Lexmark Acquires Brainware in Managed Document Services Deal

Here’s some big news from the managed document services (MDS) sector to start your week, one of the hottest managed services verticals of 2012 for both enterprise and SMBs. Lexmark, the managed document solutions provider and printer manufacturer, has recently acquired BDGB Enterprise. The acquisition comes with Brainware, a U.S.-based subsidiary of BDGB that provides a data capturing platform called Brainware Distiller.

So what does Lexmark plan to do with its newly acquired data capturing platform? The company says it will add the Brainware Brand to Perceptive Software, a stand-alone business that operates as part of the larger Lexmark corporate umbrella.

According to Lexmark Chairman and CEO Paul Rooke, the Brainware Distiller will be a “differentiator” for the company’s managed print services and its end-to-end business process solutions that it markets to an international business customer base. The Brainware platform can identify and pull out critical business information from paper and electronic documents, validate it and then pass it to a business end-user’s management system. In the end, Lexmark’s goal is to help is business customers more efficiently handle high-document jobs like processing loans or invoices.

Remember that at the end of 2o11 Lexmark was one of three companies — along with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Xerox — to claim victory after International Data Corp. (IDC) released its MarketScape study of the managed print services market. So it’s no surprise that Lexmark is making moves to capitalize on its success in the managed document/managed print arena.

And acquiring Brainware is quite the splash in terms of building a stronger international, cross-vertical brand. Brainware currently serves Global 2000 companies in the financial, retail, energy, healthcare, technology and manufacturing verticals. What’s more, Brainware already has physical offices in the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and Germany. Let’s see how the other MDS players respond.