[Lexmark News Blog] What is the ideal life span for your devices?

We’re sharing some of our most popular blog posts from the past year. “What is the ideal life span for your devices?” was originally published in February of 2013.

Historically, businesses have purchased printers and used them until they expire, which can take 10 years or more in some cases (we know some of you still have Optra S devices from 1997 out there!). Yet, these same businesses are leasing other output devices, such as copiers and fax machines, and replacing them every three years. Why is there such a big difference in life-cycle strategy for such similar technologies?

Is it because copiers are thought to be inherently less reliable and require replacement much more frequently?  Traditional copiers may have been less reliable, but the migration to digital printing engines brings them into a class that is much closer to printers, simply with added scanning mechanics on top. For example, Lexmark’s multifunction printers (MFPs), which can be used as digital copiers, are built upon the same reliable engines as our award-winning printers. So, the reliability of the mechanics in the MFP is similar to the printers, which may be used for many years. With that in mind, the recommended life span should be similar between MFPs and printers.

Several years ago, Lexmark engaged in a study with a large corporation to determine how often it should replace its printers. As a high volume user, we looked at its increasing device failure rates due to heavy use and wearing mechanics, as compared to the expected increased reliability of new devices, enabled by both new parts and more reliable designs.  We also looked at the soft costs of user interactions created by device failures, and the impact of lower consumables costs from new, higher yield cartridges.

What we found was that the financial tipping point, when it made sense to replace the company’s  printers and MFPs, was around 48 months. If it had been running lower volumes, the life-cycle recommendation would have been closer to 60 months. In short, the study showed that it made sense to replace the printers more often than what’s typical in the market, but less often than what is typical in the market for MFPs.

Approximately two thirds of requests for proposals with MFPs are only for a 36-month term. If not for reasons of reliability, why would these more expensive devices need to be replaced this often?  In an economic environment where businesses are squeezing more and more costs out of their operations, it would seem that extending contractual life cycles to 48 or 60 months would make financial sense, as it would spread the cost of the device over a longer period of time.

Extending leases over longer terms could have multiple benefits, including:

• Reducing monthly depreciation expenses
• Expanding the functional life of the devices
• Reducing transition management costs (soliciting, evaluating, purchasing, installing, training and old device disposal) and general business disruption with users
• Lessening environmental impact through extension of the functional life of equipment
• Lessening  “churn” for associated technologies, such as workflow systems, which leverage the imaging capabilities of MFP devices

It’s understood that shorter-term leases might receive different financial treatment than longer-term leases- as an operation lease versus a capital lease. However, it’s still interesting that similar device types based upon the same technologies are acquired in different ways –  purchased printers versus leased copiers. Why not lease printers as well… or purchase the copiers like printers, now that distributed MFPs are available and affordable?  These are questions that should be asked as part of building a comprehensive output management strategy.

So how long does your business expect to keep your output devices? Why? Furthermore, given the convergence of technologies, are your acquisition methods for printers versus MFPs also converging as well (are you looking to more printer leases, or more MFP purchases)? 

Please engage the conversation share your thoughts below.

This article was submitted by Scott Hill, Operations Consultant, Lexmark Global Services and member of the LexmarkNews Blog Editorial Board.

[Lexmark News Blog] Perceptive Software Positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management

Lexmark’s Perceptive Softwareannounced yesterday that it has been positioned byGartner, Inc. in the Leaders Quadrant for enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, 2013. Gartner evaluated 23 vendors in their most recent iteration of the annual Magic Quadrant for ECM.

Perceptive Software continues to show double-digit market growth, both organically and via acquisitions. Perceptive Software’s technology platform spans content management, process management, intelligent capture and enterprise search that, both separately and together, bridge the gap between enterprise applications and the processes and information those systems don’t manage.

“We are very pleased to be recognized by Gartner as a leader in the ECM market and appreciate the confidence our customers have placed in us over the years,” said Henry Worcester, director of analyst relations for Perceptive Software. “The consistent value our customers have achieved with our enterprise content management solutions makes our success possible.”

“Bridging the gap between our customers’ enterprise applications and the processes and information those systems don’t manage provides tremendous value in terms of visibility and control, enabling customers to improve financial performance, reduce risk and ensure future flexibility,” said Scott Coons, President and CEO, Perceptive Software.

To learn more about what makes Perceptive Software an ECM leader, download the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management, Mark Gilbert et al., September 23, 2013.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Maurices accesses employees’ vital stats securely using Perceptive Content

Maurices retail stores offer casual and career apparel and accessories for woman, with more than 4,000 employees and 832 stores in 46 U.S. states and Canada.

In the following case study, learn how Maurices ensures authorized personnel in HR, loss prevention and payroll can access vital information immediately and accurately by using Perceptive Software’sPerceptive Content.

“Users can access information right when they’re talking to a store manager or other requestor,” said Robin Murphy, human resources systems administrator for Maurice’s. “We don’t have to call them back anymore.”

Click here to read the case study and to find out how Perceptive can help your business.

[Lexmark News Blog] Lexmark’s Center for Children launches and is gathering STEAM

Yesterday, Lexmark opened its new Center for Children, a brand new state-of-the-art facility located at our headquarters here in Lexington, Ky. The 25,500 square foot facility, which has a capacity to hold 186 children ages, six weeks to pre-kindergarten, will be run by Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a leading provider of employer-sponsored child care. 

One of the key teaching initiatives of the center is to provide a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) based education into the curriculum. This will not be your average daycare.

To gain insight into why Lexmark chose a STEAM curriculum for the center’s students and their futures, we talked to Jeri Isbell, vice president of human resources for Lexmark.

Lexmark: Why did Lexmark choose to incorporate STEAM initiatives into the Center for Children’s curriculum?

Isbell: Lexmark is a technology company. Many of our employees have backgrounds in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. For our curriculum in the Center for Children, we have chosen STEAM, which adds the ‘Art’ component to the original STEM program. All of the subjects are fundamental to children excelling in school. We want to expose them as early as possible to these subjects.

Lexmark: What are the advantages of children having an early introduction to STEAM education?

Isbell: Connecting the STEAM subjects provides a more meaningful curriculum for children. Studies show that children immersed and exposed to a STEAM curriculum at a very early age perform better in science and math than those who are not. We want our children to have the advantage of early exposure to begin to build their interest in these areas.

Lexmark: What is the correlation between STEAM and innovation?

Isbell: Problem-solving and critical thinking, which are the tenets of STEAM curriculum, are the keys to innovation. The Center for Children’s curriculum will be hands-on, inquiry-based, with a lot of projects and activity-based learning. We believe it will be a more engaging, and fun, learning environment.

Lexmark: What has been the response from employees?

Isbell: We’ve had great response from employees.  They are thrilled with the care that was put into the design and build of the center.  The Center for Children is truly state-of-the-art and top-notch.

Lexmark: With both a new childcare center and a wellness center, how will these types of employee services help Lexmark in recruiting?

Isbell: Lexmark is committed to helping our employees balance the pressures of raising their families in our 24/7 global environment. The Center for Children will help our employees with work/life balance, which is key to employee retention and recruitment.  We see the center as another added benefit of working at Lexmark.

For more information on employment at Lexmark, go to our“Careers at Lexmark” page.

[Lexmark News Blog] The results are in: Lexmark conducts “Voice of the Customer” survey

Our counterpart in EMEA recently conducted a voice of the customer survey.

This survey was conducted with customers and Lexmark partners in over 21 countries.

Questions such as, “How important is Performance/Productivity in your business and printing” and “How important is Device Management in your business and printing environment?” were asked and the results are in! 

* 90 percent of those asked would recommend Lexmark products, 77% of which would highly recommend

* Device Management is the most important feature for our customers and partners

* 86 percent of Lexmark customers are most satisfied with the ease of device configuration

Click here to check out the cool infographic detailing the survey’s results and click here to see the results of the full survey.

[Lexmark News] What’s the choice? Getting your information fast, or getting it right? Learn how to have both!

Thanks to the instantaneous answers served up by Google, Yahoo and other search engines, we now have similar expectations for the speed and flexibility of information that drives our businesses. However, access to data in organizations is rarely as quick and fluid as an Internet search. Even so, we hustle to speed up information delivery, especially when it comes to business decisions, collaboration and customer service. 

But the real goal shouldn’t only be faster information, but faster decision making – there’s a difference. The key is to get the RIGHTinformation faster.

You can help your managers and employees improve decision-making processes. The greatest potential for improvement comes from understanding your organization’s true information needs and in bringing more order to workplaces where the norm has been disconnected processes, unstructured information and ultimately, frustrated employees.

Learn About Getting Information Right

In a Lexmark-sponsored webinar on Sept. 24, best-selling author, educator and consultant Tom Davenport will help you focus on identifying the right information. You’ll also learn how to organize the best processes to capture and deliver the data you need. Better processes won’t guarantee better decisions, but can make that outcome more likely.

Join this free webinar to learn more about:

• Identifying the kinds of decisions your organization makes
• The types of work our decisions support
• What information needs to be fast – and what doesn’t
• How to avoid the pain of gathering information

Register today to join this master class, without leaving your office.

More About Tom Davenport

It’s not every day you have the chance to spend an hour with one of the world’s top 25 consultants and one of the 100 most influential people in the IT industry. Tom Davenport has authored hundreds of articles, columns and blogs for such publications as Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, CIO, and The Financial Times. http://www.tomdavenport.com/

[Lexmark News Blog] Conversations around the cloud in financial services

Analysts are predicting a greater adoption of cloud services over the next five to seven years. Mike Gabbert, manager of Lexmark’s financial services vertical, discusses what kinds of conversations are taking place in the cloud today, what trends are forthcoming and how important the cloud is to businesses.

For more information about Lexmark financial services, click here.

[Lexmark News Blog] What we can all learn from the Snowden disaster

Dennis Cunningham, vice president public sector for Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, writes a timely post focusing on data security and the implications of the Edward Snowden data breach incident. 

A commitment to finding, securing and tracking sensitive data might just save your organization from a catastrophic data breach.

In 1775, Benjamin Franklin said, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither.”

Whoa. Those are some heavy words written by a man more than 200 years ago. In the wake of 9/11, I heard this quote used in the context of airport security lines, the Patriot Act, defending our borders and many other modern-day scenarios.

But, I can’t say I’ve heard this quote in reference to the handling of the data we use every day to run our businesses. In light of the Edward Snowden case, however, I can’t help consider a parallel.

Click here to read the entire article.

[Lexmark News Blog]Solving the document headache: Using technology to process receipts

Bronwyn Jesse, payroll manager and accounts payable supervisor for theCity of Lethbridgein Canada, recently wrote this customer case study on how organizations can keep track on company purchases and ensure accurate reports with Perceptive Capture Solutions. 

Credit card use in Canada is on the rise, with nearly 74 million Visa and MasterCard cards in circulation as of October 2012. These cards aren’t limited to personal use — employees frequently have access to corporate credit cards, as well. But increased usage brings with it a greater volume of receipts and record keeping processes for finance departments. So the question becomes, how can organizations keep track of all company purchases and ensure accurate records?

This is a challenge with which the City of Lethbridge is extremely familiar. Our department typically processes between 800 to 1,000 receipts every month. Given the nature of government many of these receipts originate with individuals out in the field or in our various locations within the city, adding an additional layer of complexity should we have questions about the details behind a particular purchase.

Our expense system requires that employees are responsible for keeping track of their monthly receipts and getting them approved by their supervisor. In order to do this, they need to print off the individual activity statement from the credit card’s website and enter in a General Ledger (GL) code and description of the purchase. From there, they must reprint the activity statement, and send to their supervisor for approval along with copies of all the relevant receipts. Following supervisor approval, the statement is forwarded to an office manager to confirm that the expenses are in line with the City’s policies. Once confirmed, the completed package is then forwarded to the accounts payable department to pull details from the credit card website and input them into our financial system.

Once this has been done, all of the receipts are scanned intoPerceptive Capture, an intelligent data capture solution from Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, which seamlessly captures receipts and links them with matching expense reports. The solution allows us to attach a GL code to all scanned receipts, so that we can easily look up the number to determine the nature of the transaction. A bit like a virtual filing cabinet, this ensures that vendor, employee and corporate receipts are all stored so that they can be easily accessible by our users, especially when they are in the field. Implementing Perceptive Capture means this access is available wherever and whenever we need it — a particularly important benefit given the city government’s various departments and locations.

We’ve been excited by the feedback we’ve received stemming from the implementation of Perceptive Capture and looking ahead, we have plans to further digitize our document management system even further.

Want to find out how Perceptive Capture can help your business. Click here to find out more information.

[Lexmark News Blog] Perceptive Software named Kansas City’s Coolest Company

Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, was recently named the “Coolest Company” to work for in KC Magazine’s, Kansas City’s Top Company’s List. 

“Perceptive Software is known for being a great place to work”, said Kyle Crager, Director of Human Resources, Perceptive Software.

“The judges voted us Kansas City’s Coolest Company based on both our cool culture and our continued growth and success. We believe engaged employees lead to happy customers and this award recognizes us for excellence in both. Ultimately it’s the combination of a great culture and sustained growth and success that will help us continue to be a place where the best and brightest want to be.”

Click here to read the full article and click here to find out what career opportunities are currently available at Perceptive.

[Lexmark News Blog] Business Leader Interview – Scott Coons – CEO of Perceptive Software

Document Boss recently spoke with Scott Coons, CEO of Perceptive Software, to gain insight into his views on the company’s current positioning as part of Lexmark and his insight into what the future may hold. He also discusses what Brainware has added to the equation, what he perceives have been the managerial challenges and what Perceptive’s key focus will be, moving forward. Click here to read the entire article.

[Lexmark Blog] Lexmark Quarterly Business Roundup

Lexmark Quarterly Business Roundup

Aug 29, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

News Facts

Corporate News               

• Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE:LXK) announced financial results for the second quarter of 2013. To access the earnings news release, click here, and for the earnings presentation information, click here.
• Lexmark's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per share of Lexmark Class A Common Stock. The dividend is payable on Sept. 13, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Aug. 30, 2013. 
• After the close of the markets on July 26, 2013, Lexmark entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement ("ASR Agreement") with The Bank of Nova Scotia ("Scotiabank"). Pursuant to the terms of the ASR Agreement, Lexmark will purchase $21 million of the outstanding shares of its Class A Common Stock from Scotiabank.
• Lexmark announced an agreement to acquire Saperion AG, a European-based leader in enterprise content management solutions, focused on providing document archive and workflow solutions.

Customer News and Company Recognition

• Lexmark has been recognized as a Leader in managed print services (MPS) again by leading IT market research and advisory firm IDC in the 2013 MPDS MarketScape report, which analyzes the strategies and current capabilities of companies providing managed print and document services.
• Lexmark was also recently named a Leader by IDC in the firm's MarketScape: EMEA Managed Print Services 2012 Hardcopy Vendor Analysis.
• Acuo, now part of Lexmark's Perceptive Software, was recognized by Frost & Sullivan with the 2012 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Share Leadership as the market share leader in vendor-neutral archiving (VNA), noting the company has significant standing in the broader enterprise imaging archiving market.
• Buyer's Laboratory (BLI) bestowed Summer 2013 Pick awards on the Lexmark MX812 Series for "Outstanding A4 Departmental Monochrome MFP," along with the Lexmark CS510 Series for "Outstanding A4 Color Printer for Small Workgroups."
• Lexmark was chosen by the FBI as its output provider in a $30 million agreement. Lexmark's Print Management solution has been deployed across the FBI's optimized fleet of smart Lexmark printers and multifunction products (MFPs) to reduce unnecessary printing, control overall printing costs and provide for strong user authentication, data security and information assurance.
• Perceptive Software has been chosen by World Vision International to help streamline its operations worldwide. Perceptive Content will provide efficiency and control across multiple ERP systems, helping to free resources for humanitarian efforts.
• Perceptive Software announced that Rideout Health will deploy Perceptive Software's Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution for the health system's hospitals, cancer center, outpatient clinics and other ancillary services.
• Perceptive Software received a 2013 top company award as a "Cool Company" from the Kansas City Business Magazine. 

Products, Software, Solutions and Services News

• Perceptive Software released Document Filters 11, enabling technology partners to unlock and transform unstructured content for use in big data, data loss prevention, e-discovery and other data-driven solutions.
• Perceptive Software launched Perceptive Intelligent Capture for Transcripts, offering higher education institutions reductions in transcript data entry time and cost, while easing workflow delays during peak enrollment seasons.
• Perceptive Software and Bridgeline Digital jointly announced that they have committed to a long-term agreement that will see Bridgeline's iAPPS® platform augmented with Perceptive Enterprise Search technology.

Community News

• Lexmark and the Nature Conservancy teamed up to support the PGA of America with a tree-planting eventto help offset the impact of printing and paper products generated over the course of the seven-day 2013 PGA Championship. Lexmark is the Official Printing Technology Provider of the PGA of America.
• Lexmark was named a winner of the 2013 Alfred P. Sloan award for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility. The award, which recognizes employers that successfully use workplace flexibility to meet both organizational and employee goals, has been given to Lexmark the past six consecutive years.
• Recently, Lexmark employees built their 18^th Habitat for Humanity house in Lexington, Ky.

Supporting Resources:

Additional content is available on Lexmark's News Blog.

About LexmarkLexmark is uniquely focused on connecting unstructured printed and digital information across enterprises with the processes, applications and people that need it most. For more information, please visit www.lexmark.com.

Lexmark and Lexmark with diamond design are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

All prices, features, specifications and capabilities are subject to change without notice.

SOURCE Lexmark

For further information: Investor Contact: John Morgan, (859) 232-5568, jmorgan@lexmark.com; Media Contact: Jerry Grasso, (859) 232-3546, ggrasso@lexmark.com

[Lexmark Blog] A Winning Information Strategy Starts With Winning Technology

A glut of unstructured data and content has left knowledge workers disconnected from the information they need to be productive. From loan applications to insurance claims, from student testing to government benefits forms, unstructured, paper-based information must be captured and brought into business systems.

An Unstructured Information Solution Depends on Reliable Capture Solution

Many companies overcome this challenge by using intelligent capture and multifunction devices as on-ramps to bring paper information into business processes. Advanced managed print services (MPS) offer an effective strategy to connect devices, content and process automation for end-to-end, enterprise-wide information capture. If MPS is to be the pathway to productivity, then its enabling technology must be reliable at every point, from information capture to information release.

Differentiator: Our Technology Is Our Own

Lexmark MPS combines intelligent MFPs for capture plus industry-specific software solutions that optimize business processes and content. But here’s where Lexmark differs from many other MPS providers: Not only do we bring decades of experience to each engagement, we also bring our own technology to the table. Lexmark device innovation – one of the foundation of our solutions capabilities – is built in, not brought in. As a result of this commitment to excellence, our product lines – both single function and multifunction – are routinely recognized and honored for their quality.

Ahead of the Pack When It Comes to Product Awards

Consider this; Of the 158 industry awards and product reviews announced so far in 2013, Lexmark has captured top honors in 25 percent of these, almost twice that of the nearest competitor. The judging organizations – all respected for their technology evaluations – range from Buyers Lab and Better Buys for Business to PC Magazine, PC World and Macworld magazines.

Lexmark’s technology is designed and executed to bring you the highest return and reliability in your MPS engagement – great devices equal maximum performance for your fleet.

For more information about Lexmark technology awards, click hereto visit our awards page.

[Lexmark Blog] Let us introduce you: Saperion, Lexmark’s newest company acquisition

LexmarkNews interviewed John Gamble, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Lexmark, on today’s announcement of our agreement to acquire Saperion, a European-based leader in enterprise content management (ECM) solutions.

Lexmark: Tell us about Saperion and how the company is a great fit with Lexmark.

Gamble: Saperion is a leading provider of ECM and business process management (BPM) solutions headquartered in Berlin. It has a strong European-based clientele, which includes well-known brands such as Siemens and Daimler, as well as a strong base of medium-sized customers. Its solutions feature a platform-independent, multilingual architecture, making the products highly scalable and easy to integrate with all major enterprise resource planning software, email and document management systems.

The acquisition of Saperion accelerates several strategic Lexmark objectives, including rapidly expanding our software and solutions footprint in EMEA. Saperion is also a great fit in terms of customers, as it strengthens our position in delivering solutions to large enterprise customers in EMEA and growing our software channel.

Lexmark: How and why does Saperion fit well withPerceptive Software?

Gamble: Geographically, Perceptive and Saperion complement each other quite nicely. The acquisition of Saperion accelerates Perceptive achieving several strategic goals, including the before-mentioned growth in EMEA. This synergy works the other way also: Saperion will be able to offer and support its solutions in global regions where it previously was not represented. And existing Saperion global accounts now can benefit from Lexmark’s international breadth and presence to receive support across multiple geographies.

Lexmark: Why is a larger European presence strategic for Perceptive Software?

Gamble: EMEA is the second largest market for content and process management software worldwide, with $7.1 billion of software revenue in 2012 representing 32 percent of the world market (Source: Gartner – Forecast: Enterprise Software Markets, Worldwide, 2010-2017, 2Q13 Update, June 2013).

For Perceptive to achieve its strategic goal of being one of the leading content and process software solution providers in the world, we must develop and have a strong brand in this geographic region.

Also, strength globally ensures we can fully serve Lexmark’s largest multinational customers to support their business objectives and help manage their unstructured information challenges.

Lexmark: We’ve made a number of international purchases in the past three years - Pallas Athena, Brainware, ISYS and now Saperion. Is the strategy to add footprint or technical expertise?

Gamble: Lexmark’s acquisition strategy is multi-dimensional. At our core, we are a solutions company, and we look to add capabilities that allow us to deliver deeper and more compelling solutions to our customers.

Saperion, like many of our acquisitions, will help us both deepen our solutions capabilities and expand our geographic footprint while better serving our global enterprise customers.

As with all of our acquisitions, the most critical part in determining success will be the integration of the companies. We must embrace the opportunity to add new capabilities and take what is best from each acquisition to create a more dynamic Lexmark.

Click here to find out more about Saperion.

[Lexmark News ] Lexmark’s take on key Big Data trends in retail

What are the key Big Data trends in retail environments? How do these trends affect consumers, retailers and supply chain?

Watch the video below featuring Paul Merritt, Lexmark’s industry director for retail to get his take on the key trends to watch for.

Check out the latest You Tube Video to see what the latest trends are and how they affect all aspects of business

[Lexmark News] Meet Twistage, one of Lexmark’s newest software acquisitions

We recently sat down with David Wadler, CEO of Twistage, one of the newest software companies Lexmark has acquired. Twistage joined Lexmark’sPerceptive Software in March of 2013, so we wanted to get an update on how the integration is going and what the companies have been working on in the last few months. Here are the highlights:

Give us a description of Twistage and what the company offers.Wadler: My business partners and I started Twistage in 2004 with the idea that there would be growing demand for online video. We had a few false starts, perhaps most interestingly a business to consumer user-generated video portal that we built prior to YouTube’s launch. Ultimately, however, we settled on building a cloud-based video management system for businesses. Over the past few years, the product has evolved and we began managing more kinds of rich media like audio and image files. Our focus has been on empowering businesses to manage and distribute rich media across a broad swath of use cases (marketing, training, premium content monetization, corporate communications, and more). We do this by eliminating complexity, turning video management into a simply Application Program Interface (API) call or button click.

What makes Twistage stand out in the marketplace?

Wadler: Whereas many of the companies in the rich media space, particularly online video platforms (OVPs), focus on template-driven solutions, our approach was to build a robust API. This allows for very tight integration, allowing our customers to dictate the user experience and drive more return on their existing investments in hardware and software infrastructure. Since ours has long been a technical solution, it was a challenge to package our product from a marketing perspective, but the market ultimately responded: We were one of the few OVP start-ups to reach and maintain profitability. In addition, Frost & Sullivan named Twistage “the OVP’s market hot company to watch” and called us “the Porsche of OVP vendors” in their 2013 report on online video platforms.

Why Lexmark – what makes Twistage and Lexmark a good fit?

Wadler: Lexmark has quickly evolved into a company that manages unstructured data, whether it’s being printed on a piece of paper, scanned into an MFP, or exists only in a digital format. The Twistage acquisition will further round out this offering, bringing rich media into the fold. In addition to extending the content management capabilities of Lexmark – and of course, Perceptive Software – Twistage will also be delivering some of its Cloud DNA. We’re excited to provide our underlying Cloud Framework to Lexmark and are looking forward to working together to deliver products and solutions on top of this framework.

What are you most excited about looking forward as we continue to build our business together?

Wadler: In a word, scale. And for me, it’s scale everywhere. Our engineering group got much bigger. We have a global sales and marketing footprint. We’ve long wanted to build a big business and now we have one. The next challenge for us is to make sure that we continue to execute efficiently so that everyone – our customers most importantly – can reap the benefits.

Any other interesting info you’d like to share?

Wadler: I actually have a fun anecdote that, in some ways, speaks to the fit of the acquisition. When we were first introduced to the company, I was asked to give a demo. Rather than spend time walking through our user interface or website, I showed the audience something that they see practically every day – Innovate. For those who are visiting the blog from outside Lexmark, Innovate is our internal social network. Unbeknownst to practically everyone in the room or connected remotely, Twistage had been powering the video for Lexmark’s social network since its inception. (And we continue to be the video engine for Innovate.) Even though we were newly acquired, we had been working together for quite some time!

For more information on Twistage and how it can help your business, click here.