VALLEY FORGE, Pa.--Oct. 13, 2004-- IKON Office Solutions, the world's largest independent channel for document management systems and services, today announced a new strategic relationship with Equitrac Corporation for document accounting and cost management solutions. IKON through its global services organization - IKON Enterprise Services - will offer Equitrac Office to help customers monitor, measure and manage document output, lower operational costs and improve efficiency. "The proliferation of networked print and copy devices has made document production easier, resulting in increased output costs and operational expenses for today's businesses," said Michael Kohlsdorf, Senior Vice President of IKON Enterprise Services. "IKON's addition of Equitrac Office provides an ideal solution to effectively manage and track the flow of documents, enabling organizations to recover costs, better manage their devices, charge for document output and increase security through comprehensive audit trails." Designed for businesses, government agencies and other organizations, Equitrac Office features a flexible, scalable architecture to meet the needs of any size organization - from small business to global enterprise. IKON selected Equitrac for its standards-based technologies to ensure interoperability as well as leverage existing IT and equipment investments to increase efficiency, productivity and cost savings for customers. Equitrac is the recognized leader in document accounting and has helped more than 10,000 companies worldwide measure their office equipment usage and manage document output costs. "Equitrac Office integrates seamlessly in an organization's existing print server architecture, giving businesses the ability to measure the true expense of document output across its total enterprise environment and manage document activities with unprecedented control," said Michael Rich, President and Chief Executive Officer, Equitrac. "We are pleased to be a part of IKON's unprecedented portfolio of best-in-class hardware and software solutions to address specific business needs, increase efficiencies and control costs." Based on Equitrac's 27 years experience in tracking and controlling office equipment costs, Equitrac Office provides user-level visibility of activity on printers and multifunctional devices - from output volume to individual or department usage. This allows organizations to maximize their equipment investments while making the most efficient use of existing devices. "Equitrac enables IKON to provide solutions to customers where document accounting and cost recovery are essential, such as legal, healthcare, education and finance organizations," added Kohlsdorf. "By leveraging IKON Enterprise Services' consulting expertise and best-in-class software portfolio, such as Equitrac Office, organizations can realize immediate savings, increase efficiencies and drive accountability into document production."