When was OfficeMail launched and what market is it aimed at? Mailing equipment manufacturer Pitney Bowes unveiled Production Intelligence (P/I) OfficeMail in 2009 to enable corporate businesses to cut office mailing costs. The hybrid mail system collects all the ‘ad hoc’ print documents generated by office workers and sends them to an external print facility. "We’re talking about banks, insurance companies, utility firms, government and local authorities," explains Clive Freedman, strategic account manager at the Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies software division. "We either sell directly to these businesses or through service bureau providers, who in turn effectively provide it as a ‘software-as-a-service’ (SAAS) to their clients." The company aims for two major upgrades to the software every year, and version 3.3 was launched this month.

What are its main features? The desktop computer user submits documents ready for print through what looks like a standard printer driver. If the client doesn’t want to put the software onto computers, web-based submission is also available. As you would expect, Word is the dominant document format, but OfficeMail can handle any application that generates PDFs, and mail merge documents are supported as well. Freedman says OfficeMail gives large enterprises integrity, control and security over their local printing. "By integrity, I mean making sure that the right mail goes into the right envelope to the right individual," he explains. "That’s obviously critical. Larger companies in particular are subject to huge FSA fines if they don’t get it right."

What’s its USP? Pitney Bowes’ core market is in production, as opposed to the office-based environment, and Freedman feels his firm’s experience in this "more complex, mission-critical market" makes OfficeMail an extremely robust product. "There are plenty of products that come from the desktop arena, but we don’t feel there are any other players who have come from our route," he explains. "What we are doing here is what we have done for many years in the world of transactional batch printing." Other strong selling points, according to Freedman, include the ability to track and trace the mail piece through the workflow and the sanctioning of quality controls, which may be useful if a company employs temporary staff.

How does 3.3 differ to previous versions? This latest version gives customers the ability for multisite print production. If, for example, a large corporate needs to send documents to customers throughout the UK, the software can now direct and split output to the nearest print facility. Other enhancements include AES-256 encryption and compression PCI compliance, and the inclusion of the web submission feature as standard.

What savings does it offer users? Freedman says 50% of the achievable savings are made by office workers no longer having to worry about printing documents themselves. "Traditionally, what happens is that the worker calls up a template, creates a document, reads it, prints it on their desktop printer, gets the paper, shoves it in an envelope, franks it, and then dispatches it to the post room," he says. "What this product does is automate all of that process, plus it’s giving an audit trail of where their document is in the workflow." Through bundling all of the output, a further 40% of savings are made in postal optimisation and mail-sort discounts. Reducing the need for desktop printers and consumables, meanwhile, accounts for 10% of the savings.

What level of support can users expect? Pitney Bowes provides one day’s training that covers administration, user set-ups, document set-ups and template management, and how to work with attachments – both electronic and physical. A UK helpdesk is open during normal office hours, and remote support is available.

How much is it? What’s the sales target and how many are installed? The pricing structure varies considerably and depends on both volume and term commitment, so anything between 1p-10p per impression is possible. Freedman says there are currently 15 installations and another 25 have been targeted as opportunities in the coming six to nine months. Pitney Bowes also allows organisations to rebrand the product, which is particularly useful if used as part of a wider SAAS.

SPECIFICATIONS
Platform
Windows
Database
SQL
Price
1p-10p per impression
Contact
08444 992992

ALTERNATIVES
Nirva Post On Demand v4.2
A scalable product, Post On Demand has a number of large European clients including Deutsche Post, Xerox France and Williams Lea. Main advanced functions are automated document categorisation, secured signature, multichannel delivery and international roaming.
Platform Windows, Linux
Database Oracle, SQL Server, mySQL
Price 3p (per envelope)
Contact Nirva 020 3286 1774 www.nirva-systems.com

PrintSoft Hybrid Mail
Hybrid Mail typically works via a Windows Printer Driver, but documents can also be submitted via web portal. PrintSoft says the system is designed to move mail from high-cost, labour-intensive workgroups to a lower-cost, automated environment regardless of the organisational structure.
Platform Windows, Linux
Database MySQL, SQL Server, Postgres
Price £43,000 for CAPEX and a 25p click charge (based on 1.2m adhoc documents over 3 years)
Contact Printsoft 0161 368 2808 www.printsoft.com

Unity Hybrid Mail
Documents are transferred to Unity’s secure facility where they are printed, folded, enclosed and posted in two days. Unity also offers document archive and retrieval service and claims to be carbon neutral.
Platform Windows
Database none required
Price from 26p (includes production, postage and materials)
Contact Unity Hybrid Mail 0870 242 4685 www.unityhybridmail.com