In August, Kodak Alaris virtually welcomed analysts to participate in a summit to showcase their strategy and portfolio of existing products and new solutions. They were also able to offer their insights and plans through COVID-19 and beyond. Kodak Alaris has always promoted the science and technology behind their solutions and products to illustrate the benefit of years of development. At this year’s event, the company revealed specific advantages that will provide their partners with the tools to support customers in their digital transformation journey.
John Blake, Senior Vice President Marketing and Products, outlined the value that Kodak Alaris continues to bring to its community of partners along with end customers. A continual investment in key products as well as beefed up channel support look to strengthen the message and strategy moving forward. While COVID-19 continues to have an impact on the overall operations of many businesses, Kodak Alaris is focusing on high-level growth areas such as digital transformation, business process automation, and data analytics. These advancements will also be driven by new models of delivery, such as the cloud, making way for OPEX and managed service agreements.
Nick Korba, Worldwide Market Intelligence Manager, summarized the impact of COVID on the capture market space. Digital transformation continues to be a key driver during the pandemic as companies look to provide content and access to business processes to all the employees working from home. Smart technology investments have been accelerated for many IT professionals as a focus towards AI, machine learning, and RPA have the potential to provide the necessary efficiencies in antiquated workflows. OPEX and managed services models are gaining in speed and popularity as vendors transition to offer options that extend beyond traditional capex methods.
Matt Doolittle, Worldwide Portfolio Manager, further explained Kodak Alaris’ response to enhanced requirements that end users have brought forward. COVID-19 has increased the need for smart document automation while rooting out inefficiencies often caused by outdated manual methods. The voice of the customer has often determined the pace and direction of new products and solutions. As end customers and partners express concerns with capture and workflow processes, Kodak Alaris examines and seeks to offer products, solutions, and services to meet these demands and needs.
The INfuse product, targeting the edge of computing in businesses, showcases the balance of on-premise and off-premise infrastructure developments. As use of the cloud gains momentum across multiple business areas, the INfuse product, according to Jim Forger (Worldwide Product Manager), will appeal to end customers and partners who wish to develop and integrate it into their own business solutions. Business intelligence, where content processing is initiated, can create positive outcomes and streamline the capture process.
As capture solutions continue to incorporate into more business processes and applications, a strategic approach to managing devices and assets is essential. Kodak Alaris announced the new tools, enabling remote monitoring as a service. Three new monitoring “as-a-service” tools that are cloud-based device management and scanner performance were introduced. Jeff Moore, Service Operations Manager, presented the MPS Capture Agent, Scanner Manager, and Scanner Finder Tool that enable channel partners to deliver value by allowing scanners from Kodak Alaris to be integrated into device monitoring solutions for reporting and management.
The virtual Kodak Alaris Analyst Summit was information dense, provided the company’s approach to future releases, and gave directional guidance. Kodak Alaris’s tactic will be motivated by trends like digital transformation, business process automation and data analytics as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the capture market. Kodak Alaris also declared their commitment to continue investing into their product portfolio and providing channel partners with support.