an audit trail for that sent e-mail.

Document Cleanup: eCopy Desktop offers us-ers a variety of document options, including: an-

notate, rotate, noise removal, borders and blank page removal. Redaction, whiteout and blackout are available. Users can choose to make this permanent. Readiris is the OCR engine.

Integration: eCopy Desktop can integrate doc-uments with ODMA-compliant applications such as document management systems. It allows for document building, including the combina-tion of Windows application documents (e.g. Word or Acrobat) and scanned documents. Us-ers can create searchable PDFs and can distrib-ute documents using 128-bit encryption.

Compression: The size of each page de-pends on the device, however, most mono-chrome pages range between 20 KB and 30 KB. Color page size varies considerably, but sizes are generally between 2 MB and 3 MB before compression and 140 KB and 200 KB after Xpert compression.

eCopy says its Xpert compression separates the text from the graphics, and then condenses the graphics while reducing the text size only slightly. When the Xpert technology is used, documents can be saved in any format including CPY. CPY, developed by eCopy, is a scaled down version of PDF that does not support plug-ins, videos, graphic objects, etc. Documents in CPY format can be viewed with any application that supports PDF, or the free CPY viewer.

Installation: All systems are installed by the dealer. Setup generally takes under two hours. Multiple MFP installations can take longer.

Service: Contracts are priced and determined by dealers.

Updates: eCopy typically releases a service pack every four months, which is available to clients as a download from its web site. Cus-tomers under contract receive updates free. Pricing for users not under contract has yet to be determined.

Product Information




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The CompetitioneCopy faces competition from many sources including solutions offered by MFP vendors (both bundled and sold separately), including Ricoh’s GlobalScan, Canon’s Universal Send, HP’s Digital Sending technology, IKON’s DocSend and others. eCopy also competes with software developers, the largest being Notable Solutions, Inc. (NSi) which produces AutoStore. AutoStore integrates with: EMC Documentum D5, EMC Documentum ApplicationXtender, SharePoint Portal Server, Hummingbird iManage, OpenText LiveLink, LAN Fax, IXOS and IBM/Lotus Notes.

Currently the solution offers native integration to more than 20 enterprise applications and by the end of June, eCopy says ScanStation OP v 3.0 will offer native integration to: ADOS, Biscom FAXCOM, Cap-taris RightFax, Castelle FaxPress, ColumbiaSoft Document Locator, Convergent EDM Millennium, Copitrak, eMason IWorkS, EMC Documentum Content Server, EMC Documentum Application Xtender, Equitrac Pro-fessional, Hummingbird Enterprise DM, IBM/Lotus Notes, Interwoven WorkSite NT, Liberty IMS Liber-tyNET, Loffler Worldox, Merrill Corp. Discovery Navigator, Microsoft Exchange, Morningstar Interwoven MP, nQueue nQembedded, Open Text LiveLink, Questsys Document Librarian, Sepialine Argos Platform, Thomson Elite Billback, Westbrook Fortis and ZyLAB ZyIMAGE.

eCopy claims to integrate with more applications than any other vendor, although Ricoh has been ag-gressively integrating more API-level applications into GlobalScan (it should be noted that GlobalScan only works on Ricoh products). Based on the lists provided to BLI by Ricoh and eCopy, both solutions integrate with a similar number of applications. BLI feels this is a moot point as both companies are continually integrating their products with more applications.

Documentation: All documentation is pro-vided in both PDF and hardcopy formats. BLI found the documentation clear and easy to follow. The manuals are well written, feature large color screenshots showing the step-by-

step processes and assume no prior knowledge of the solution. eCopy says manuals are avail-able in French, Italian, German, Spanish and sometimes Japanese. User interface screens can also be configured in these languages.

Product Information (cont)




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Training and Support

Training and support is an area of concern to both dealers and end users. No matter how good a product is, there will always be issues. BLI has some reservations on the support provided.

Dealers

BLI was impressed with the ease of obtaining technical assistance from eCopy. We made many calls to the technical support number at different times of the day and were always con-nected to a technician in under one minute. In fact, the only reason it took that long was be-cause we did not know all the menu options.

eCopy offers dealers telephone support between 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST, but will be extending its hours to 8:30 p.m. EST on July 1, 2005. BLI feels that these hours are adequate and dealers will never need to worry about receiving sup-port during business hours.

Since dealers are the ones who support ScanStation, eCopy insists that all dealers complete a two-day instructor lead training and certification course, while sales staff can attend a half-day training session be-fore selling the product. eCopy also offers regional courses and many dealers under-take further training.

These courses are designed to get dealers’ field staff into the field quickly. While the half-day course may not sufficiently equip sales reps to fully answer all of a customers ques-

tions, it should be adequate for dealers with in-house support (one dealer BLI spoke to brings a service technician on sales calls to answer a prospect’s technical questions).

All of the dealers BLI spoke to handle all Level 1 and Level 2 support problems in-house and only contact eCopy for Level 3 issues. (Level 1 problems refer to general how-to questions, while Level 2 issues deal with advanced fea-tures or problems. Level 3 issues generally require research and investigation).

Customers

End users should see eCopy as a wholesaler that outsources technical support to its dealer network, and as a result, choose their dealer wisely. Dealer support and experience should be considered as carefully as the final price. When purchasing a service contract, users should en-sure they select support at the appropriate level as contracts will vary between dealers, both in terms of price and support offered.

On the positive side, eCopy said that while it doesn’t offer formal end-user support, its tech-nicians will always answer end-user calls and do their best to devise a solution. In addition, eCopy claims, once the system is configured, end users will require only minimal dealer sup-port because all of the information is stored on the network. As a result, users resolve prob-lems the same way they solve their network and PC issues.




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Ease of Use

PREVIEW

The steps below illustrate how easy it is to scan to Interwoven WorkSite with eCopy ScanStation OP v3.0.

1. User walks up to the MFP and places a document in the feeder or on the glass and selects the desired operation from the options displayed on the touch screen. In this case, “WorkSite,” Interwoven’s content management system, was chosen.

2. At this point, a preview of the image to be scanned appears on the screen. This is a fea-ture not offered by most other scan solutions seen in BLI testing to date, and is useful, since it allows the user to review the document and settings before scanning. The user then hits the “Next” button.

AUTHENTICATE3. A new screen then appears. The user enters his or her Interwoven login user name (eCopy uses predictive typing) and password into the system using the ScanStation keyboard and presses the “Next” button.

PREVIEW

CHOOSE APPLICATION




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NAVIGATION

4. At this point, the user is prompted to enter a description of the document and the author. The user then presses the “Store” button. The requested indexing information can vary ac-cording to the customer’s preferences. An ad-ministrator configures the Connector according to the desired parameters. The instructions con-tained in the documentation were very straight-forward.

If the user does not make a choice, he or she will be automatically logged out after a given period of time as determined by the administrator.

5. Next, the user is presented with choices for “Done,” “Next Document” or “New Destination.”

“Done” logs the user off the system; “New Document” scans another document using the same user name and login so the user can store it in Interwoven; “New Destination” enables the same user to send the same document to an-other application, for example e-mail.

INDEX DATA

FINISH




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The Future

Dealers

By opening up ScanStation to multiple OEMs, eCopy has significantly leveled the playing field. Dealers can offer ScanStation on a vari-ety of MFP platforms and offer users the best device for their needs. Canon dealers who pre-viously had a monopoly on ScanStation may find their margins reduced as they have lost their unique selling proposition. However, they do still have the short-term advantage of hav-ing years of experience selling and supporting eCopy’s solutions.

Dealers with multiple lines will be able to move into environments that were previously closed to them now that the solution works on a va-riety of platforms. Further, the ability to sell eCopy opens up opportunities in existing and new customer accounts who may already be using document management or other enter-prise applications within centralized scanning operations. Experts say that “best practices” for scanning include scanning a document when it first comes into the organization by the person who works with the document. Decentralized scanning with MFPs encourages this.

Rather than competing solely on price, deal-ers may seek to differentiate their offering through support services, which can offer new revenue streams. And since dealers will be supporting ScanStation, they must ensure they can profitably support the solution, as margins for this product may fall as distribu-tion becomes more widespread.

Users

Users will benefit from eCopy’s decision to open ShareScan OP to multiple platforms, because regardless of the MFP used in their organiza-tion, they can choose a very easy-to-use scan solution that integrates with their existing docu-ment management and enterprise applications.

Moreover, as dealers will be competing more intensely for business, there is a good chance that total solution prices will fall.

Even if the software price remains constant, users will no longer have to purchase a top-of-the-line MFP to use the ScanStation solution, as they can now choose MFPs from a variety of vendors in all price ranges and choose the best solution.

Buyers should be aware that most MFP manu-facturers have their own solutions and in the future they could encourage their dealers to sell and support their proprietary solutions. This could have an impact on the long-term support of eCopy by dealers.

eCopy

eCopy has the potential to increase its rev-enues substantially now that it has opened up ScanStation to multiple platforms. The company, however, must take care to en-sure that the level of service to dealers does not decline as support employees find their workloads increasing.

The company has more than 60 field staff dedi-cated to the channel who spend a considerable amount of time both educating dealers and helping them win contracts. The dealers we spoke to praised the support that eCopy cur-rently provides. Continuing this level of support will be a challenge.

eCopy may end up competing against itself on different platforms as dealers offer eCopy on a variety of MFPs. eCopy must offer the same level of assistance to all competing dealers.

eCopy must also continue to innovate and expand the number of applications with which




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the solution integrates. OEM scanning solutions are constantly improving and many vendors offer SDKs to integrate their solutions with a wide range of enterprise applications. If eCopy is going to maintain and grow its position in the market, it needs to make sure that all dealers

are highly knowledgeable about the solution, guarantee that all dealers offer at least a minimum level of support and ensure that all dealers are aware of ScanStation’s platform independent advantages over both other OEM solutions and other competing applications.

Eight Questions to Ask Your Dealer

Ask how long the dealer has been in business and how long it has been selling solu-tions, in particular eCopy.

Ask the dealer about its support staff and their qualifications. Ask if they attend regu-lar manufacturer and industry training sessions. Ask when they last attended a train-ing course. Determine what current and future training they will give your staff and how much this will cost.

Ask the dealer how it supports the solution. A large dealer may have a team of profes-sionals who man a telephone support desk. A small dealer may have a small team that offers personal service. Make sure you have confidence in the dealer’s ability to support the product. Call customer support before you buy and see how long you are on hold.

Ask how many ScanStation installations the dealer has sold and find out when the first system was installed. Ask if that first customer is still a client.

Ask if you may speak with existing clients and question them about support. If the dealer won’t let you talk to their clients, exercise caution.

Determine your document problem and see how well the dealer listens. Ask the sales person what they see as the problem and ensure that you’re both on the same page. Get the sales rep to explain their solution simply (no techno geek) and ensure that the solution being proposed solves your problem.

What is the Return On Investment? Ask how long the system will take to pay for it-self. Ask how it will improve your productivity and reduce the number of documents you need to print.

Ask the dealer when it is holding a manufacturer day. Many solution providers (in-cluding eCopy) send staff members to dealers upon request so potential buyers can talk to the solution provider and find out its plans for the future.

The Future (cont)




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How Dealers Sell eCopy

BLI spoke to three dealers: IKON Office Solu-tions, a $4.6 billion company with 16,000 world-wide employees; Command Business Systems, a $7 million company with 30 employees at two locations in Iowa; and Danka Business Systems, a $1.4 billion company with 7,000 employees worldwide, to see how different vendors are selling eCopy’s solution.

“When we sell a solution, we try to determine where the client is feeling the pain,” says Dan Shrader, Command’s vice president of sales. “Then we try to sell them a solution that meets their needs.

“Our customers are not looking for product; they’re looking for a solution to their problem. If we can solve their problem, they’ll come back. As a small company, we offer a level of personal service that the big dealers can’t match.

“We are very into consultative selling and by looking at our client’s problems, we can often show them solutions that they didn’t even know existed. As a result, about 90 percent of our customers come back.”

Shrader said his company has been selling Canon products for more than 25 years, and eCopy since 1996. Today 55 percent of the MFPs they sell are networked and 30 percent have eCopy.

“We present eCopy at every sale,” says Shrader. “If the customer doesn’t know about it, or how it can help them, they’re not going to buy.

“To help educate potential customers, we gen-erally bring an IT person to the sales presen-tation. This lets the client ask technical ques-tions and gives them immediate answers. It increases our credibility and gives the potential end user confidence in our ability to support the solution.”

IKON, the world's largest independent distribu-tion channel for copier and printer technologies, also sees service as the key to success, but says that its large size and independent nature gives it an advantage.

“Our goal has always been to offer clients a broad range of products so they can choose the best technology for their needs,” said Jeff King, IKON’s national director of professional services and solution support. “Selling today is harder than ever because many companies offer the same products. This makes service and support the key to winning a sale.

“This is where we excel. IKON has more than 1,000 professional service specialists dedicat-ed to installing and supporting solutions. This means that we can solve the problem without sending our clients to a variety of different sources.

“Our philosophy is that we install the solution, we know the solution and we are best able to answer questions about the solution. To do this we invest a lot of time and money working with vendors to train our staff on an ongoing basis. We don’t feel that anybody else offers the level of support that we offer.”

“Companies want more than just boxes,” said Mike O’Leary, Danka’s vice president of profes-sional services. “In the past, most end-users took whatever software came with the MFP to perform scanning – if they did scanning at all. Today it’s the solution that often drives the sale of the hardware. This type of transaction is a reversal of how the industry has traditionally sold MFPs.

“We are now asking our sales reps to discuss eCopy with all of our customers. It gives them instant credibility, offers the client tremen-dous productivity improvements and improves




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petitive because we can now offer their solu-tion on a range of platforms. eCopy's value add to the area of digital imaging is much more universal now.”

eCopy Helps Merrill’s Clients Improve Productivity

Merrill Corporation, based in St. Paul, MN, is one of the world’s largest facilities manage-ment companies with more than 140 clients in the legal profession. It has been using eCopy for the past four years to help law firms improve productivity and better manage their elec-tronic and paper information.

Merrill currently has ScanStation running on more than 300 MFPs and eCopy Desktop run-ning on more than 7,000 PCs. To say the least, they are happy with the solution and all of their clients who have installed the system have seen major productivity improvements.

“eCopy is a great partner,” says Bill Dailey, Merrill’s director of technical integration, document manage-ment services. “They always listen to our concerns, take our suggestions seriously and do more than they promise. In fact, I have never met an eCopy person who has not impressed me.”

Dailey said Merrill’s business has changed consider-ably in the past few years as facilities management has moved into new areas. These include providing and managing document management so-lutions, scanning and information transfer, as well as traditional back-room functions.

Document management is a major challenge because every law office works differently and has a separate area of expertise. And to further complicate things, firms with offices in different cities sometimes go about the business of managing their information differently. This can make it difficult to implement cost-effective solutions that can be used across the enterprise. In the past, companies were often forced to develop customized solutions, or change the way they stored and accessed their information.

“We don’t want our clients to even think about the technology,” says Dailey. “That takes time away from their ability to practice law. We want to make them more efficient. This makes eCopy the ideal solution.”

For the past five months Merrill has been beta testing ShareScan OP v3.0 on Ricoh MFPs and the results have exceeded all expectations. “ShareScan OP connects to the core sys-tems used in the legal environment,” says Dailey. “We no longer have to worry if they are using RightFax, Lotus Notes or Exchange because we know it will work. Being able to use the solution on a variety of MFPs is a major plus because it’s rare for a law office to decide to replace all their copiers, in all their offices, at the same time.

“ShareScan OP means they don’t have to, because they can continue to use the digital MFPs they already have. We asked eCopy to open up ScanStation a long time ago, and now that they have, it’s creating a lot more interest.”

“eCopy is a great partner... I have never met an eCopy person who has not impressed me.”

Bill DaileyMerrill Corporation




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Dailey pointed out that ScanStation’s ability to incorporate rules into workflow is an-other advantage of the product. “For example, some courts have limits on the size of a document. If there was a 3 MB limit, in the past the user scanned the documents and then returned to their desk to see if it met the requirements. Now they can set the rules in advance, so every document meets the court’s requirements automatically.”

Because users can handle many simple functions themselves, such as creating new fold-ers and changing workflows, ownership costs are reduced. “ShareScan OP is the perfect convenience scanning solution,” he said. “Users simply go to the device, chose the but-ton they want and copy the documents. They can make a hard copy, scan the document to a specific network folder, fax directly to a recipient or e-mail it instantly.”

ShareScan OP improves efficiency in other ways at law firms. Ten years ago, lawyers and paralegals spent a lot of time sitting in conference rooms surrounded by boxes of documents that had to be copied in case there was something of interest in them. This consumed vast amounts of time and paper. Today the documents can be scanned to a specific network folder, e-mailed or faxed without outputting paper. Security is improved and costs are reduced because users only have to print out the relevant pages. Other advantages include Bates stamping and OCR capabilities.

Telecommunications costs have also been reduced. In the past, law firms lived and died by the fax machine. ShareScan OP lets users scan directly to e-mail or fax (if necessary) reducing both paper and telecommunication costs. “One of our clients reduced the number of pages they faxed each month from more than 100,000 to under 30,000,” said Dailey. “Despite this major cost reduction, it is often difficult

to calculate the ROI or percentage of sav-ings because all our clients use the system differently and many are not using its full capabilities.

“But we have yet to encounter a firm that does not at least break even,” he said. “Some firms are interested, but cautious about im-plementing ShareScan OP, so we give them a trial. No one has yet asked us to remove it. In fact, most firms end up installing it across their enterprise.

“While eCopy is a great company, and ScanStation a great product, we are con-cerned about their extremely rapid growth. You have to be concerned any time a com-pany is growing as fast as eCopy. As this growth escalates, we worry about how they will handle the growing pains in the future. More and more people are discovering how

eCopy ScanStation's interface can be configured for local markets. Shown here is the Japanese language version on a Canon MFP.




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flexible ShareScan OP is, and now that it is available on a variety of platforms, it will really take off. eCopy has opened the hydrant, and the challenge is to make sure that both they, and their clients, have time to drink, without getting soaked.

“Uncontrolled growth is the biggest killer of any business, but I’m sure eCopy will find a way to handle this and continue to develop great products and provide a high level of sup-port,” Dailey said.