With scan becoming increasingly essential in businesses across the board, it means there are increasing opportunities for managed print resellers. In that, a new solution for Epson resellers that combines hardware and software can open up further chances to sell.
As more businesses digitalise elements of their operations, it means that demand for scanning solutions is increasing as paper documents are converted to electronic versions to be stored in the cloud or sent electronically.
This means that there are increasing opportunities in this part of the sector for managed print resellers to move into to boost their bottom line. To this end, Docusoft, a cloud-based document management solutions provider, has partnered with Epson to create an open platform software designed exclusively for Epson managed print resellers. The solution combines tailored functionality with seamless integration to drive digital transformation and unlock new revenue opportunities.
Key highlights of the solution are:
• Charge per scan model: A unique revenue stream for resellers, offering detailed tracking of scanning activity, including scan volumes, user metrics and document types
• Streamlined workflows: Tools to automate and simplify processes, enabling secure document management, data extraction, collaboration and process improvement
• Customisable filing structure: A flexible and intuitive system tailored to customer needs, making document storage and retrieval meaningful and efficient.
How it works
Kevin Dobson, product manager for scan at Epson, explains Epson and Docusoft’s relationship. “Epson don’t sell Docusoft, but we work together collaboratively because Docusoft offer a document management solution that has been developed with a view to allowing our resellers to supply a cost per scan method of doing business,” he says. “With the release of our new scanners, which are open platform, it means that Docusoft can embed their solution on our scanners as well.”
Kevan Hamman, manager of business development at Docusoft, adds: “We’ve come up with a solution that we’ve dedicated to the reseller channel because Epson don’t sell directly, they work with the channel. We like that model and we’re familiar with that ourselves. We just saw it a bit different. We are a software development company rather than just a document management company. We started looking at a way that we could help resellers monetise the scanning process. For years now, they’ve monetised the pay for the click charges that they’ve obtained through their multifunctional devices,
“Through our conversations with Kevin we found resellers are servicing kits, but they’re not making any money out of it because they weren’t able to charge for the scan process. So we developed a solution on top of our document management solution that allows us to provide resellers with a way of collating the information about scans on Epson scanners that are taking place on customers’ sites.
“We collect that information and store it on a database that they have access to. This allows us to provide their clients with an extension to the scanning process. Currently, scan is all about converting a bit of paper into an electronic file, and storing it on a bit of hardware. We facilitate that process, but then we provide a document management solution in the background, where they can use features built into the system to extract data from those scans, to provide workflows and secure storage. We take a piece of paper, digitise it, and then store it and hold it for its life cycle.”
Kevan says that it isn’t just about digitising paper documents, it is about protecting all of a business’ digital information in a central repository. “That’s where solutions like ours are coming in as they can extract data files from different areas of a business and put them into a central location where they’re immediately accessible. People know where to go to find this information. For decades now, we’ve been searching across file systems, file servers, email servers for information, and it becomes quite daunting. If you’ve got one place where you can go to find this information, it gives you comfort in knowing that that is where you’re going to find it.
“For instance, if I want to review my inbox, I can select multiple emails and get them stored in the system and assign them to the various client areas I’m working on. Once they’re in there, I know they’re in there for good. I don’t have to worry about them nor their attachments. It’s really important to have this central repository where you can store and find this information and disseminate the information. A lot of this information can become the asset. Within the insolvency sector, they have multiple documents that might be stored forever, and they are updated digitally within the system and are immediately accessible to other people. So this central storage solution is structured and easy to use, and it’s becoming more important for many industries.”
Reseller focus
Kevan adds that Docusoft is focused on resellers. “Everything is stored in the cloud. Clients have their own filing structures that they can create. We build for these clients so they have a meaningful file structure that is familiar to them. On those filing structures, we take and mirror those in our document management solution so people are familiar with where they will be finding documents.
“Within Epson scanners, we can embed a button and process that allows someone to scan a piece of paper, and then store that in our solution. Every time that someone’s using our software, we’re able to count the number of scans and provide that to the reseller as additional information about how that scanner has been used. Resellers can then use our overall solution to sell based on the number of files that are scanned into the system.”
End-to-end solution
Meanwhile Epson make a piece of software called Document Capture Pro. “But that is a document capturing solution,” notes Kevin. “It’s not a document management solution. When we talk to our resellers, we are aware that we can only offer so much in terms of an end-to-end workflow. From my point of view, working with Docusoft gives us the ability to be able to talk from A to Z throughout an entire solution rather than just the document capturing part.
“Historically, quite a few managed print resellers have tried to charge per scan. I don’t believe it was particularly effective, principally because the final customer was simply pressing the scan and email to me option, which obviously is no document management at all as then the person who’s emailed it to themselves then still has to do something with it. It’s not a sensible way of working.
“Docusoft are offering a revenue stream that managed print resellers are used to, delivering a product via cost per page rather than a total cost, but apply that to scan. And instead of just a scan and email to me, the click charge is actually scanning and entering that document into a Docusoft managed solution. So it’s an intelligent, modern way to look at a charge per scan.”
Wide aim
This solution aimed at businesses across the board in terms of size, Kevan adds. “Our client base ranges from sole proprietors to organisations with thousands,” he says. “The economies of scale for whether you’re a sole proprietor or a multinational, are self-explanatory. Every customer has access to the same solution irrespective of the size of the business.”
Likewise, it can be applicable to businesses in a wide range of sectors. “Document management, per se, really originated from those industries that have a high level of regulation, such as accountancy, legal and medical profession, and that is a core area,” says Kevan. “But with the advancement of document management and data extraction, these processes have been picked up in all sorts of different areas.”
Kevan adds that the data extraction element is also important. “Data extraction, including things like scanning a passport or ID documents, they can be brought into the solution and stored in the database, taking that information and matching it, and confirming that information with third-party verification services and then storing that information again in the database is really important. They are powerful solutions for our client base. I see document management as being a solution that can be adopted by nearly any industry.”
Kevin adds that, from speaking to resellers in the print sector, it is clear that a lot of them are looking for additional strings to their bow to increase their revenue streams. “Being able to add a software solution as well as the hardware such as this is definitely one way to do it,” he says.
