Samsung Puts Emphasis on Solutions

Jul 24, 2013 12:22:28 PM

By Jessica Schiffenhaus

Solutions and software have been the buzzwords at many of the hardware manufacturers’ recent dealer meetings. From in-house and third-party developed document management software and auditing tools to mobile print applications, embedded connectors and a variety of ways to access the cloud, the message at all of these events has been clear: it’s time to start selling solutions.

At Samsung’s national dealer meeting in Chicago on June 17 -19, the theme was “Game On.” Emphasizing to dealers that the company was in the printer game for the long haul, Samsung executives took the stage at the general session and discussed strategy, letting dealers know why they should stick with Samsung—or in the case of the 27 prospective dealers in attendance, partner with Samsung. One large component of the company’s growth strategy is focusing on integrating Samsung technology to create solutions tailored for mobile print environments, as well as the healthcare, retail and education vertical markets. Dealers can utilize Samsung’s other products, such as tablets, smartphones, PCs, large format displays and software, as well as third-party partner software, not only to give them the edge in a sale and get into new markets, but to remain competitive, expand their offering and prevent competitors from taking their current customers.

The event’s four breakout sessions included a seminar on the best practices in managed print services, along with retail, education and healthcare showcases. In each of the showcases were a variety of integrated solutions tailored for that respective market. For instance, the healthcare space, set up to resemble a doctor’s office, stressed the importance of mobility and security. One demonstration used AllShare to share patient results between a tablet, PC, smartphone and a large format display, and then print right from the large format display. Another solution utilized Jetmobile and Imprivata to provide single-sign on authentication for pull printing and access to physicians’ virtual desktops, allowing for doctors to move around a hospital, for example, and have access to all pertinent information.

NFC (Near-Field Communication) technology, which is standard with Samsung’s smartphones, allows NFC-enabled devices to communicate based on close proximity. NFC printing was showcased in the retail space, through Samsung’s first NFC-enabled color laser printers, the Xpress C4x0 series, as well as NFC “dongles” which can be added to any printer. Utilizing NFC technology, the Samsung Mobile Print app, and Samsung printers, retail chains can offer pay-for-print kiosks in their storefronts, allowing customers to walk up to a printer and print coupons, flight information, etc. The education showcase demonstrated Samsung School, a solution that allows for real-time information sharing and printing from tablets and smart boards. And present in all three spaces were pull-printing solutions, such as SecureThru Light and Jetmobile, as well as scan to workflow solutions, such as Prism ScanPath and Perceptive ImageNow.

In addition to presenting the aforementioned solutions at its dealer meeting, the company opened a briefing center in its New Jersey headquarters that features six different vertical environments to which dealers can bring customers to demonstrate the various solutions. And, Samsung has developed teams of specialists to focus on developing vertical market solutions and selling strategies. As Tod Pike, senior vice president of Samsung’s enterprise business division, noted, dealers now have to compete with non-traditional competitors, such as office superstores and IT resellers getting into MPS. The not-so subliminal message being: If you don’t offer solutions to your customers, someone else will.