I am out there in San Diego Kofax’s annual user and partner conference. Things kicked off last night with a reception/partner product showcase. One of the goals of my trip out here was to get a better understanding of Kapow – the data integration software company that Kofax acquired last year. I had a fairly long discussion with a Kapow salesperson last night as well as a demo. Basically, he described the “technology as the glue that binds.” In other words – here’s the way I understand it at least – it has the ability, without API programming, to go into any application and extract requested data. This can include both internal and external sites. And it’s a two-way integration, so, if the collected data comes back in a way that indicates some sort of action should be taken, the Kapow software can also execute that action by submitting new data. And the software is designed so that these integrations can be set up by business analysts, with help from IT staff only for certain customizations.
Here’s a case study of how Audi used Kapow to create an internal portal. How it fits into the Kofax platform is that it should enable Kofax’s capture and Altosoft data integration sofware to be integrated with an unlimited number of third-party applications – which should push forward Kofax’s First Mile strategy. The First Mile of course was the big marketing strategy pushed forward last year under then CMO Martyn Christian at Transform. All indiciations are that Kofax plans to continue down that strategic line. I’m interested to see how today’s presenatations and interviews play out.
