GMC Software eyes Americas as key to growth in 2013

Following its acquisition last July by Neopost - and the recent replacement of long-time President/CEO Dr. Rene Muller by Henri Dura - GMC Software Technology is once again focused on growth and is looking to the Americas to drive that strategy.

In an interview with PrintWeek, GMC COO Michael Watts noted: "The last quarter and the actual last month were records in terms of revenues and number of new customers for GMC. So we really feel we're poised for growth this year and our relationship with Neopost will only speed this growth - while letting us stay true to our commitment to product development as well as our values and our customers."

Before becoming COO in late 2011, Watts oversaw GMC's Americas operation and so had a first-hand look at how variable data has changed commercial printing on this side of the Atlantic.

"There is clearly a strong move in the industry towards short runs and variable print is the way to go," he explained. "Those commercial printers who will survive will be the ones who embrace this technology and invest in changing their business to better partner with their clients and provide new services that are not just print related but also takes then into a multichannel delivery platform."

Watts suggested GMC already has a lion's share of the Tier One customers, both in North America and in key Latin American markets like Brazil.

In order to bring Tier Two commercial printers into the fold, Watts said: "We will be launching a series of cloud-based solutions for smaller printers to 'get their feet wet' and that will help drive volume in a consolidate and automated manner from these shorter print runs. I see North America as leading the growth for GMC in 2013 and beyond - and this is a great way for them to do that."

That move will also trigger an evolution in GMC's business model. "We like the traditional perpetual license model, but we're also moving into software as a service and subscriptions models as well," he added. "That will help these smaller customers to get into this technology and enable them to growth with us."

While not every market in Latin America has the infrastructure in place to take advantage of mail management/postal optimization solutions that GMC can provide, Watts predicted that the region overall is a huge opportunity for the company, adding that in Brazil most of the utility statements there are already being produced using GMC software.

"GMC is already very strong in Latin America - we have an office in Mexico and an office in Brazil serving those markets and we have most of the large PSPs and mailers as our customers so it is very important to help these companies with the transition to multichannel," Watts said.

"But we're also working with in-plant printers and enterprises are turning to GMC to help them deliver value to the client base because the ability to consolidate many short runs into automated plain paper variable print jobs provides the level of optimization and efficiency these organizations are looking for - and at a price point that makes sense for their clients."