The downsized event still offered attendees a wealth of information about EFI’s new products, including productivity software solutions and inkjet.
Above: EFI CEO Jeff Jacobson (left) hosts former CEO Guy Gecht during a fireside chat in which Gecht shared what he has been up to in the past year as well as his plans for the future.
It’s hard to believe that EFI Connect 2020 was the 21st year of the conference—and even harder to believe I have been to 20 of them! This year’s event attracted 800 people, mostly customers and prospects for the company’s productivity software solutions. Almost all of the educational sessions centered around these products, whereas in recent years, the company had expanded the program to include sessions on Fiery, textiles, and more.
This was an especially important conference for EFI customers in light of the dramatic changes the company has undergone since last year. Long-time CEO Guy Gecht left the company in late 2018 after the appointment of Bill Muir as CEO. Then, in April of 2019, private equity firm Siris Capital announced an agreement to acquire EFI, which was completed in July. In the wake of taking the company private, Muir exited as CEO, and industry veteran Jeff Jacobson stepped in.
Above: Jeff Jacobson, EFI’s new CEO, greets the crowd during EFI Connect 2020’s opening session.
Given the general history of private equity firms—which have been known to break up companies and sell off pieces to profit off of their investment—many EFI customers were concerned about the future of their investments. However, Siris has stated quite clearly that it plans to keep the company intact and continue to invest in its future. It’s the first investment in the print and imaging industry for Siris. EFI CEO Jeff Jacobson addressed this in his kickoff keynote, themed “The Now and Future Pendulum,” where he talked about enjoying the present, and letting the present be part of defining the future, continually testing the status quo.
One of Connect 2020’s highlights was a fireside chat between COO Mark Olin and Siris Executive Partner Al Zollar. Many of the customers I spoke with during the event were reassured after hearing Zollar speak, having been impressed by his background (34 years in management positions at IBM), calm demeanor, and interest in learning more about the industry, EFI’s role in it, and where it could go in the future.
Other highlights included a fireside chat between current CEO Jeff Jacobson and former CEO Guy Gecht, where attendees received an update on what Gecht has been doing for the past year, as well as some potential plans for the future.
Above: EFI Connect 2020 attracted 800 people, mostly customers and prospects for the company’s productivity software solutions.
One of the most important keynotes at every EFI Connect is the software update session conducted by Gaby Matsliach, senior vice president and general manager for EFI Productivity Software. Conducted on the first day, attendees learned about the enhancements to EFI Productivity Software and new product offerings. The primary objective of this session is to arm EFI’s customers with vital updates so they, in turn, can have more informed conversations with their peers, ask detailed questions in break-out sessions, and talk with the EFI partners and experts on-site in the Exhibit Hall during the event.
The biggest headline from this session was the planned availability of Productivity Suite 8 in the second quarter of 2020, with demos of the new software available on the show floor. As part of Productivity Suite 8, more capabilities have been brought under the umbrella of EFI MarketDirect, including the renaming of EFI Digital StoreFront to EFI MarketDirect StoreFront, and tighter integration of this storefront solution with the rest of the EFI offerings. In other important product news, iQuote will now be able to ingest Excel spreadsheets in order to make it faster and easier to produce estimates where there are multiple line items. With this capability, what previously required significant manual effort and time can now be produced in minutes, helping companies respond faster to complicated RFQs and get a leg up on the business because as we all know, whoever responds first to requests for quotes typically has an advantage in acquiring the deal. This enhancement was positively received by attendees. EFI has also strengthened mailing workflow within iQuote. The goal here is to reduce the need for users to have up to nine different pieces of software to estimate and plan mailing campaigns, ultimately allowing them to do it all with iQuote.
Also, during the session, Toby Weiss, senior vice president and general manager for EFI’s Fiery business, provided a brief update, noting that 250,000 customers around the globe use Fiery DFEs every day, with 15,000 registered users in the EFI Communities online platform. This includes EFI IQ, a cloud-based solution connected to Fiery and EFI inkjet products. Weiss described it as being similar to the Microsoft Office concept—an umbrella solution that enables various applications to work together with APIs for partners to extend the integration opportunities even further. EFI IQ has multiple components, but the one that stood out, especially for larger installations, was IQ Manage that includes the ability to establish a standard set of policies to make sure all printers in the fleet are operating to the same standards.
Ken Hanulec, vice president of EFI’s worldwide marketing, provided an update on the company’s inkjet solutions. Notably, EFI is approaching its 30th installation of the EFI Nozomi C18000 direct-to-corrugated press, first shown at drupa 2016.
In comparison to previous years, I noted there were fewer EFI employees at the event since the company did not hold its usual sales kickoff in conjunction with the conference. There were also significantly fewer representatives of the media there—about 20, down from more than 100 in previous years. Members of the media were treated to more in-depth presentations on Fiery, textiles, and more, including a lively presentation from Adele Genoni, vice president and general manager of EFI Reggiani, who shared the latest updates on the company’s textile printing business and the general state of the textiles industry as it proceeds on its analog-to-digital transformation journey.
The conference wrapped up with what was my favorite highlight, a customer panel hosted by Chief Revenue Officer Frank Mallozzi. The panel included:
- Mark Popp, vice president of manufacturing for Imagine Print Solutions; Imagine is both a printer and software developer serving POP, packaging, and signage markets from multiple locations.
- Pam Richards, owner of Las Vegas-based Color Gamut Digital Imaging; Richards’ company serves the trade show industry with both rigid, roll-to-roll, and fabric printing.
- Cody Hull, product development manager, Print Services at The UPS Stores; the company has more than 5,000 franchise locations across the United States that offer print, mail, and more.
- Lynn Smith, chief marketing officer at The Sourcing Group; through a network of certified trade partners, The Sourcing Group helps customers optimize business processes, cut costs, and limit time for sourcing for print, promotional products, and apparel.
The panelists each shared their stories and thoughts about the state of the industry, the challenges and opportunities they see, and how the industry’s digital transformation is affecting their businesses. All agreed the time, effort, and expense was worth it for attendees if they are able to take away even one idea or an “aha” moment from the discussion during this panel and/or any other part of the conference, including networking with peers, and leverage that to improve their own businesses.
The 22nd edition of EFI Connect will again be held next year at The Wynn Las Vegas, making it Year 14 that the event has been held in that venue. Registration is already open at www.efi.com. We hope we will see you there!
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