Two weeks ago I had the good fortune to attend EFI’s Connect conference in Las Vegas. This conference has been taking place for a few years, but this was my first invite. I’d heard from some of my peers—thank you Frank Cannata—that this was a conference not to be missed. Still, I was somewhat skeptical as to how this end user conference is relevant to someone whose primary audience is document imaging technology dealers and resellers. Turns out a significant portion of what was presented during the General Sessions and Fireside Chats as well as in the various press briefings was more than relevant to document imaging technology dealers and resellers even if some of the markets that EFI embraces currently lie outside most of their comfort zones and target markets.
There was a lot of information presented during the conference, but I’m going to focus on the 10 things, in no particular order, that I consider most relevant and interesting for anyone selling document imaging technology today and who plans on sticking around the industry for the foreseeable future. A follow-up interview with EFI’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing Frank Mallozzi will appear later this month.
You Still Can’t Think EFI Without Thinking Fiery – Most document imaging dealer’s initial introduction to EFI has been its Fiery controllers and those still represent a strong introduction point. During a presentation to the press, John Henze, VP marketing, Fiery business, recapped 2014, which he reported was an outstanding year from a Fiery perspective and previewed what’s to come for 2015. Look for new engines leveraging the same technology used in the Fiery FS150 and XF 6.0, which were originally introduced in 2014. “It’s a great time to be part of the Fiery business,” Henze told the press. If you wanted to see the Fiery in action Ripping like nobody’s business, all you had to do was stroll around the exhibit floor.
It’s All About Integration – Whether it was the Keynote session with EFI CEO Guy Gecht and COO Marc Olin or the press briefings and Fireside Chats hosted by Gecht, integration was a topic that was front and center throughout the conference. The market is looking for technology that connects and talks together (i.e. integrates), exactly the direction where EFI is moving with their extensive product portfolio.
EFI is on the Verge of Becoming a Billion Dollar Company – During a press Q&A, Gecht, acknowledged an earlier stated goal of EFI becoming a billion dollar company by 2016. It’s an ambitious goal, and like Tom Petty (not Sam Smith), he made it clear that he wasn’t going to back down from that goal.
EFI is Much More than a Software Company – In response to a question during the press briefing, Gecht reported that EFI’s business is currently split right down the middle—50 percent software and 50 percent hardware and that he doesn’t expect that to change anytime in the foreseeable future.
Dialing Back on Acquisitions – Acquisitions have been a big part of EFI’s growth, most notably the acquisition of VUTEk in 2005. Despite having a sizable war chest to fund additional acquisitions, Gecht reported that EFI will continue to look at potential hardware and software acquisitions even though the company will likely be making fewer of them than in the past. Of course he declined to offer any hints as to acquisition targets.
Print Is Not Dead – Would you expect to hear anything less at a conference sponsored by a company whose growth can be attributed to its presence in so many print-related industries? Of course not. Between Gecht’s Fireside Chat with RR Donnelly CEO Tom Quinlan and an Industry Update by Andrew Paparozzi, president of EPICOMM (formerly the National Association for Printing Leadership, the National Association of Quick Printers and the Association of Marketing Service Providers), nobody is tossing in the towel on print. Based on the results of an EPICOMM survey and what RR Donnelly is experiencing with its customers, there’s still a future for anyone making a living from printed output even if segments of the print industry are seeing a decline in certain types of printed output.
EFI has an Impressive Digital Inkjet and LED Printer Portfolio for High-End Printing Applications – Ken Hanulec, VP marketing, VUTEk, Wide Format, Jetrion, and CretaPrint, shared with the press contingent what’s going on in the inkjet and LED space for EFI, focusing primarily on higher end production devices. Although these markets aren’t currently on the radar of the average office technology dealer, these devices underscore how widespread the company’s footprint is in the highest ends of the production print and graphic arts spaces. Hanulec identified EFI’s industry leading innovation, its broad portfolio of 19 different products addressing segments of $100,000 to north of a million dollars as well as the EFI ecosystem, which encompasses hardware, software, ink, services, and the Fiery as three takeaways from his presentation. The bottom line here is that digital inkjet technology is growing rapidly and a key component of the EFI product offering. Expect to see the company look at more opportunities to integrate (there’s that word again) that technology with the appropriate format offerings going forward.
EFI is About More than Just Helping Customers Place Marks on Paper – The various presentations and press briefings underscored just how diverse EFI’s reach truly is within the print world and all forms of printing on an ever growing array of media. Admittedly, some of the samples I had the opportunity to get a closer look at during the press briefing (product labeling, vinyl, textiles, plastic) is media that I typically don’t write about and document imaging dealers aren’t selling en masse, I’m still open minded enough to realize that what I’m covering as a document industry journalist and what document imaging dealers are selling is constantly evolving. Think about it. How many of us in the document imaging industry were writing about or selling digital signage or 3D printing 10 years ago?
3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental and EFI CEO Guy Gecht discuss the importance of workflow in manufacturing during a fireside chat keynote session at EFI Connect 2015.
There Can’t Be Enough Hype Around 3D Printing – One of the more entertaining and illuminating sessions was a Fireside Chat with Gecht and 3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental about 3D Printing. One message I culled from Reichental’s comments was that it’s time to ramp up the hype. As he said, “The notion of democratizing 3D printing is not just in terms of price points, it’s not just in terms of portability, it’s in terms of making it simple enough so anyone who wants to access it can access it not because they’re experts but because the tool is simple enough or it becomes about how do I design for it, use it or what can I get out of it. In that sense, I don’t think 3D printing is hyped enough.”
There STILL Can’t Be Enough Hype Around 3D Printing – Reichental had so much to share about 3D printing, I have to make this my 10th remembrance. But rather than turn this piece into an homage for 3D printing, I’m going to cut to his thoughts about how one can get into the game. Although he was addressing an end user audience with his comments, it’s not a stretch to apply those to a dealer/reseller audience too.“At its core, 3D printing is another way for people, to communicate, to express, to create, to design, and to manufacture things,” he said. “One of the biggest areas of opportunity in the next decade is what kind of tools will reside on an engineer’s, architect’s, educator’s, small office or business desktop? That is the essence of the consultative selling approach you guys [end users] are practicing every day and is the essence of your business. The question is how do you get in the game? You get in the game by working with companies like us. You get in the game by putting pressure on Guy and I to make something happen for you and by doing your homework and doing your research to figure out how this can be complimentary, and an extension and a revitalization of your business model as opposed to just reading about it passively and letting the opportunity slip by.”
He also predicted that large companies and small companies will enter this space because it’s attractive and it’s a gateway into the future of design and manufacturing.
A Final Remembrance
One thing was clear from the moment I walked into the EFI Connect conference, I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Granted, this was an end-user event so many of those familiar dealer faces I would normally see at one of these events were nowhere to be seen although Mallozzi told me that he’d like to see that change next year. Same was true with the press and analyst contingent. Few familiar faces there too, mostly because the emphasis at the conference was more diverse and not as narrowly defined as many of the other document imaging related conferences we attend. If anything, this event underscores just how big and wide reaching EFI has become, reaching out far beyond the document imaging space into other, equally lucrative markets.
