EFI has expanded its vision to provide solutions to not just enterprise customers alone but rather, those in the mid-market as well.
EFI Asia Pacific sales vice-president Rodd Harrison says the recently launched new Vutek solutions show that the company is moving its product range vertically.
He explains, “We’re no longer doing just high-end product ranges anymore within the MIS and ERP area but moving into the mid-market range with the newer products that we’ve brought and will soon bring out.”
“This will extend our reach into smaller and medium sized businesses. We want to touch more customers, and not just those in the enterprise level.”
EFI Asia Pacific has refined its go to market strategy making customers are now its key focus. Harrison adds, “We don’t just meet a customer and try to sell printers. We take a holistic approach with both hardware and software and try to solve our customers’ needs. This holistic approach is what sets us apart from our competitors.
“Our approach has been to go back to customers that have our hardware and letting them take a look at our software products. This has enabled them to unify their workflows.
“Typically, in Australia and New Zealand, customers go bespoke: they custom-build their own software solutions or they go buy something off the shelf. So, the software enhancements let us to play in both markets. We’ve got a range of products that can help them. For instance, they could deploy some of our software solutions for their customers so their customers are on boarding jobs into their workflow in a much more automated, seamless way.”
He says that, with EFI refining its product (hardware and software) sets every 18 months, it puts the business ahead of the average three-year innovation pace that the industry takes.
EFI Asia Pacific senior regional sales manager Daniel Aloi says the software enhancements are an evolution of its suite. He says, “We were wanting to have a more integrated, streamlined and connected workflow that is seamless, intuitive and easy to use. As we continue to evolve, we’re getting the ability to deliver on that promise better than before.
“With the way that we have constructed the enhancements, you can have the same functionality regardless of your business size. This brings value to all aspects of the market.
“For example, if you are a mid-market customer with the need for advanced scheduling, you can use the PrintFlow solution and plug it in. And that is the same technique that a larger printer may already be taking advantage of.”
He adds that the software market has a different uptake here than in the United States and having a faster refresh rate works to the benefit of customers. He says, “The churn of software for a business in the US is typically, on average, about five to seven years. But in Australia and New Zealand, that average is around 16 to 18 years. That is probably too long, but because of the complexity of implementations and the trouble that businesses need to go through to make those changes, it means that they hold on longer.
“One of the benefits of upgrades or renewal into the EFI suite is that we can bring them the functionality that gives then that longevity that they’re akin to.”
