Ricoh Introduction of Dataworks3

Another "home-grown" solution like PrintMail is/was. The AIIM/OnDemand announcement says they are targeting it at the transpromo market.

Just getting on my soapbox here:

I really have to wonder why Ricoh invests its research and development in creating a VDP product when there are so many excellent products and plug-ins out there created by software/VDP experts. These experts are only too happy to partner with hardware experts, and most of the hardware experts are only too happy to partner with the software vendors. So, everybody wins especially dealers who get to generate new clicks.

So, why does Ricoh want to give itsself such a disadvantage by coming out with a brand-new product that brings nothing new to the VDP table and is several generations behind what the experts are already doing. I looked at the brochure posted on the InfoCenter, and I do not see a compelling reason to consider it. Any serious VDP vendor is well beyond just print capability at this point; they are offering web integration. Even PrintShop Mail, a promotional application, came out with web integration a couple of years ago and is now on variable IMAGE integration. The best Dataworks can come up with is optional fax and archiving (which PlanetPress was offering at least five + years ago).

If I present to my client a well-established product from Objectif Lune or Prism or Printable Technologies, a competitor going in with Dataworks is going to only look like a "Me, Too!" tag-along.

Really, why bother with Dataworks.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't most of "Ricoh's" solutions, re-labeled third-party stuff? Except for GlobalScan and DocumentMall (which was actually a seperate entity but wholly owned by Ricoh if I remember right or was that eCabinet?) third-party agreements? Typically, we find out soon after a launch that the "new" addition to the line-up is a tried-and-true but by a different name. Cost and Security Manager was EquiTrac, Print Director is PrintAudit, etc. I may have the associations wrong, but you get my point. The Press Releases always say they are Ricoh products but they turn out to just be vendor arrangements.

If this product is like the older VDP products from Ricoh, and I think it is, then they are relabeld versions of products from XLPrint.

XLPrint

This proves Old Glory's point:

The press release from Ricoh that Art posted elsewhere (http://p4photel.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3796084491/m/6181009403) says

"During the conference, Ricoh will also be highlighting a list of proprietary solutions developed in-house, such as:

-- Card Authentication Platform ...
-- Ricoh Dataworks(3)...
-- DataOverwriteSecurity System (DOSS) ...
-- Embedded Print Director 5.2 ...
-- GlobalScan(TM) 3.1 - ...
-- IPDS -...
-- Transaction Link - ....
-- Web SmartDeviceMonitor ..."

[Smacks head on desk]. I feel another rant coming on.