Scan@Home Solution, Xenith and Kodak Alaris Partnership

By Bryant Duhon, Editor-in-Chief, Document Imaging Report

So easy, even an editor can use it. Xenith Intelligent Workplace Services partnered with Kodak Alaris to create a pre-configured Scan@Home Solution built on INfuse, Kodak Alaris’ smart connect scanning solution.

The solution allows employees who work at home to scan directly into line-of-business systems. There’s an obvious work-from-home angle here, though both Kodak Alaris and Xenith pointed out that regardless of COVID or work from home needs, the solution can be used for branch offices or for scanning needs within an office.

DIR spoke with Alaris’ Jim Forger, Worldwide Product Manager for INfuse and Anna Muskett, EMEA Channel Director. We were joined by Marc Ueckermann, CTO, Xenith. [Note: Our conversation strayed in a few directions. Look to our blog in the coming week for additional notes and perspectives.]

Scanning Out-of-the-Box, Literally

INfuse product was introduced last year [see DIR 10/18/19]. It consists of three elements:

  • INfuse Management Software enables set-up and remote configuration, introduced last year
  • INfuse AX Scanner which does not need to be connected to a driver or PC and can scan directly into a business application
  • Partner Software Application

 

Forger noted that most of the INfuse lineup is based on the its S2000 range, but that will expand into other product lines as well, including flatbed scanners, in the coming months.

The thing that stands out most to me is how easy this is to use. From a service provider’s standpoint, the ease-of-use is a huge benefit. Ueckerman shared a story about one client who scans about 5,000 pages daily on an MFP. He calls the service desk nearly every other day with a problem, like “I don’t know what’s happened to my documents.” Ueckerman has said, “I’ll send you a scanner for free, just stop using the MFP.” Of course, he’ll still charge for the scan clicks, but his service desk will thank him if his client takes him up on the offer.

I mentioned out-of-the-box scanning. The preconfigured device is shipped to the user (at home). Once taken out of the box and plugged in, the user simply scans the included piece of paper with barcode. The unit will then connect to the Internet and is ready to go.

Because it’s a service, Xenith manages the scanners just as they would a printer or MFP in a managed print services environment. That means a tedious burden is off the shoulders of IT departments. Also, because the Scan@Home solution connects directly to the Internet, there are no scanner drivers to configure and manage. And with most image processing performed on the device, businesses are able to inject documents into their processes with a minimum of friction.

Other Partners

While Xenith is one of their first partners to treat the INfuse scanners essentially as an accessory to their solutions, they aren’t the only ones. Muskett didn’t have an exact count, but they have five or six dozen partners in various stages of deployment. Muskett explains, "This isn’t a two week turnaround from Partners. We work with them to understand what they're trying to accomplish with their solution. Then we work with them because they have to integrate this into their system. This is a several month process from start to finish from the time they decide to evaluate until they end up launching it. Some partners have been quick and knew exactly what they wanted to do. Others have been off looking at USB or general network scanners, saw this, and thought 'hmmm'. After the ROI calculations, they then develop, pilot to make sure it works right, and then roll out for deployment."

Like most IT things that are easy to use, it requires a lot of under-the-covers planning.

Bryant Duhon XenithDocument Imaging Report (DIR), is the premier management and marketing newsletter on opportunities and trends in converting paper processes to electronic format—a key piece in a digital transformation strategy. DIR is an 8-page newsletter produced semi-monthly that helps you stay on top of critical developments in just minutes – saving you hours of reading and research every month. It is written for vendors, end users, and the distribution channel for the ECM and document capture industries. Since 2020, it has been owned by Infosource, a leading analyst company covering the office automation market.

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