Y Soft was founded in 2000 by students in the Czech Republic. The print management software company is headquartered in the Czech Republic, but has global operations, including a U.S.-based office in Dallas, Texas, responsible for pre-sales and post-sales support as well as local marketing activities.
Since launching its key product, SafeQ, in 2003, the company has grown almost every year. They currently have nearly 300 employees with revenues at $28 million.
Vaclav Muchna, co-founder and CEO, is as pleased with what they have achieved and how they have achieved it.
“Growth has been completely organic without any venture capital,” he says.
The foundation of that growth is SafeQ, an enterprise document management software that Y Soft bills as helping organizations reduce print, copy and scan costs, while increasing document security and improving workflows for employee productivity.
Vaclav Muncha
Muchna states, however, that as the company has grown, it has become more important to expand the product offering. This month they announced that they would transition SafeQ from a single product into a platform and expand towards workflow automation.
“SafeQ is now the only product in the world that integrates work flow with print management in a seamless integration,” he says.
With additional products comes the search for a wider range of customers and Y Soft is seeking to expand their customer base. Muchna says that Y Soft currently has many enterprise accounts but is now looking to capture more SMBs. He cautions however that the product is best suited to those concerned with selling solutions.
“SafeQ is not for every dealer,” he says. “They need to have the infrastructure in place – and experience. SafeQ is often used in conjunction with MPS. If the company thinks service, they will think solutions.”
Perhaps the most unique aspect of Y Soft is their bold venture into 3D print management.
Y Soft purchased a 3D printer company in 2014 because the existing 3D machines lacked integral characteristics for integration. Owning the product allowed them to set the direction of development, and Muchna says that Y Soft has specifically modeled their 3D printer for use in the office.
“1998 was the year when copiers began to get connected,” he says. “By 2003 there was a need to manage them because they were on a network. This is what launched print management applications. We think 3D printers will be connected more on networks and therefore there will be a need to manage them.”
eDee 3D Printer
In March, Y Soft introduced eDee, the first 3D printer with integrated print management aimed initially at the education market.
Muchna says he encounters a lot of skepticism in the channels when it comes to 3D printers, but he believes that 3D printers will undergo the same change as 2D copiers and even be used in an MPS model.
“Why care about 3D printing?” he asks. “Because it will help dealers sell their core products. Our strategy with 3D printing is to be strong in education and leverage that to help dealers sell 2D printers.”
Muchna says that industry, particularly manufacturing, is the next logical space to place and manage 3D printers.
“Security is a concern for them,” he says. “They can keep track of the projects and billing codes. We think that there will be another segment where integration with print management would make sense.”
Although 3D has not been widely embraced by dealers yet, Y Soft’s commitment to a networked desktop printer with print management software could be the differentiating factor that helps alter that course.
