Fujitsu, Kofax Pact Targets Broadening Channel For Scanners

The bundled SKUs including Kofax VirtualReScan will be available through distributors Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Optical Laser, New Wave Technologies and Cranel Imaging beginning in October, the company said. Field upgrade kits for four models are available immediately.

Some of the bundles will also include field service and support options that some solution providers might not necessarily want to provide themselves, said Don McMahan, vice president of sales for the Imaging Products Group at Fujitsu Computer Products of America, San Jose, Calif.

With the announcement, Fujitsu said it is hoping to capitalize on what it sees as a broadening channel for its workgroup and departmental scanners, where it has been a clear leader in a market that has been growing in excess of 20 percent by its account.

"It allows Fujitsu to provide the ultimate in image quality across its product line, and Kofax with the partnership is getting the breadth of reach to the vast majority of scanner users," said Susan Moyse, an analyst at InfoTrends Research Group, Norwell, Mass.

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The Kofax software automatically corrects problems with alignment, brightness, contrast, paper size and other factors to improve image quality and reduce the need for expert operators, particularly useful in distributed scanning applications, solution providers said.

The announcement may be less significant for high-end imaging VARs who have integrated VirtualReScan with their solutions for some time.

"From our perspective, I don't know that it matters a whole lot. We're an integrator anyway," said Randy Blevins, CEO of EDAC Systems, a federal government integrator in Fredericksburg, Va.

But Blevins said Fujitsu is likely to sell more scanners with the bundles. "It certainly enhances the capability of the scanners, and it makes it easier for resellers to procure a bundled product. It may be cheaper for the end user, although I'm not sure of that, and it could also mean better support," he said.

The VirtualReScan Professional edition carries a list price of $535. McMahan declined to disclose specific pricing but said resellers in the company's two-tiered channel program will be offered rebates and other incentives to sell the scanners.

"It's all about access and all about choice," he said. "We are the only scanner vendor that has broadline distribution. With this announcement, what we will do is extend the reach of the Kofax product throughout the channel."