Kofax to Acquire Nuance’s Document Imaging Business

On November 12, Kofax announced its intention to acquire the Nuance Document Imaging (NDI) division of Nuance Communications. If the deal closes as expected in Q1 of 2019, the move will catapult Kofax—already the 800-pound gorilla in the document capture market—to the leadership position in print-management and cost-recovery solutions, too. NDI itself is a product of Nuance’s once-acquisitive nature.

The division’s portfolio of document solutions includes a host of product families purchased over the past decade or so, such as Equitrac (purchased in 2011), Output Manager (which came with the NSi acquisition in 2014), and Safecom (bought in 2012) for print management; Equitrac Professional and Copitrak (added in 2012) for cost recovery; AutoStore (another NSi product) and eCopy (acquired in 2009) for document capture and workflow; Business Connect for mobile document imaging; and OmniPage, PaperPort, and Power PDF for PDF and document conversion (these products, or the seeds for them, came from the original merger between Nuance and ScanSoft in 2005).

Kofax, too, has had a storied past of late, having gone public in 2013 only to be purchased by Lexmark International in 2015 as part of that company’s foray into enterprise software. In 2017, the division was subsequently sold by the Chinese consortium that purchased Lexmark to investment group Thoma Bravo (which also controls Hyland Software).

According to Kofax Chief Executive Officer Reynolds C. Bish, the acquisition will add key technologies to Kofax capabilities, including cloud compatibility, scan-to archive, scan-to workflow, print management, and document security. He added that Kofax will now be able to combine the best capture and print management capabilities in the market into one product portfolio.

Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends research shows that about 37% of all companies have already invested in both scan/data capture software and software for printer/copier management. Meanwhile, another 36% are considering investing in both solutions. The biggest of companies are most likely to have invested, while mid-sized companies are most likely to be contemplating investment. Geographically, companies in Western Europe are a bit more likely to be considering investment, as they are less likely to have done so already.

Are you considering purchasing software for scan/capture and printer/copier administration?

Solutions like Output Manager, eCopy, and Copitrak are commonly found in the independent office equipment dealer channel, perhaps presenting an opportunity for Kofax to expand within this space. Furthermore, more than six million knowledge workers use Nuance capture and workflow solutions; more than 100,000 active deployments of its print management solutions are in place.

This purchase is a continuation of efforts to strengthen Kofax’s overall offering. When the company was purchased by Thomas Bravo last year, it combined with ReadSoft under the Kofax brand to create a single entity called Kofax. ReadSoft is focused on scan/capture in areas like accounts payable automation, accounts receivable automation, sales order processing, and digital mailroom solutions.

The addition of ReadSoft and Nuance document software offerings, as well as Kofax’s relationship with Hyland Software’s document management offerings leaves the door open for synergies that can enable a robust and comprehensive document solution for SMBs and enterprises alike.

Keypoint Intelligence’s Jamie Bsales contributed to this report.