THE integrated document management (IDM) software market in the Asia Pacific is growing fast, driven by dropping infrastructure costs and demands for greater efficiency and productivity.
IDM MARKET SET TO BOOM
According to Chicago-based IDM solutions provider Computhink Inc, the market in the region is potentially worth between US$5bil and US$8bil (RM19bil and RM30bil) a year. “It’s growing fast ... with an average global growth rate of 44%, the regional IDM market is set to boom,” said Joe Wharram, vicepresident of sales and marketing at Computhink.
He added that the movement from paper-based document management systems to digital ones were being driven by several key factors, including decreasing costs involved in setting up an IDM system.
“The technology has been available for a while, but only recently has prices of key pieces like storage and network communications come down to an affordable and feasible level,” Wharram told In.Tech recently.
He added that while large companies have always had the financial capacity to implement an IDM system, falling technology prices now meant that it was becoming feasible for smaller companies as well.
This development was propelling demand for IDM software, according to Wharram.
“We are seeing continued growth from the larger existing customers, and new sources of growth from smaller companies,” he said.
Cost savings were the primary attraction for implementing an IDM system, and in many cases, investments in such a system paid for itself quickly, he claimed.
“ROI (return on investment) can be achieved in anything from a matter of weeks to a few months,” he said.
Companies save money primarily through reduction in manpower costs, document search times, and storage space.
According to Wharram, 60% of office operation revolve around paper use, with 12,000 pieces of paper generated a year by a group of 10 employees on average. “Storage costs can be reduced dramatically, by up to 80%, when you move to a IDM system,” he added.
Meanwhile, Computhink has appointed Datamation (M) Sdn Bhd as the exclusive distributor of its ViewWise IDM software for the region.
Datamation would be responsible for sales and support in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia.
Datamation group managing director Alex Wee said that the company would appoint channel partners and resellers to market ViewWise in the region.
“We believe our appointment reflects Computhink’s strong confidence in our ability to sell and position their products in the Far East,” he added.
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