Carol Andersen is currently the CEO of Prism USA. Formerly, Carol was the founder and CEO of Micro Ink Systems, started in 1988, and acquired by Prism Group Holdings in April of 2001. Micro Ink was a leading vendor of MIS solutions to the printing and graphic arts industry in the US. At the time of the acquisition, the company had built an installed base of over 1700 printing companies throughout the US and Canada.

Prism is one of the world's leading suppliers of integrated MIS software and machine monitoring equipment for the printing and packaging industry, with 125 employees and 8 offices in the UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand, and worldwide headquarters in London, England. Prism's flagship products are the Prism WIN and Prism Enterprise management information system softwares and the QTMS range of machine monitoring equipment. The group has over 2,700 client sites in 15 countries.

QUESTION: It’s been a year since Prism acquired MicroInk. What changes have taken place overall?

Andersen: We have had an extremely successful merger of the two businesses, and an equally successful transfer of products across the globe. The addition of Prism WIN and Prism QTMS to our product offerings has opened up market opportunities that MicroInk would not have been able to realize on its own. Our sales increased over 100% from the prior year, in an unstable economic environment and with the September 11 tragedy. We consider this achievement to be a powerful statement about the success of our merger.

This past year has been largely spent in positioning the company for growth. We have added highly qualified people to our staff, in all departments, and have re-located some key personnel from other business units to assist us as well.


QUESTION: In terms of technical integration, what has the process been like in bringing MicroInk’s and Prism’s technologies together?

Andersen: Our Chief Technology Officer, David Sparling, has been very successful in pulling the key technology issues together. There was immediate synergy between our two companies with regard to technical vision, and development strategy. Only one product has had any change, and that has been in name. The technology strategies that we deployed over the past year have positioned us with unparalleled scalability in total product offerings.


QUESTION: Recently, you announced a partnership with ScenicSoft. How will this partnership help your customers?

Andersen: There are two immense benefits that result from this partnership. Firstly, it has opened the pathway to seamless integration into the workflow. Secondly, we have truly proven the JDF technical format in a real working integration. Many companies have given lip service to JDF compatibility - Prism actually has it working.


QUESTION: The Polestar announcement was a big win for Prism, as they are one of the largest printers in Europe. I know your focus is primarily on the US, but can you tell us about that deal as it relates to what you can offer large North American printers?

Andersen: This deal was an absolute validation of the exceptional Return on Investment that results from the implementation of a Prism QTMS system. That ROI is as important to the American printing community as it is to the European or Australasian communities. It was also an absolute validation of Prism’s leadership position in the Print Management Systems arena.

Companies like Polestar choose their vendor partners very carefully. We have some equally significant deals that have closed in the United States, and will be announcing these in releases shortly. Like Polestar, our new American clients conducted rigorous due diligence, and like Polestar, they are careful in their choice of vendor partners.


QUESTION: One feature in our monthly Printer Confidence Index is the outlook for capital spending on Print Management Systems. Recent numbers show that about 25% of printers expect to invest in a new system in the coming 6 months and the number has increased steadily. Does this match what you are hearing from your sales team?

Andersen: We have certainly seen an uptick in buying activity recently, along with a more upbeat attitude about the economy and small business in general. There has been an increase in queries, especially from owners of custom or legacy systems looking for replacements. We will be going into our new fiscal year with a significant booking log, and we have begun to see printing companies renew their search activities for new systems. Buying decisions were paralyzed after September 11, and didn’t begin to move again until late December. The actual percentage of investment is difficult to quantify, but I suspect that 25% is not far off the mark.


QUESTION: In a challenging economy, what is your advice to printers as it relates to investing in their MIS infrastructure at this time?

Andersen: Investing in MIS infrastructure, in any economy, is an embarkation on a journey with pathways that will mold and adapt to a company’s changing needs. In a challenging economy, the pathway that one selects for the journey needs to reach the destination more quickly than in stable economic times. MIS systems that pave the right path are those that can quickly assist in the delivery of bottom line profits, overhead reduction, and real sweating of assets. Investment in MIS, therefore, should focus on vendors whose product base has depth and breadth, spread over a growing suite of fully integrated solutions.

The investment, if made wisely, will become a competitive advantage, while fulfilling at the same time, an essential need. The benefits that MIS solutions provide are perhaps never more obvious than they are in a recessionary environment. Very often, this is the best time to make the investment.


QUESTION: What are the primary advantages you see with WIN and your other products versus other systems from your competitors?

Andersen: With Prism WIN and Prism QTMS fully integrated, we have absolute verifiable proof of substantial return on investment. The degree to which we can measure this is unsurpassed by competitive products. Prism WIN is the most flexible product of its kind that I have seen on the market, and QTMS is globally the undisputed leader in press monitoring and data collection systems. Prism Enterprise, for the small to medium sized printer, is by far the most flexible and most easily installed and implemented of any of the products in its niche. We have replaced many of those products, and our users will certainly verify this statement.

Our product focus is completely printer centric. We have no interest in the print buyer - s/he is not our client. Our web modules are developed with this focus in mind, and consequently there has been no confusion over subscription rates, or transaction fees. There simply aren’t any. Our entire product development strategy is to provide neat, seamless links to the whole operating system, both with our proprietary software and with software from our external partners like ScenicSoft.

We are not attempting to bring several disparate companies together under an elusive internet umbrella. We have brought 3 best of breed, complimentary companies together, offering such a clear upward migration path that our client should never worry about buying another system again.


QUESTION: Once installed, what can customers expect in terms of after sale support and service?

Andersen: In one word? Excellence. MicroInk has been fortunate to have built a reputation for extraordinary service and support, and that reputation has continued forward under the Prism USA banner. We assign dedicated Project Managers to each new client, and that manager follows the implementation process through to completion, with periodic checks after the final "go live" date. Our Help Desk Team works closely with project managers and implementers so that there is clearly documented audit trailing for each customer. We respond to client call within no more than a 2 hour period, and any unresolved problem, after 2 days, is assigned to a team for expedient resolution.

We have recently deployed Epicor’s Clientele CRM system throughout our business units, globally. This allows all Help Desk staff, project managers, implementers and senior managers to have a view of client issues world-wide. Collaboration on client issues is handled efficiently within a business unit, or across business units. By fall of this year we will be in a position to offer "follow the sun" support, because of the different time zones that each business unit inhabits. The US can’t reach the UK in the afternoon, but we can reach Australia or New Zealand easily until very late at night.


QUESTION: What are your relations with and views of organizations like CIP4 and PrintTalk. And, are the systems that you sell compatible with other ERP or CRM solutions a customer may have?

Andersen: As you know, MicroInk was a founding member of PrintTalk, so of course we continue to support that initiative strongly, as Prism USA. We are also very supportive of the CIP4 initiatives and JDF, which we have most recently proven out with our ScenicSoft integration. Collaboration among the supply chain, and standardization of interface technology is critically important to today’s printing industry. No one company can offer a system that will encompass the demands of the industry dynamics today.

We must collaborate, and we must do so within industry accepted standards. We have developed our API’s with the specifications of such standards in mind. Consequently we are compatible with other ERP and/or CRM systems that may be in use at a client site. Our job is to simplify our clients’ lives by giving them access to all of their data easily.


QUESTION: The economy has shown strength in recent days mostly in the consumer confidence as opposed to technology or business to business strength. What is your outlook for 2002?

Andersen: We all know that consumer confidence ultimately drives the economy, so that news is good. Our outlook for this next year is extremely positive. Prism USA achieved 100% growth last year, and delivered real profit to Prism. In an economic period such as 2001, this was an outstanding achievement. Our fiscal year begins April 1, and we are forecasting that same kind of growth in the upcoming year. We have a solid marketing plan in place, a crystal clear message to deliver, and a unified global team who will deliver it.