ECi’s Laryssa Alexander places ECi’s Print Audit acquisition in perspective.
It’s been a busy year for ECi with three acquisitions, two of them print management companies””Print Fleet and Print Audit. The third, Vineyardsoft, is a developer of business activity monitoring software.
Recently, The Cannata Report connected with Laryssa Alexander, president, Field Service Division, ECi to gain a better understanding of the Print Audit acquisition and where it fits into the company’s portfolio of products.
How is Print Audit a good fit for ECi?
Alexander: The acquisition has granted ECi the ability to build one of the most comprehensive suites of service that is available for the office equipment industry. Integrating Print Audit’s unique offerings into ECi’s Field Service product suite benefits both the ECi and Print Audit customer bases while simultaneously helping ECi expand its current global footprint.
What does ECi bring to Print Audit that it didn’t have prior to the acquisition?
Alexander: This acquisition will help to expand Print Audit’s customer base and amplify resources for growth and product development. We will be able to utilize what works so well for Print Audit while also improving customer service with ECi’s ample resources.
Will the existing Print Audit team remain in place after the acquisition is finalized?
Alexander: The acquisition was finalized on December 6th, and the Print Audit team remains in place in the Calgary office. As with any new acquisition, we are undergoing an exploratory process with the Print Audit team to figure out how best to integrate ourselves into one. Looking at my current Field Service division team, so much of it is comprised of talent that came in through acquisitions, and we recognize the value that this new acquisition brings ““ both in terms of product capabilities and extended industry expertise.
ECi has already acquired FMAudit and Print Fleet, how do all three of these solutions–including Print Audit–fit into ECi’s offerings? Do you view these as different types of solutions or for different types of needs rather than competitive offerings as some may have viewed them in the past?
Alexander: With every ECi acquisition, we dedicate an extensive period of time to internal reviews focused on our newly acquired products. Each product in our Field Service division offers either different or supporting services that help to ensure we are delivering our user base with tools required to grow their businesses. Print Audit, for example, brings with it print management rules that neither FMAudit nor Print Fleet had. Our goal eventually will be to deliver an all-encompassing, best-in-class product to the market, but for now, we still have a lot of work to do in terms of looking at the products and determining our strategy.
Can we expect to see more acquisitions in the future and are there other software segments that fit into the imaging channel that ECi isn’t strong in now that might be a good future addition?
Alexander: ECi is always qualifying new opportunities to grow its footprint and offerings in order to bring innovative solutions to our customer base. Whether it’s through differing or complementary products, we are constantly looking to provide our customers with the best resources possible, so they can grow their businesses.
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