Don't Exclude The MFP

By Business Solutions magazine

It wasn't long ago when copier dealers were peddling MFPs with a sales pitch still focused on speed and price. If a dealer wanted to jazz up the sales pitch, they might highlight the new affordability of color output and the inclusion of fax capability. The afterthought of these sales pitches was, almost invariably, the seemingly obligatory, "Oh yeah, and it scans, too."

So, that was then. Fast-forward to today, and you can see that there has been a near 180-degree shift in thinking. Unlike just a few years ago when copier dealers were still selling MFPs based on the output capabilities of copy, print, and fax, savvy dealers today are beginning to understand the value of document imaging. Those that do are capturing greater sales by bringing the scanning functionality of these devices to the forefront. Is this bad news for traditional scanning VARs? Only for those that continue to ignore the popularity of the MFP.

According to several scanning industry analysts, the proliferation of MFP devices in office environments, from SMB to enterprise, has increased the accessibility of scanning. In fact, a report released by InfoTrends earlier this year (U.S. Document Image Scanning Report 2007) illustrates the trend very clearly. Of the companies surveyed, 70% of those who were scanning documents at all reported that MFPs were being used to handle a portion of the scanning processes within their organizations. Of these, 56% expect their company's MFP scanning volumes to increase. But what the InfoTrends report also finds is that the highest percentage of documents scanned on MFPs, 40%, is for ad hoc purposes in a distributed or workgroup environment.

"Customers are recognizing that since they have already invested in the device, they might as well take advantage of its scan capability," says Mike Benson, director of marketing and channel operations at Comsquared Systems. "Because of this, the MFP is being accepted as a viable alternative or addition to traditional workgroup scanners in low to midvolume scan applications." Of course, just having immediate access to an MFP is not what is causing its increasing adoption. Just like traditional scanner vendors, MFP vendors understand that ease of use is the number one reason behind the successful adoption of the technology.

Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine