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INTERVIEW
Following the launch of Samsung’s
new enterprise class A3 MFP (see
box),
PrintIT Reseller
caught up with
Mark Ash, Head of Print, Samsung UK
& Ireland, to find out how Samsung
fared last year and what its plans are
for 2015.
Ash was in an ebullient mood. “2014
was by far and away the best year we have
ever had,” he said. “We exited the year
with substantial growth. Our hardware
business grew 37% last year and we
delivered our best performance in our
24-year history. When you delve below the
surface the A3 growth was phenomenal.
Overall, we quadrupled our A3 business.
We were the fastest growing vendor and
the only vendor that showed quarter-on-
quarter growth throughout the year. That’s
really exciting for us.”
Much of the credit for this, must go
to the channel. “In the office automation
(OA) business area, our trading accounts
grew from 26 to 87 and, again, on A3,
the unit performance was something like
387% growth,” he said.
Ash attributes Samsung’s success to
three things – people, process, technology.
“We have employed the right people.
We have got what’s acknowledged by
others in the industry as the strongest
management team and we’ve got a
number of talented people with a great
work ethic in the right places. We’ve put
in the business basics and processes you
would expect in an organisation such
as this. And now the technology is really
starting to catch up. The innovation is
Mark Ash tells
PrintIT Reseller
how Samsung plans to double sales
in the IT reseller and OA channels in 2015.
Enterprises,
here we come
starting to come through with the MX4
series, with its Android interface, and now
the MX7 series. We've got the holy trinity
now – people, process, technology.”
Seventh heaven
Ash says that the effects of these
developments are starting to be seen
in increased market share for Samsung
products.
“The market is declining at a headline
level, though the decline is predominantly
in A4 at the lower page per minute level
i.e. Segment 1. The A3 market is growing,
and it's there that we are increasing our
market share. The full year (2014) figures
aren’t out yet, but YTD we've moved to
The complete solution
The MultiXpress 7 (MX7) A3 colour multi-function printer (MFP) has been specially
designed to meet the needs of enterprises and SMBs with a requirement for smarter,
more productive print devices.
Offering print speeds of up to 60 pages per minute, the MX7 is the only A3 MFP on the market
powered by a Quadcore CPU for faster operation. It takes just 18 seconds to boot and 12 seconds to
wake up from sleep mode. The first page out time is only 3 seconds for a mono page and 4.5 seconds
for colour prints. Print quality is 1200 dpi even when running at full speed.
A major attraction for paper-intensive businesses is the high speed scanner offering an industry-leading
scan speed of up to 120 pages per minute or 240 images per minute on two-sided documents.
Other productivity enhancements include an 802.11ac-capable network chip, which is three times
faster than the older 802.11n standard, and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity, which gives users
‘always-on’ connectivity when in close proximity to the device.
Android display
The MX7 features a 10.1-inch Android-powered display running Samsung Smart UX 2.0. Users can
pivot the Smart UX Center display to get true document views and customise the experience with
apps that can be downloaded from Samsung’s printer app store.
The Smart UX Center also has a Workspace Cloud feature that lets users view and edit stored
documents on any device. SCP Pro is supported, and there are over 20 ISV solutions that deliver
seamless integration into existing office cloud and server networks.
Another interesting feature of the MX7 is an electronic Tray Locking Kit that prevents letterhead
or specialist paper from being removed.
Heavy duty
The MX7 is capable of printing up to 300,000 pages a month and comes with an optional large toner
cartridge with a capacity of 30,000 (C,M,Y) or 45,000 (K) pages. Other options include an automated
document stapler capable of stapling 60 sheets or an 80-page A4 booklet.
Continued...
“2014 was
by far and
away the
best year we
have ever
had.”
Samsung MultiXpress 7 (MX7)
