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MarketScope for Automated Document Factory2.0 Software
Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00163260, Pete Basiliere, Ken Weilerstein, 2 December 2008, R3001 04132009
Automated Document Factory 2.0 software does more thanmanage transaction print and mail operations. Document designand integration that facilitates multichannel publishing are keyelements of ADF 2.0 software.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The consequences of not having an automated document factory (ADF) are high. High labor,
material and postage costs, poor quality and document integrity, and low company growth
and departmental value are the burdens that print and mail operations without an ADF bear.
Our MarketScope provides insights into the market and ratings of the ADF 2.0 software
providers that can help make your operation world-class.
MARKETSCOPE
Today, transaction document printing and mailing facilities must be able to produce high
volumes of personalized and relevant communications using the latest equipment and
software while supporting output in other media. Gartner's Automated Document Factory 2.0
(ADF 2.0) architecture is the blueprint upon which enterprises design a state-of-the-art
operation for creating and delivering mission-critical, high-volume documents.
The ADF 2.0 software market is segmented into four groups of providers:
• Mailing-system providers (Bowe Bell+Howell, Kern and Pitney Bowes) that integrate mail
piece quality assurance hardware and software into their equipment and provide the
overarching systems that facilitate composition, control data input and monitor the entire
production process
• High-volume printer technology providers with a strong transaction document focus
(InfoPrint Solutions, Oce and Xerox) that complement their device workflow tools with
software that supports direct mail and other forms of commercial printing
• Printer technology providers with a strong direct mail and commercial printing focus
(Kodak and HP) that is complemented by software tools that support transaction printing
2• Software providers with a strong document composition focus
(Compart, Crawford Technologies, Gandlake, GMC Software
Technology, ISIS Papyrus Group, Rochester Software
Associates, Sefas Innovation, Solimar Systems, StreamServe
and Xenos Group) that integrate their offerings with various
printer and mail inserter providers' hardware and software
Bear in mind that in today's marketplace, most of the ADF 2.0
software technology providers can support more than one form of
printed material. Unlike the early ADF implementations, which
focused on high-volume billing, policy and check output
environments, today's print and mail operations are frequently
producing other forms of marketing collateral. Similarly, the tools
that are typically employed by print service providers focusing on
such collateral are also employed in the production of bills,
statements and checks. Although this MarketScope provides
significant insight into the ADF 2.0 software technology providers
and their product capabilities, it is important to assess their
capabilities based on your specific requirements.
ADF 2.0 Benefits
Gartner surveyed each provider as part of the MarketScope
research, probing for information on their sales and customer base
as well as on the potential savings, quality improvements and
other benefits that typical users experience. The revenue range
was dramatic, with some providers reporting several hundreds of
thousands of dollars in sales that were attributed to the annual
ADF 2.0 software and service. Customers were primarily located in
North America and Western Europe with a small but growing base
in Eastern Europe, Latin America and other regions.
We also interviewed ADF 2.0 software users about the reasons
they implemented an ADF, the selection and implementation
process, subsequent experiences with the provider's training and
service organizations, and the benefits they actually derived from
their ADF 2.0 implementation. Depending on the nature of the
toolset, we found savings ranging from 15% to 100%, where the
latter meant elimination of capital, labor or material. The savings
were also derived from qualitative improvements, such as piece-
level tracking of their customers' transaction documents
throughout printing and mailing, which reduced the cost of
regulatory penalties from mismailings. Interestingly, some
customers did not try to develop a monetary return on their
investment, believing the high levels of document integrity that can
be assured with an ADF 2.0 implementation were necessary for
them to remain competitive.
Reflecting the trends that Gartner research uncovered two years
ago, ADF 2.0 software tools from each provider are able to assist
organizations with enterprisewide, multichannel content distribution
that goes beyond print and mail to include electronic media.
Several market trends are converging with ADF 2.0 to encourage
this approach as document integrity becomes a core requirement
and the ability to dynamically communicate with customers and
prospects in multiple media becomes a key component of firms'
marketing campaigns. Document composition capabilities are also
becoming commonplace as ADF 2.0 providers integrate those
capabilities.
Some ADF 2.0 providers have multichannel output but may lack
printer and inserter management control, including real-time piece
tracking and reprints, meaning they must partner with other
technology providers. From the end user's perspective, this is
neither good nor bad. All providers reported not only the
theoretical capability but also actual installations where they
partnered with a firm that could have provided an end-to-end ADF
2.0 solution but was not selected by the user.
Looking ahead, users must be aware that a strong market
consolidation trend has emerged in the past two years. HP's
The MarketScope is copyrighted December 2008 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and for a spe-cific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorseany vendor, product or service depicted in the MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner dis-claims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
© 2008 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction and distribution of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbid-den. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness oradequacy of such information. Although Gartner’s research may discuss legal issues related to the information technology business, Gartner does not provide legaladvice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the informationcontained herein or for interpretations thereof. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.
3
acquisition of Exstream and Oracle's purchase of Skywire
Software (with its legacy Docucorp offering) are just two of the
latest. Hardware providers that recognize the need for a deeper
and broader software toolset are driving this trend, which will
become even stronger given the severely negative economic
conditions present in late 2008 and expected for 2009.
Market/Market Segment Description
Gartner's ADF 2.0 architecture gives technology providers the
framework for developing and implementing the strategies and
tools necessary for 21st century communications in any media. By
doing so, the architecture provides the basis for software solutions
that enable end users to ensure print is an integral part of their
enterprise's multichannel, CRM-based approach to disseminating
marketing messages and financial information.
For many enterprises, however, the primary reason for
implementing ADF 2.0 is the desire to reduce operating costs,
improve product quality and ensure document integrity. Indeed, the
global economic downturn experienced in late 2008 provides the
impetus for ADF 2.0 software purchases. Capital expenditures are
frozen or reduced at many companies, while software that
generates immediate or near-term benefits is purchased, often
resulting in a return on investment within a matter of months. ADF
2.0 modules supplied by the technology providers covered in this
MarketScope are one key to the operational savings that
enterprises are seeking.
In this MarketScope, a technology provider is rated as strong
positive or positive when the provider's ADF 2.0 suite is a
comprehensive offering targeted at high-volume transaction print
and mail operations or it actively partners with other providers to do
Table 1. Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation Criteria
Market Understanding
Offering (Product) Strategy
Vertical/Industry Strategy
Innovation
Geographic Strategy
Product/Service
Market Responsivenessand Track Record
Weighting
Standard
High
Standard
Standard
Low
High
Standard
Source: Gartner (November 2008)
Comment
Ability of the vendor to understand buyers' wants and needs and to translatethose into products and services. Vendors that show the highest degree ofvision listen to and understand buyers' wants and needs, and can shape orenhance those with their added vision.
The vendor's approach to product development and delivery thatemphasizes differentiation, functionality, methodology and feature sets asthey map to current and future requirements.
The vendor's strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet thespecific needs of individual market segments, including vertical markets.
Direct, related, complementary and synergistic layouts of resources,expertise or capital for investment, consolidation, defensive or pre-emptivepurposes.
The vendor's strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet thespecific needs of geographies outside the "home" or native geography, eitherdirectly or through partners, channels and subsidiaries as appropriate for thatgeography and market.
Core goods and services offered by the vendor that compete in/serve thedefined market. This includes current product/service capabilities, quality,feature sets and skills, whether offered natively or through OEMagreements/partnerships as defined in the market definition and detailed inthe subcriteria.
Ability to respond, change direction, be flexible and achieve competitivesuccess as opportunities develop, competitors act, customer needs evolveand market dynamics change. This criterion also considers the vendor'shistory of responsiveness.
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Table 2. Descriptions of Ratings
Description
The vendor is a solid, stable provider of products, services and solutions. The vendor's solution setaligns with market demand and the vendor's stated strategy. Customers should continueinvestments. Potential customers should feel comfortable in adding the vendor to their portfolio.
The vendor is strong in several specific areas but is more opportunistic than strategic. Customersshould feel comfortable making continued investments but should consider making themincrementally. Potential customers should shortlist the vendor as a tactical alternative.
The vendor shows potential in specific areas. However, the vendor or specific vendor initiative needsto evolve and mature before the vendor can be considered positive. Customers should monitor thesituation closely and develop plans of action for best- and worst-case scenarios. Potentialcustomers should be aware of the issues and opportunities and make decisions accordingly.
The vendor is having a tough time responding to challenges in many areas. Customers are advisedto find alternatives and withdraw their business as soon as possible. Potential customers shouldconsider the vendor only if no alternatives exist.
The vendor faces tough challenges in one or more areas. Customers should weigh the potentialrisks to the business and craft contingency plans as needed. Potential customers should note thevendor's challenges in their due diligence.
Rating
Strong Positive
Positive
Promising
Caution
Strong Negative
Source: Gartner (November 2008)
Figure 1. MarketScope for Automated Document Factory 2.0 Software
Source: Gartner (November 2008)
StrongNegative
Caution Promising PositiveStrongPositive
Bowe Bell+Howell xCompart xCrawford Technologies xGandlake xGMC Software Technology xHP xInfoPrint Solutions xISIS Papyrus Group xKern xKodak xOce xPitney Bowes xRochester Software Associates xSefas Innovation xSolimar Systems xStreamServe xXenos Group xXerox x
As of 26 November 2008
RATING
5so. Use the market segmentation to identify which provider(s) meet
your requirements, and then consider the ratings. For example, if
you require a comprehensive software and hardware solution,
engage suppliers that have extensive experience integrating
printers and mail inserters into the ADF 2.0 control and reporting
module. On the other hand, if you have proprietary systems for
managing your print and mail operations, then work with a
provider that can integrate your documents with not only ERP
systems but also CRM software.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
The MarketScope for ADF 2.0 software includes providers that
meet the following criteria:
• Provides software that processes data through three or more of
the ADF 2.0 modules (document design and content
integration; input; transformation; delivery preparation; control
and reporting; and response management) either with its
proprietary software or in partnership with another provider,
AND
• Provides software with the ability to accept and repurpose (if
needed) content from multiple applications written and
exported in multiple file formats, AND
• Integrates with third-party hardware and software as required
by the end user, AND
• Provides needs assessment and/or professional services
(including re-engineering workflows) and technical support,
AND EITHER
• Has at least $2.5 million dollars in annual revenue (in the prior
fiscal year) derived from its ADF 2.0 software only, OR
• Partners with another ADF 2.0 software provider in no fewer
than 25 ADF 2.0 environments
The following draft exclusion criteria were employed:
• Software does not meet the criteria noted above, OR
• Fewer than 50 customers have actually implemented the
software
We excluded Oracle, which recently acquired Skywire Software
and its legacy Docucorp software, because it had no prior ADF
offering and is only now beginning to integrate the acquisition.
Rating for Overall Market/Market Segment
Overall Market Rating: Positive
Gartner rates the overall ADF 2.0 software market as positive.
Although the original ADF software market has matured, the
extended suite of document design and content integration, as well
as response analysis products, has been incorporated by a small
yet growing number of providers and embraced by an increasing
number of enterprises.
Vendor Product/Service Analysis
Bowe Bell+Howell
Product(s): BOWE One
Bowe Bell+Howell's ADF 2.0 offering, known as "BOWE One,"
offers a comprehensive suite with separate modules for production
management, item management, data management and customer
service. Together these perform all of the original ADF functions
(input, transformation, delivery preparation, and control and
reporting) as well as ADF 2.0's new document design and content
integration. The response management function found in ADF 2.0
is provided through partners.
BOWE One is available worldwide and supported in North America
by Bowe Bell+Howell and in Europe by Bowe Systec, each with its
own sales and service organization. Bowe Bell+Howell augments
this with implementation, project management and on-site training
services that the complex, large-scale ADFs spanning a wide range
of documents require. Customers typically operate the full-fledged
production printers from InfoPrint, Kodak, Oce, and Xerox, but
Bowe One can also be used with Canon, Dainippon Screen, HP,
Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Xeikon printers. Besides Bowe
Bell+Howell and Bowe Systec inserters, the other major inserter
brands supported include Kern, Mailcrafters and Pitney Bowes,
with many customers employing more than one brand.
Bowe Bell+Howell has offered a comprehensive ADF product suite
for several years, first with its "Jets" and "IntellaCtr" products and
now with the next-generation, integrated BOWE One. The
company's inserting hardware and software expertise make its
offering worth an in-depth evaluation by enterprises seeking an
upgrade of their print and mail operations to ADF 2.0.
Rating: Strong Positive
6Compart
Product(s): DocBridge Suite
Though Compart is best known for transformation software, which
was its first product, DocBridge spans the original ADF modules
(input, transformation, delivery preparation, and control and
reporting) with its partners. Enterprises with strong printing and
mail inserting equipment and expertise that are interested in
enhancing legacy applications by reformatting them into
personalized transpromo documents, as well as creating new
applications, and enabling output to multiple paper and electronic
channels should investigate Compart's offering.
Compart's customer base is predominantly European with a
substantial and rapidly growing presence in North America and
some representation in the other major world regions, as well.
Customers are found in most industries but with banking,
insurance and other financials dominating, as well as
production printing service bureaus, especially outside of its
core European market.
Customers operate DocBridge Pilot with all of the major printer
brands and with inserters from Bowe Systec, Kern, and Pitney
Bowes, while inserters from Bowe Bell+Howell and MegaSpirea
can also be supported. Unlike some of its counterparts,
Compart primarily supports its customers remotely, though
almost always on a one-to-one personal basis, rather than
through Web self-service.
Rating: Positive
Crawford Technologies
Product(s): PRO Suite (Document Re-engineering, Dynamic
Document Archive, Enterprise IMB, Transform, and Workflow
product families)
Crawford Technologies' support of ADF 2.0 begins with the
transformation module and spans delivery preparation to control
and reporting. PRO Suite can be augmented with partners'
document design and input software. The company's approach is
not to make ADF systems but to make ADF systems better.
Instead of selling systems, Crawford goes into environments with
some or all of the ADF 2.0 modules and strives to improve them.
This is an especially compelling sales proposition to transactional
printing operations with a significant investment in a "home grown"
ADF application that they have outgrown (or that they no longer
have the skilled staff to support) or are using software from a
printer or inserter technology provider with limited functionality that
they have outgrown.
Customers use all of the most common production printer brands,
while a few less common ones, such as Dainippon Screen, Riso
and Xeikon can also be supported, and inserters from Bowe
Bell+Howell, Bowe Systec, Kern and Pitney Bowes are found in
some sites.
Most of Crawford Technologies' customers are in North America,
with some in Western and Eastern Europe, and a smaller number
in other regions, such as Latin America and the Pacific Rim.
Financial services and production service bureaus dominate. The
company's main presence is in North America and the U.K., with a
minority of customers in Europe and other regions except the
Middle East and Africa. The predominant industries are financial
services and service bureaus. Crawford Technologies provides
hands-on service but mostly supports its customers remotely,
relying partly on Web-based technology.
Rating: Positive
Gandlake
Product(s): Enterprise Layer Suite
Gandlake has a track record stretching back to the early days of
ADF. The company has provided solutions to the U.K. public
sector, having worked with the central government's departments
and defense agencies for several years. Gandlake also provides
ADF solutions to the largest billing utility in the U.K., as well as
financial services organizations.
Gandlake's ADF 2.0 modules include input, control and reporting,
and response management, with partners filling in most of the
remaining functions. LaserServe is Gandlake's document creation
and distribution engine and the core of its Enterprise Layer suite.
Other components of the suite include electronic bill presentment
7and document management modules. Its customers already use
Bowe Bell+Howell and Pitney Bowes inserters, while Gandlake
can extend its support to support Bowe Systec and Kern.
Partners include HP Exstream, Oce, Pitney Bowes Group 1,
PrintSoft and Sefas Innovation.
Customers can expect a more intimate relationship with Gandlake
than with most competitors that rely on automated Web-based
service; inquiries are answered by e-mail and by telephone.
Gandlake also customizes its software to each customer's specific
needs, an offering that is especially appealing to enterprises with
unique applications or production processes.
Rating: Promising
GMC Software Technology
Product(s): PrintNet T
GMC Software Technology's PrintNet PA provides the framework
for its ADF 2.0 solution, with components incorporating the
document design and content integration, input, control and
reporting, and response management modules. The remaining
modules are provided by partners, including Bowe Bell+Howell,
EFI, Kern, Oce, Xeikon, Xerox and others. Though GMC Software
has customers all over the world, its primary customer bases are
in Western Europe, with a concentration on banking, and in North
America, with a concentration in statement outsourcing and
insurance markets. The company's presence in other regions also
tends to focus on service bureaus and insurance.
GMC Software's products enable its customers to design, compose
and publish personalized communications and transaction documents
in paper and electronic media, with workflow automation and output
management capabilities built in. GMC Software is ISO:9001:2000-
certified and employs Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)
process improvement methodology in its software development.
Enterprises with strong digital printing and mail inserting expertise that
are interested in expanding into the production of personalized
transpromo documents and direct marketing campaigns in multiple
channels should investigate GMC Software's offering.
Rating: Positive
HP
Product(s): HP Exstream
HP's Exstream software focuses primarily on commercial print
applications. The company does support generated output for use
on Canon, Ricoh and Xeikon devices, but there is not a close
partnership arrangement. Rather, HP Exstream is primarily a
content management tool that integrates with ADF 2.0 workflows.
As a result, HP’s software includes the document design and
content integration, input, transformation, and response
management modules.
HP is willing to partner with other print and mail hardware and
software technology providers. It has also demonstrated success
in remaking traditional transactional documents into compelling
communications. These factors make HP Exstream worthy of
consideration for enterprises transitioning to dynamic
multichannel publishing.
HP’s ADF 2.0 customer base includes financial services and
statement outsourcing companies, with almost 90% of them
generating both print and electronic output. Current clients are
mainly located in Western Europe and North America, with a
growing presence in other regions.
Rating: Promising
InfoPrint Solutions
Product(s): InfoPrint Workflow
InfoPrint Solutions has a long but little-known history of major ADF
implementations, starting when the company was an arm of IBM.
The company focused on custom implementations, however, as a
natural extension of its high-volume transaction output printers and
the InfoPrint software tools that ran them. InfoPrint developed the
necessary connectivity to a wide range of printers and inserters,
with the output integrated with InfoPrint's control and reporting
software. Beginning in 2007, InfoPrint "productized" its offering so,
while customization is still available, the basic or "standardized"
software toolset can be implemented by a wider range of users.
8As a result, InfoPrint's toolset covers the original ADF modules:
input, transformation, delivery preparation, and control and
reporting. InfoPrint provides the complete ADF 2.0 suite by
partnering with some of the other technology providers covered in
this MarketScope to provide document design and content
integration, response management, and marketing analytics.
InfoPrint's primary customer base is dominated by banking,
financial services, utility and statement outsourcing companies. It
has customers in nearly every region but primarily in North
America and Western Europe.
InfoPrint Solutions draws on the expertise developed through
numerous, very-large-scale ADF implementations. Enterprises
must evaluate the InfoPrint Workflow product when seeking a
robust ADF 2.0 solution capable of managing the entire
publishing workflow.
Rating: Strong Positive
ISIS Papyrus Group
Product(s): ISIS Papyrus Software Suite
ISIS Papyrus Group's software spans all six of the of ADF 2.0
modules, and most date to well before 2000. Though it operates
in all world regions except for the Middle East and Africa, its
headquarters are in Switzerland, and most of its business by far is
in Europe. Its ADF 2.0 software is used mostly by banks and
service bureaus. Banks often seek partners that understand their
industry, and they find in ISIS Papyrus the relevant expertise
necessary to capitalize on ADF 2.0.
ISIS Papyrus has customers with a wide range of printers and
most of the top brands of inserters, such as Bowe Bell+Howell,
Bowe Systec and Pitney Bowes, installed in customer sites, and
Mailcrafters and MegaSpirea also supported. It supports its
customers in an automated, Web-based fashion, as well as one-
to-one by phone and e-mail, but relies mostly on remote support,
with a fee for on-site visits.
Rating: Positive
Kern
Product(s): MailFactory Suite
Kern's MailFactory Suite is a customizable, modular ADF 2.0
software suite that covers the delivery preparation, control and
reporting, and response management modules. Through
partnerships with other ADF 2.0 software providers, MailFactory
Suite can interface with other document production and
workflow tools.
Kern has banking, insurance, financial services, health, utility and
statement outsourcing customers in all regions, via 14 subsidiaries
and 90 distributors. Its customers employ the major printer brands
and even some of its competitors' inserters. Indeed, MailFactory
Suite is designed to accommodate a wide variety of inserter
control file architectures, enabling it to adapt to different
configurations, and user-defined databases.
Kern supports its customers through a combination of direct and
indirect online approaches, including remote access over virtual private
networks, as well as a Web repository. As an inserter manufacturer, it
is also able to take advantage of its on-site staffing. Kern's inserting
hardware and software expertise make its offering worth an in-depth
evaluation by enterprises upgrading their mail operations to ADF 2.0.
Rating: Positive
Kodak
Product(s): Prinergy
Kodak offers a unified workflow that is tuned to the commercial
printing marketplace, typically partnering with Sefas Innovation,
Pitney Bowes' Emtex Software, Compart and others when ADF
2.0 architecture is needed. Nevertheless, a majority of the full-color
pages run on Versamark printers are in transactional environments.
Kodak's Prinergy and Insight tools work well together to provide
ADF 2.0 functionality, providing document design and content
integration, input, and response management capabilities. It
partners with other providers, such as Pitney Bowes' Emtex unit in
the U.S., when ADF 2.0 architecture is being implemented.
9Along with a strong North American presence, Kodak's ADF 2.0
offering is also strong in Asia/Pacific and Japan. The company
finds that service bureaus are among its biggest customers. The
recognition that many of its customers are in a commercial
environment, coupled with a willingness to partner with other
providers in a custom ADF 2.0 implementation, makes Kodak's
offering worth consideration for enterprises transitioning from a
strictly monochrome, transactional print and mail operation to a
multichannel publishing venture.
Rating: Promising
Oce
Product(s): Prisma
Oce, which has a strong production printer offering, currently
focuses on the input, transformation, delivery preparation, and
control and reporting modules. However, it partners with several
companies for the ADF 2.0 tools outside its own hardware. For
example, in October 2008, Oce announced plans to integrate
Sefas Innovation's tools into its Prisma workflow. The continued
development of its software offering, coupled with the depth of its
production printer offering, makes Oce a viable ADF 2.0 provider
for many enterprises, especially ones that are employing high-
speed color printers to produce transpromo documents.
The company has a geographically broad ADF 2.0 customer base,
ranging from Western Europe to North America, Brazil and
Asia/Pacific. Similarly, its customer base is broad with significant
presence among enterprises producing transaction documents,
direct mail and (increasingly) book production.
Rating: Positive
Pitney Bowes
Product(s): DFWorks
Pitney Bowes was one of the first companies to incorporate the
ADF concept into its product line. Today its ADF 2.0 offering spans
the breadth of dynamic, multichannel communication publishing
while also incorporating location intelligence into document
creation. The company offers a complete suite of ADF 2.0 modules
of its own while also partnering with other firms as the customer
dictates. Its Emtex subsidiary, for instance, offers software that
normalizes any printer language so the user may modify, re-create
and/or suppress existing input.
While accepting data output directly from its own and Kern's
inserters, Pitney Bowes' mail piece tracking software also accepts
data captured by camera systems mounted on other devices. For
printed pieces, its software enables scheduling and resource
analysis, as well as job costing, enabling customers in some cases
to completely eliminate certain capital, labor and material costs.
Pitney Bowes' ADF 2.0 tools are used by hundreds of customers,
primarily located in North America and Europe, spanning the
banking, insurance, financial services, healthcare, utility and
statement outsourcing markets. The company employs a dedicated
team of workflow solution analysts who are available to perform
detailed efficiency analyses and then recommend, design and
manage improvements ranging from minor changes to process re-
engineering. Pitney Bowes' expertise, coupled with its hardware and
software toolset, makes its ADF 2.0 software offering a benchmark
against which enterprises should compare other products.
Rating: Strong Positive
Rochester Software Associates
Product(s): Enterprise Workflow System
Rochester Software Associates (RSA) offers a suite of products for
job submission, data stream transformation and output
management that work as a system or separately, and which the
company will tailor to the client's needs. RSA's software also
works with other providers' (such as GMC Software's and XMPie's)
products to provide document composition and ADF 2.0 support.
Its AutoFlow product enables jobs to be programmed to run on
various printers based on business rules and printer capabilities.
For example, all monochrome jobs under 50 pages long with
stapling will run on any printer, freeing up operators to print
different jobs or perform other tasks.
10The company sells direct and through distributors. With a very
strong presence in North America and Western Europe, RSA is
seeing growth in China. The company's sales are well-balanced
over the banking, insurance, financial services, healthcare, utility
and statement outsourcing sectors, with a large manufacturing
customer base in Western Europe.
RSA's offering focuses on the document design and content
integration, input, control and reporting, and response
management modules. Coupled with its WebCRD tool for print
ordering, its offering is especially attractive to enterprises with
unique applications to produce, whether on paper or online.
Rating: Positive
Sefas Innovation
Product(s): Open Print Suite
Sefas Innovation's ADF 2.0 software applies to the document
design and content integration, input, control and reporting, and
response management modules. Its suite enables collaboration on
document design, automates document production, supports print
stream enhancement and optimizes the production process from
input through printing, insertion and delivery including real-time
monitoring and control. The Open Print suite enables multichannel
delivery and tracks every document through all channels.
Sefas is a software provider with a significant and viable ADF 2.0
solution set worth in-depth consideration. Bowe Bell+Howell, Oce and
Xerox have integrated Sefas' solution, while the company also
partners with printer provider InfoPrint Solutions and inserter
manufacturers Kern and Pitney Bowes to enable its clients to
implement a comprehensive ADF 2.0 architecture. Customers are
mainly financial services and insurance companies, with the remainder
including service bureaus, utilities and government agencies.
La Poste, the French postal system, recently acquired a majority
share of Sefas with the intent to leverage its software for a
"distribute then print" offering.
Rating: Positive
Solimar Systems
Product(s): Print/Director, SOLsearcher Enterprise
Solimar Systems' enterprise output management offering enables
document re-engineering, transformation and data optimization for
production and distributed print, as well as multichannel
environments. The company's solutions ingest virtually all print data
streams, resources and composition system output into the
Solimar servers. ADF 2.0 modules supported by its PDF-based
workflows are document design and content integration, input, and
control and reporting. Solimar works with other providers, such as
EMC Document Sciences, GMC Software, HP Exstream, Xerox's
XMPie subsidiary and a full range of printer and inserter providers.
The company's customer base is primarily in North America,
Western Europe and Latin America, and expansion into
Asia/Pacific has begun. Solimar is experiencing significant growth,
partly through expansion from customers requiring re-engineering
and data optimization in multiple media. Solimar derives most of its
revenue from the banking, insurance, financial services, healthcare,
utility and statement outsourcing markets.
Solimar's customers typically benefit from improvements in data
mining, enhanced document design (especially for transpromo
printing), device and data stream optimization, and an "any to
any" workflow.
Rating: Positive
StreamServe
Product(s): Persuasion
Although well-known for its document composition and output
management solutions, StreamServe's software also applies to the
ADF 2.0 document design and content integration, input, and
transformation modules. Not constrained by print, the company's
software enables users to output to electronic media, including e-
mail and fax.
StreamServe has a customer base that includes Western and
Eastern Europe, North America, and other regions. While its
11strongest single market is utilities (regardless of region), it has a
significant client base in banking, manufacturing and financial
services. StreamServe leverages these experiences to enable its
customers not only to create new or refine existing applications
but also to lower print production costs.
While other tools will be necessary to implement the delivery
preparation, control and reporting, and response management
modules, StreamServe's software offering is a viable option for
enterprises that are using the ADF 2.0 architecture to expand
beyond simple legacy application output, whether in print or
other media.
Rating: Positive
Xenos Group
Product(s): Xenos Enterprise Server, including d2e Vision,
terminalONE, infoWEB, Integrated Document Solution
Xenos Group has extensive experience in high-volume print stream
transformation. Integrated Document Solution (IDS) is a one-to-one
customer correspondence management solution that integrates
EMC Document Sciences' xPression with Xenos terminalONE
Transform (structured data transformation) and Xenos infoWEB
(multichannel delivery and e-presentment) products, enabling
business users to create, format, control, transform, store and
present variable data documents. IDS is one of the solutions on
the new Xenos Enterprise Server.
Growing through acquisition, the company has become an
enterprise information management software provider with a
strong focus on enabling the leading providers of integrated
document archive and retrieval systems. While enabling print
stream transformation with its d2e product to many large service
bureaus in Europe, North America and Brazil for over 15 years, the
company does not currently have formal partner relationships in
the print/mail space.
Xenos' IDS focuses heavily on the ADF 2.0 document design and
content integration module. Given its design tools, however,
Xenos provides users with the ability to output content
dynamically and in multiple media. As such, the company warrants
consideration when pulling together ADF 2.0 modules from
different technology providers.
Rating: Promising
Xerox
Product Name: FreeFlow Suite
Xerox's ADF 2.0 software focuses on managing workflow through
the printing operation, including the management of devices from
competing suppliers, but not the physical inserting and mailing.
FreeFlow incorporates document design and content integration,
input, transformation and, through its XMPie offering, response
management. Its Process Manager module has the rules capability
to determine how a job will flow and to what equipment.
Xerox's printers and controllers are found in many production
printing centers, some of which have an ADF. So even though
FreeFlow software is intended mainly for direct mail and
commercial printing, it also plays a role in many ADF installations.
Xerox's offering has no inherent ability to link directly to mail
inserters, relying on partners to provide the connectivity. For its
transpromo print offering, the company partners with GMC
Software, Solimar, Pitney Bowes Emtex and others to provide the
necessary ADF 2.0 tools.
The FreeFlow Suite is available globally, with strong presence in
customer sites in the Americas and Europe. From a transaction
document perspective, Xerox's customer base is weighted to
financial services, healthcare, utility and statement outsourcing
companies. Enterprises with a high transaction document output,
whether produced on Xerox or another provider's production
printers, will find the FreeFlow a viable ADF 2.0 software toolset.
Rating: Positive
12Vendors Added or Dropped
We review and adjust our inclusion criteria for Magic Quadrants and
MarketScopes as markets change. As a result of these adjustments,
the mix of vendors in any Magic Quadrant or MarketScope may
change over time. A vendor appearing in a Magic Quadrant or
MarketScope one year and not the next does not necessarily
indicate that we have changed our opinion of that vendor. This may
be a reflection of a change in the market and, therefore, changed
evaluation criteria, or a change of focus by a vendor.
Gartner MarketScope Defined
Gartner's MarketScope provides specific guidance for users who
are deploying, or have deployed, products or services. A Gartner
MarketScope rating does not imply that the vendor meets all, few
or none of the evaluation criteria. The Gartner MarketScope
evaluation is based on a weighted evaluation of a vendor's
products in comparison with the evaluation criteria. Consider
Gartner's criteria as they apply to your specific requirements.
Contact Gartner to discuss how this evaluation may affect your
specific needs.
In the below table, the various ratings are defined:
MarketScope Rating Framework
Strong Positive
Is viewed as a provider of strategic products, services or solutions:
• Customers: Continue with planned investments.
• Potential customers: Consider this vendor a strong choice for
strategic investments.
Positive
Demonstrates strength in specific areas, but execution in one or
more areas may still be developing or inconsistent with other areas
of performance:
• Customers: Continue planned investments.
• Potential customers: Consider this vendor a viable choice
for strategic or tactical investments, while planning for
known limitations.
Promising
Shows potential in specific areas; however, execution is
inconsistent:
• Customers: Consider the short- and long-term impact of
possible changes in status.
• Potential customers: Plan for and be aware of issues and
opportunities related to the evolution and maturity of this vendor.
Caution
Faces challenges in one or more areas.
• Customers: Understand challenges in relevant areas, and
develop contingency plans based on risk tolerance and
possible business impact.
• Potential customers: Account for the vendor's challenges as
part of due diligence.
Strong Negative
Has difficulty responding to problems in multiple areas.
• Customers: Execute risk mitigation plans and contingency
options.
• Potential customers: Consider this vendor only for tactical
investment with short-term, rapid payback.