Katun looking for VARs
Vendor sets its sights on software market
Vendor Katun is on the hunt for VARs to resell its vendor-independent document management software.
The firm traditionally produced OEM-compatible consumables and parts for printers, but has now developed Printing Software Solutions (PSS), scheduled for release in June.
Karl Cerny, vice-president of Katun in EMEA, said: “We have established relationships with a number of office equipment dealers who have sold our consumables, but they tend to cover the mid-size companies. Our software is also for larger organisations so we are looking to appoint IT resellers that have relationships with large firms.”
Cerney said the software supports all leading printer and copier brands, which is significant because very few offices use just one brand. The software also records actual usage and suggests useful measures for improvement.
“Research conducted by Katun has found that 20 to 30 per cent of the total printing volumes of desktop printers can be transferred to more cost-saving systems,” he said. “Based on print per page costs, end-users can save up to 20 per cent of their overall global printing costs by installing PSS, which is a great message for resellers to push.”
Kevin Jones, managing director of printer VAR Printware, said: “We’ve dabbled in the past with document management software, but it’s only been for Xerox hardware so something that is more open would be useful.”
Jason Harcourt, research analyst at Context, added: “If Katun has confidence in the ability of its software to seamlessly work across multiple vendors machines and it markets it correctly then it should do well.”
Chas Moloney, director of marketing at Ricoh UK, said: “Greater awareness of the cost of uncontrolled print means that print management is working its way up the agenda of UK firms. It’s no surprise that there is already a range of solutions on the market that offer this functionality.”