In late April, Ricoh Production Print Solutions LLC (Ricoh) announced that it had completed one of the largest inkjet color implementations in its history at First Data. Atlanta-based First Data is a global technology and payments processing leader, serving more than 6 million merchant locations, thousands of card issuers, and millions of consumers worldwide. First Data offers an array of services to securely process transactions as well as harness the associated data to deliver intelligence and insight to its customers.

I had the opportunity to interview Tim Rosenthal, First Data’s Senior Vice President of Output Services, and Glen Wordekemper, First Data’s Vice President of Global Product Development, to understand their vision for First Data and how they were utilizing print technology in a complex cross-media world.

Putting First Data’s strategy into perspective, Wordekemper states, “Our services are designed to integrate with clients’ CRM and marketing systems to provide lifecycle communications, targeted marketing, and proactive alerts. Our clients want to use customer communications to gain a strategic advantage, rather than just monthly statements, letters, or alerts and notices. They understand that the statement is a guaranteed monthly appointment with their customers and want to maximize the opportunity.”