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Brian Platte Lifetime Achievement Award Presented at Xploration® 17

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Lutz, FL — March 28, 2017: Xplor International, the worldwide electronic document systems association, today named the recipients of the Brian Platte Lifetime Achievement Award. This award was presented at Xplor’s Annual Conference, Xploration 17, on Tuesday, March 28th during the awards ceremony.

Tweet this: Brian Platte Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients Recognized at Xploration® 17 http://bit.ly/2mJd0JV #Xplor17

The Brian Platte Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2007 and is given to an individual, or individuals, whose efforts and contributions have significantly changed the course and development of the digital document industry. This award is open to Xplor International members as well as non-members.

This year, two Brian Platte Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented.

The first recipient is Kemal Carr. Kemal is the President of Madison Advisors, an industry research and consulting firm that provides project-based advisory services designed to assist clients with business strategy and technology selection decisions. Prior to forming Madison Advisors in 2001, Kemal held various system roles including three years with the industry analyst group at Doculabs and seven years in the systems company of Fidelity Investments. Kemal is also a frequent writer for leading industry publications and speaks at industry events around the world.

Mr. Carr supports the New York University Prism Award Luncheon, has served on the Board of the Colleyville Grapevine Youth Football Association, and volunteered on a committee working with his local City Council to pass a bond for improvements to area schools. He also supports the Woodland Hills Community Park, nurturing 100-year old pecan trees and planting more in an effort to beautify the area for all the community to enjoy.

A second Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Harald Grumser, who founded Compart 23 years ago and has run the company like a family ever since. The innovation that the company was built upon gives users the ability to convert any kind of print format to any other kind of print format. The unique approach Harald took to accomplish this any-to-any conversion is called “Docponents®” and remains an idea well ahead of its time that has proven to be a uniquely prescient approach.

In addition to Harald’s contributions to the industry, he has shown his deep social consciousness by sponsoring giving campaigns for victims of earthquakes, floods, famine and the tsunami caused by the Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004. His sense of humanity has been touched by the plight of Syrian refugees streaming into Europe and Germany. Sensing that money was not enough, he initiated a program to teach refugees German, using Compart’s office space, volunteers, and facilities. Volunteers were granted time off from their usual assignments in order to teach both adults and children the language skills they will need in order to thrive in Germany and adapt to their new country.

“I’d like to congratulate both Kemal and Harald for their achievement, it is well deserved.” says Skip Henk, EDP, President/CEO of Xplor International. “Our industry as a whole and the world around us are better places due to their efforts.”

Other Xplor annual awards, recognized and announced at Xploration® 17, include:

Technology of the Year
Winner – Pitney Bowes / Clarity Solutions
Honorable Mention – Xerox Corporation / Xerox Direct to Object Inkjet Printer 
Honorable Mention – Elixir Technologies Corporation / Tango+

Application of the Year
Winner: BMO Bank of Montreal / GMC Software / The CX Ecosystem and Digital Transformation
Honorable Mention: Gore Mutual / uBiz
Honorable Mention: Health First / Ricoh USA, Inc. / RICOH ProcessDirector

About Xplor International
Xplor International is a not-for-profit association that provides thought leadership to the customer communications industry. As a community Xplor provides advocacy, education, training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Our members are decision makers and recommenders who are involved in the conception, design, implementation production and delivery of multi-channel client, member and customer communications.

Xplor’s mission is to enhance organizational success and advance the careers of our members by providing research, publications, industry certification, professional development, web-based events, and conference programming. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida, with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/XplorInternational
Twitter: twitter.com/Xplor_Int or @Xplor_Int

Xplor International Media Contact:
Chad Henk
Marketing Manager
+1-813-949-6171
Chad@xplor.org

Xplor Announces 2017 Technology and Application Award Recipients

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Award Recipients to Be Recognized in Orlando at Xploration® 17

Lutz, FL — February 21, 2017 – Xplor International, the worldwide electronic document systems association, today announced the recipients of its 2017 Technology and Application of the Year Awards. The awards will be presented at a ceremony Tuesday, March 28, 2017, during the Xploration® 17 event at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida.

Tweet this: Congratulations to the #Xplor17 Technology of the Year winner: @PitneyBowes & Application of the Year Award winner: @gmc_net!

Application of the Year Award:
The Application of the Year Award is presented to an individual, a company or an organization to recognize outstanding achievement in the imaginative application of current technology and/or unique implementation of existing document and communication systems. This award is open to members and non-members.

Xplor will award two honorable mentions in addition to the 2017 winner.

  • The winner of the 2017 Xplor Application of the Year is BMO Bank of Montreal and GMC Software. The initiative BMO undertook is a one-of-a-kind customer onboarding project that pioneered an end-to-end digital account opening process, enabled by the creation of dynamic eForms and eSignature capabilities. BMO Bank of Montreal embraced digital transformation to achieve operational efficiency, significant reduction of cost, and an improved customer experience.
  • An Honorable Mention is being awarded to Gore Mutual who leveraged technology from OpenText Exstream, Infusion and Duck Creek Technologies to create uBiz – a platform that plugs directly into broker websites, replicating their design palette to provide their small business customers with a seamless digital experience.  New customers can get quotes, policies and secure insurance all online.
  • An additional Honorable Mention is being awarded to Health First and Ricoh USA, Inc., who collaborated on identifying areas of improvement and best practices in workflows, as well as implementing a centralized monitoring and management solution. Working together Health First and RICOH Managed Services utilizing RICOH ProcessDirector to reduced errors, increase security, and improve overall efficiency.

Technology of the Year Award:
The Technology of the Year Award honors an individual, company or organization that has conceived and developed an original concept leading to a significant advancement in the industry.  This can be a new program, product, or technology that notably enhances the capabilities of document and communication systems.

Like the Application of the Year award, Xplor will present two honorable mentions, in addition to the winner of the award, due to the large number of submissions.

  • The winner of the 2017 Xplor Technology of the Year is being awarded to Pitney Bowes Clarity Solutions.  Harnessing the power of the Industrial Internet and “industrial data science”, Pitney Bowes Clarity solutions is a new cloud offering for Pitney Bowes systems that leverages data analytics and services to help increase productivity and lower the cost of running a print and mail operation.   Clarity collects, integrates and organizes existing sensor data from remote systems to support real-time insight, predictive analytics and prescriptive maintenance.
  • An Honorable Mention for Technology of the Year is being awarded to Elixir Technologies Corporation for their Tango+ product. Elixir’s Tango+ is a 100% browser-based content lifecycle management platform that enables companies to create, manage and deliver business-critical contracts, correspondence, and other communications via print and e-channels.
  • An additional Honorable Mention for the Xplor Technology of the Year award is being presented to Xerox Corporation for their Direct to Object Inkjet Printer. This inkjet drop on demand printer can print directly onto a wide range of substrates (including plastics, glass, ceramics and metal) and virtually any surface type (including smooth, rough, slightly curved or stepped).

“I want to first congratulate the 2017 Award Winners and thank all those who submitted a nomination.” said Skip Henk, EDP, President and CEO of Xplor International. “The Awards Committee once again had a difficult time selecting the winners from such a broad range of submissions.”

Xplor International will also be announcing the recipients of the Xplorer of the Year and Brian Platte Lifetime Achievement awards at Xploration® 17 on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.

For more information regarding Xploration® 17, or to register, visit www.xplor.org/xplor17. Questions should be directed to Register@xplor.org or +1-813-949-6170 between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (ET), Monday through Friday.

Vendors interested in being an exhibitor should contact Xplor’s Director of Sales, Deborah Green at +1-770-444-3845 or via email at deborahgreen@xplor.org.

About Xplor International
Xplor International is a not-for-profit association that provides thought leadership to the customer communications industry. As a community Xplor provides advocacy, education, training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Our members are decision makers and recommenders who are involved in the conception, design, implementation production and delivery of multi-channel client, member and customer communications.

Xplor’s mission is to enhance organizational success and advance the careers of our members by providing research, publications, industry certification, professional development, web-based events, and conference programming. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida, with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/XplorInternational
Twitter: twitter.com/Xplor_Int or @Xplor_Int

Xplor International Media Contact:
Chad Henk
Marketing Manager
+1-813-949-6171
Chad@xplor.org

What is Behind GMC Software’s New Look? An Interview with Tamir Sigal, CMO of GMC Software

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Xplor President/CEO Skip Henk Interviews Tamir Sigal, CMO of GMC Software

GMC Software has been a longtime supporter of Xplor International and a leading provider of Customer Communications Management (CCM) software for many years.

Headquartered in Switzerland and with offices throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia, GMC Software serves thousands of users worldwide in a wide range of industries including financial services, banking, insurance, health care and the service providers that serve those industries.  In 2012 GMC Software was purchased by Neopost.

Recently GMC launched a new logo. The familiar “GMC Software” is still part of the moniker but some interesting graphics have been introduced.

So as one who is always curious about the meaning behind logos, I, Skip Henk, decided to contact GMC Software’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tamir Sigal, to see what I could find out.

Skip: Tamir, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. For our readers who are not familiar with GMC Software could you give us your 15 second elevator pitch?

Tamir SigalTamir:  It’s good to talk to you, Skip. GMC Software helps companies communicate with their customers and employees. We empower organizations to create stronger engagements with timely and relevant communications. We are the only company that provides the means for business users to develop contextual, highly individualized communications across all channels that span the entire customer journey. As a leader in customer communications, GMC supports thousands of clients and partners in banking, insurance, healthcare and service providers around the world.

Skip: I like the new logo. What drove the introduction of a new logo?

Tamir: GMC has served our market well since the company’s inception over 20 years ago. We have long-standing relationships with many of the leading companies and biggest brands in the world. And during that time there have been a lot of changes in the way people interact. Today, our customers rely on us to help them deliver digital engagements across multiple channels with one design. It was time to give GMC Software a new look and voice. Obviously a logo is a big part of a company’s brand.

Skip: Can you share the story behind its development? What do the graphics represent?

Tamir: With the new logo, we wanted to reiterate our focus on delivering outstanding products, using the latest technologies and overachieving on customer needs. So first and foremost, the logo represents a focus on customers – GMC’s customers and our clients’ customers. The second theme of the logo is around technology. Today’s technology devices are responsive and utilize pinching to zoom in and out of visual elements. The frame represents the need for all solutions today to be responsive. Finally, today’s journey is not just about onboarding and delivering monthly communications. Every interaction
a leading brand has with their customers is important – and the symbol allows companies to focus on specific steps of the entire journey.

Skip: What do the graphics and colors represent?

Tamir: The idea was to use gradient colors to make a connection between the 20 years of experience and the future of GMC Software. We wanted to incorporate the previous logo’s colors and themes. The best way to do this is by using gradient shading.

Skip: You also changed your tagline from “The smartest way to engage customers” to “Your Customers. Engaged.” Why make this change?

Tamir: The tagline we used was specifically related to the GMC Inspire product line. The new tagline is more relevant at the corporate level. At GMC, we wanted to move the focus away from our product to what our customers want to achieve with their customers – better engagement.   

Skip: I thank you for taking the time to share with our readers more about GMC and your new branding. Any closing thoughts?

Tamir: For your readers, I invite them to visit our new website at www.gmc.net. There is a great deal of information and resources available that may be of interest to them.

Skip: Once again Mr. Sigal, thank you for your time and for your ongoing support of Xplor over the last 20 years. I look forward to seeing the GMC team at Xploration 16 in Orlando.

I highly encourage our readers to take a look at GMC’s new website because it does look great! I always enjoy the great blog postings GMC has and recently read a good one by Scott Draeger that you should take a look at. It’s titled: A glimpse into the future of Customer Communications Management (CCM).

Until next interview! Take care.

skip_Henk_Photo_2011

Skip Henk, EDP
President/CEO
Xplor International