Vice President & Managing Director, EMEA & APAC Regions, Kodak Alaris Holdings Limited
Ensuring the Well-Being of Partners and Customers is Paramount | Naji Kazak of Kodak Alaris
Naji Kazak, the General Manager for the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and Russia at Kodak Alaris, speaks about the growth of the ...
Transcript (14 segments)
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Interviewer0:10
Uh, so thank you Naji for speaking to Arabian Reseller. Naji is the regional head at Kodak Alaris, and we'll be talking about the document management system, the market, and their scanners, the new scanners that they've launched on the market. So thank you, Naji, once again for speaking to Arabian Reseller.
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Naji Kazak0:26
Most welcome, and I'm happy to be with you and have this conversation.
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Interviewer0:31
Okay, can you tell us about the growth of the document imaging market in the region?
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Naji Kazak0:37
Sure. Let me give you an overview. According to studies, the document imaging market is growing. IDC data at the beginning of the pandemic showed a decrease in scanner shipments, but the document imaging market did grow and is still growing. Data Bridge Market Research indicates a growth rate of almost 14% year-on-year from 2020 to 2027, and we see that from our side. This market is expected to reach 144 billion dollars in 2027. Factors include delayed shipments, changed priorities, and shifts in IT spending, but utilization of software increased. Ultimately it's about the data and how it is treated.
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Interviewer3:20
Okay, okay. So what is driving the uptake of document imaging solutions in the region? When you look at the reasons for companies going for such solutions...
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Naji Kazak3:28
Many factors. Before the pandemic, people used paper and physical signatures. Now remote access has increased, and organizations realize they need to access data regardless of location. Higher security measures are required. The pandemic affected ROI, so everyone seeks better utilization of budgets. Workflows have shifted from manual to digital. The world is moving faster, requiring different data access and treatment. Workflows are now set up to enable remote access since paper cannot be moved physically.
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Interviewer6:44
Okay, so you mentioned about the pandemic and how people are adjusting to that. What kind of challenges have you encountered during the pandemic, as a company, and how have you managed to overcome those challenges?
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Naji Kazak6:58
There have been many challenges. First and foremost, the well-being of our employees, partners, and customers came first. One main challenge was remote support and delivery. We manage different countries from Dubai; we could no longer visit. We took measures to maintain support, such as equipping our professional services team with tools and knowledge for remote support. Financially, we helped partners by introducing subscription models to ease cash flow. We also set up a full virtual demo center in our office to continue demonstrations safely.
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Interviewer10:07
Okay, you mentioned about remote access because of the pandemic, that has increased a lot. And the second question is about your remote service offerings globally. Are they available here, and what do they include?
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Naji Kazak10:28
The impact of remote demos: it went from 30% to almost 90% of our normal activity. Customers now require remote access; before, they wanted on-site demos. We now have secure remote access tools. Regarding your second question, the entire cycle moved remote: pre-sale demos, proof of concept, delivery, implementation, and after-sales support. Everything is done virtually, including discussions with clients and partners.
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Interviewer12:40
Okay, you mentioned briefly about the pandemic and challenges. How have you ensured business continuity for your partners? Have you introduced new programs or lead generation campaigns?
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Naji Kazak13:03
Yes, we've been holding virtual trainings for partners and enabling them with tools. We are all in the same bucket; we shared our tools to ensure successful deliveries. We also help partners expand their offerings beyond scanners to workflows and data capture. I should mention our new launch, Infuse, a cloud solution where scanners connect directly to the cloud, plug-and-play, no IT needed. Customers can put them anywhere and start workflows remotely.
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Interviewer16:07
That's all the questions I had for you. Thank you, Naji, for speaking to Arabian Reseller. It was nice having you with us today.
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Naji Kazak16:14
It's my pleasure. Thank you, and hopefully we see everyone physically soon.