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MFPS
All MFPs are the same, aren’t
they? Not at all, says Samsung UK
head of print Mark Ash. And nor are
the companies that supply them.
For evidence, he points to
Samsung’s new MX7 series of A3
MFPs, which he says represent a
radically different approach to ‘the
connected workplace’ – an approach
that is consistent with Samsung’s
appetite for speed epitomised by the
Korean expression ‘ppalli, ppalli’,
meaning ‘quick, quick’.
Samsung’s focus on speed may
explain why Ash is apologetic about
A3 MFP sales growth of 46% in the
first half of this year. Competitors
would kill for figures like this, but
Ash wants faster growth if Samsung
is to become a Tier 1 A3 MFP
manufacturer by the end of 2017.
Or maybe he’s just been spoilt
by some of his division’s other
results, including a 936% increase in
managed print services signings in
the first half of the year.
Smart interface
So what is it about the Samsung
MX7 series that is so different?
The most eye-catching element
is the smart UX interface running on
a 10.1in Android tablet. This is an
intuitive, modern means of interacting
with a device that also allows
Samsung to customise machines
and leverage its expertise in mobile
technologies to put MFPs at the heart
of ‘the connected workplace’.
“People entering the workplace
today expect an app for everything,”
explained Ash. “With our platform,
you can turn basic print, copy, scan,
fax into a platform and personalise
that experience at a user level. Most
of the key customer wins we’ve had
in the last 3 to 4 months have had
bespoke customer user interfaces
displaying the customer name and
their choice of apps – and these
don’t have to be print apps. I saw
someone yesterday who wanted
YouTube on the display.”
Paul Birkett, sales and marketing
director at Samsung Electronics
Europe, adds that this versatility and
Samsung’s ability to quickly develop
solutions for its customers are proving
instrumental in a number of key wins.
“One client in the Nordics was
looking to buy screens and large
format displays for signage. But they
could only afford to have a few dotted
around the building, which didn’t give
them the coverage they wanted. As
it happens, they had just acquired
Samsung smart MFPs with 10-inch
tablets on them, and had already
built an Android app to link to their
signage platform. In less than two
days, we modified that app to run on
the smart UX. Now, when the MFPs
are not being used, they become tiny
10in information displays that can
play videos and display information.
As soon as someone walks up to a
device, it becomes a copier again
and then, when they walk away, it
reverts to being a display. That won
the deal for Samsung,” he said.
Workflow automation
Birkett adds that the benefits are
even greater when Samsung applies
its skills to workflow automation and
content management services using
standard open APIs and the Android
platform.
“Everyone else is going down
what is really a legacy IT perspective
and that is services orientation –
you put in a piece of middleware to
integrate systems and provide a path
for data to flow through. It could be
Perceptive; it could be Autonomy; it
could be Hyland. These all cost up
to half a million dollars to link two
systems together. But that world has
gone,” he said.
“Today, everything is API-driven
and you develop services in weeks
with two programmers fresh out of
college. We can do that with our
platform because we link to all of
the standard open APIs through
the Android platform. Because we
have adopted a mobile platform, it
takes a matter of days to integrate
services. You simply access the
API that the client has already built
or use public APIs. This different
approach to workflow is probably the
most exciting thing for our partners,
because suddenly they don’t have to
spend a quarter of a million dollars
on Autonomy,” he said.
As an example, he cites a recent
project with Top Image Systems (TIS).
“In one week, using one developer,
we had full invoice processing in
the cloud running on our platform.
That’s the fundamental architectural
difference that Samsung has built,”
he said.
Business transformation
Birkett adds that with its close links
to mobile and cloud technologies,
Samsung’s smart MFP platform is
an important enabler for businesses
looking to compete and prosper in
today’s business world.
“Print is not defining business
transformation; mobility and the
cloud are,” he said. “They are driving
end user experience and they are
driving how businesses operate. That
is the reality of the world. However,
print can be an inhibitor to that
transformation, if it is not integrated
correctly because of cultural
differences or legacy infrastructure.
Smart businesses are looking at
how they can eliminate barriers
by making print part of the mobile
and cloud world. That’s Samsung’s
unique vision for this market.”
In the next issue, we describe
how Samsung has used its ability
to respond quickly to customer
requests to transform its servicing
capability.
Vision to succeed
James Goulding learns
about Samsung’s vision
for print at the company’s
Futurescape strategy and
product showcase.
The benefits
are even
greater when
Samsung
applies its
skills to
workflow
automation
and content
management
services
