As 2011 unfolded, the team here at Fujitsu witnessed an exciting year of innovation and accomplishments in document imaging. So to remember this year’s successes and trends we rounded up all the highlights for your reading pleasure.

• The ScanSnap family got bigger and smaller.  It got bigger with the addition of the highly functional yet simplistic N1800 network scanner designed to help organizations of all sizes improve their business processes.  It got smaller with the arrival of the 12 ounce S1100 ideal for ensuring mobile productivity from anywhere.
• Yeah cloud!  This year, cloud transitioned from a technology hype to a viable alternative to on-premise deployment. Having the ability to scan and store in the cloud is helping organizations achieve significant cost savings, improve efficiencies and streamline document-centric business processes.  Visit the marketplace to learn more about our cloud thinking partners.
• Capture software sales rebound.  According to Harvey Spencer Associates (HSA), worldwide capture software sales grew to $2.2 billion, which represented a growth of 10.2% year over year. 
• Scanner placements grew.  Year over year industry scanner placements grew 10%.  Source:  InfoTrends Document Imaging Forecast for North America, August 2011. 
• CIO’s identify “Digitize the Enterprise” as their number 4 priority for year.  CIO’s recognize the need to digitize everything to reduce costs, enhance decision making and to eliminate latency.  InformationWeek Global CIO – January 10, 2011  
• Healthcare remained the top vertical sector for capture hardware and software sales.  This was driven by both federal and internal mandates to move toward electronic health records. 
• SharePoint became an ECM platform.  The fixes and enhancements included in the SharePoint 2010 release changed the perception of Microsoft’s SharePoint as a basic content service provider to a true ECM platform. 
• Numbers speak volumes.  According to InfoTrends, Fujitsu was the overall market leader in unit shipments and revenues.  Year over year, Fujitsu grew revenue by 21% and unit sales by 27%.

With a year like this, where could we possibly go next year?  Stayed tuned for Pam’s Predictions for ‘2012.

Pamela Doyle
Director, Imaging Products Group
Fujitsu Computer Products of America