Ricoh Tailors Document Capture And Routing For SMBs

Ricoh Americas on Tuesday expanded its suite of document capture and routing solutions, debuting the GlobalScan NX Office Edition and Globalscan NX Serverless. Ricoh representatives said the offerings are specifically geared for small- and midsize businesses.

They said SMBs are largely uncharted territory for the West Caldwell, N.J.-based vendor's document capture and routing solutions.

"It was a market segment that Ricoh has not really touched at this point. We've been geared toward enterprise [with document capture and routing] these last few years," said Ron Albeck, Ricoh's Manager of Capture and Distribution Marketing, in an interview with ChannelWeb. "We now have a new product and capabilities we can deliver at the SMB level at very affordable prices."

The GlobalScan NX Office Edition is an addition to Ricoh's GlobalScan Workflow Suite 3.1, which the vendor rolled out in April 2008. Users take documents such as invoices or purchase orders and can scan them, distribute them via e-mail or fax number, or route or archive them via multifunction printers, the goal being less time spent routing and less money spent on distribution.

The GlobalScan NX Serverless contains similar features but runs instead on networked MFPs and isn't tied to a server. Both editions -- server and serverless -- use customizable, icon-based interfaces, and can support a range of network authentication protocols, including LDAP, NT and, in the case of Office Edition only, Kerberos.

Both offerings also feature Ricoh's GlobalScan NX Templates, in which users can customize applications and tailor them to specific aspects of their businesses, such as human resources or accounts payable.

"The GlobalScan NX solutions make document capture and distribution easy-to-use while still offering the functionality and sophistication that small and midsize offices and workgroups need in order to operate efficiently," said Hede Nonaka, Ricoh Americas executive vice president, in a statement. "In doing so, the software aligns with Ricoh's goal to give customers real enhanced value by addressing their unique business needs to improve operations, provide measurable results and ultimately save money."

Albeck said Ricoh hopes the GlobalScan systems will open the floodgates for Ricoh-branded SMB solutions in the market segment. The next release, he said, will be an optional authentication package allowing the use of HID card readers on Ricoh products, among other features.

The GlobalScan NXs will be available through Ricoh's Ricoh Rewards channel program and all other brands and channels, including IKON.