Solutions Report. Samsung CounThru 2 Professional OVERVIEW

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1 Solutions Report A BLI Print Management Software Assessment JULY 2011 Samsung CounThru 2 Professional Feature Set Value Ease of Administration Ease of Use Data Analysis and Reporting Compatibility Software Integration Security Reseller Support and Training Customer Support and Training Documentation Global Business Readiness Upgrade Path OVERVIEW Samsung CounThru 2 Professional is a full-featured print management platform that allows Samsung equipment dealers to remotely monitor and manage the output device fleets of their clients, with an eye toward increasing device uptime and end-user productivity while also reducing hardcopy costs. Intended for use by resellers looking to provide managed print services (MPS) to clients with both Samsung and third-party devices, CounThru 2 Professional allows dealer personnel to collect meter information, keep abreast of supplies information, deploy firmware and print drivers, and report on the usage history of managed devices. For IT departments within mid-size companies to large enterprises in need of an in-house print management tool to monitor devices and track and control usage, Samsung offers CounThru 2 Enterprise.

2 What We Thought HHHH Samsung CounThru 2 Professional is an impressive print management tool for resellers looking to track and report on output device status, usage and costs for devices under an MPS contract at client sites. It can also help reduce hardcopy costs by allowing companies to set usage limits and permissions by user or department. CounThru also tracks consumables levels (in as much detail as supported by the device) to calculate yields and estimated life remaining. Dealers can set rules-based notification thresholds for proactive supplies management and quick problem resolution. Unlike most other print management tools from device OEMs that BLI has evaluated, CounThru 2 Professional can be used to gather granular data from the private MIBs of third-party MFPs and printers at a client site, making it more useful to dealers whose clients have mixed fleets. And while all of the MPS solutions BLI has evaluated deliver the same basic meter capture and reporting, error reporting and supplies reporting, Samsung CounThru 2 stands out for its additional advanced functionality, Strengths Weaknesses Monitors and manages Samsung and many third-party devices For third-party devices not supported out of the box, Samsung can customize solution to include them Device error/status alerts to increase uptime and customer satisfaction Complete meter collection and reporting Accurately calculates and bills for device usage Supports remote print driver deployment and remote device firmware upgrades Robust consumables management, including supplies replenishment alerts triggered by an estimate based on historic usage Easy deployment No support for locally connected printers No direct integration with the dealer billing and service-dispatch platforms Supports only 32-bit Windows operating systems 2

3 such as the ability to track scan and fax pages, plus the ability to track not just usage by device but also usage by user or department. Samsung CounThru 2 also delivers more robust reporting capabilities than most dealer-focused remote management solutions, highlighted by error (fault) statistics, comparisons of usage for Samsung vs. third-party devices, and total cost of ownership reports. Just as importantly, the Web-based program is very well designed and easy to use, making getting to its various features intuitive. The main concern we have about CounThru Professional is that it doesn t offer the direct integration with the billing and service-dispatch platforms already in place in many dealerships. Still, for MPS resellers looking to track device status and usage, manage consumables and enforce quotas in an easy-to-use package, CounThru Professional is a strong choice Product Profile Product: Samsung CounThru 2 Test Version: Version Software Developer: Suggested Retail Price: Server Requirements: Client Workstation Requirements: Supported Devices: Availability: Samsung Electronics, Inc. $120 per year for 10 device licenses; $1,100 per year for 100 device licenses 2.0-GHz dual-core Intel Xeon or higher; 3-GB RAM; 30-GB hard drive space; Windows XP Professional, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7 (all 32-bit only) Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and later CounThru 2 supports full tracking of meters, supplies and operational status for Samsung-branded printers and MFPs, as well as meter counts and supplies information for third-party devices as reported by the device s public printer MIB. The utility can also collect the private MIB information from a growing list of third-party devices including select Canon, Epson, Fuji Xerox, HP, Kyocera Mita, Lexmark, Ricoh, Toshiba and Xerox models. For third-party devices not supported natively, Samsung offers a free solution-customizing service program that can be used by resellers to add support for any customer devices. The solution is available for authorized Samsung resellers and partners directly from Samsung. 3

4 Feature Set HHHH Samsung CounThru Professional includes all of the major features typically found in an MPS print management platform. It discovers all SNMP-compliant output devices on a client s network and can report granular usage data for both Samsung and third-party devices an impressive feat, considering most print management tools from device OEMs only report usage for the maker s own devices. It also shows device status and can send out alerts to notify personnel about device faults, to help limit downtime. Devices can be grouped by client, region, branch, department, and so on, to make tracking easier even for customers with far-flung fleets. In addition to meter tracking and reporting, CounThru Professional also delivers complete usage billing features and consumables management. For billing, dealers can set prices for various output based on paper size, monochrome/color usage, impressions and so on. Personnel can view the consumables change history, the date changed, consumables serial numbers and the level of remaining consumables in percentage increments. A CounThru Professional user can search for low consumables by consumable type (toner, fuser, developer, OPC, transfer belt and so on) or by threshold; for example, by specifying those with 80 percent or less remaining. The software can also be set to automatically request replacement consumables from the dealer if desired. Users can quickly discern the current status of all registered devices, or only those in a selected group. Unlike most dealer-centric remote management tools, which focus on status monitoring, meter collection and billing, CounThru Professional can also be used to assign usage quotas to individual end users, employee groups or departments at a client site. This can help a customer reduce output costs, making the Samsung reseller a valuable business partner. Permissions and limits can be set for monochrome printing, color printing, monochrome copying, color copying, faxing and scanning. On the administrative front, CounThru Professional can be used to download and remotely deploy print drivers for Samsung devices on the network, as well as to manage and upload firmware files to the CounThru Web server. However, CounThru Professional does not include a local agent applet to track and report status and usage metrics for non-networked printers connected locally to networked PCs. The leading third-party MPS tools do offer such a local agent. 4

5 Tech Speak: SNMP and MIBs Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a standard protocol for managing devices on IP networks. Technically speaking, it s designed to facilitate the exchange of management information between devices such as PCs and network switches and routers. By using SNMP data, IT administrators can manage devices, monitor performance and solve network problems on the network. Management Information Base (MIB) is a virtual database describing a particular piece of hardware that s attached to a network. Data stored in the MIB tells the network what the device is, what it can do (print, copy, scan, and fax for example) and other basic information. For remote management utilities, the MIB is the source of information on device configuration and utilization. MIBs and SNMP were originally created and deployed to manage the routers and switches that make up a network. Today, there are hundreds of different MIBs for any kind of hardware that needs to be connected to and managed via a network. Remote management solutions make use of SNMP to discover MFPs and printers on the network, and return data from them to the software. Almost every printer- and copier-based device on the market today includes a version of the standard printer MIB, which was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force and a consortium of document imaging manufacturers as a common standard defining the data that all output devices should report over networks. The standard printer MIB includes several subsections, or tables. There s the general table, which covers the name of the manufacturer, the model name and serial number, as well as the device s default settings and information currently displayed on the control panel. The cover table indicates whether the device s covers are open or closed. The input table details the paper trays and their contents, while the output table reports on the output trays. The marker table describes anything related to marking paper (toner or ink supplies, for example), the device s resolution, margin settings and imaging technology (laser, LED or inkjet). The supplies table covers life remaining in the toner or ink cartridge, as well as data about the fuser or developer if they re included. The public MIB also indicates the overall page count meter for the device. Each hardware manufacturer supports its own private MIB, the structure of which is usually proprietary and not shared with the wider world. Private MIBs provide a place for information and features that aren t covered in the public variety but need to be available for a manufacturer s software applications; for example, remote monitoring solutions. Every vendor offers features that set it apart from the competition if all a manufacturer used was the public MIB, then its devices would be equally compatible with every third-party application on the market. By reserving some information for the private MIB, manufacturers can keep a leg up on the competition. In addition, the public MIB doesn t specify how the device should report certain pieces of critical information. For instance, detailed meters are often not included in the public MIB they re kept private. For remote management applications, this means detailed information on duplexing, color usage, scan counters and other data can be difficult to procure for third-party solutions, unless there s an arranged agreement. 5

6 Value HHH CounThru Professional is priced according to the number of devices under management, on a per-year subscription basis. The base price is $120 per year for 10 device licenses (which works out to $12 per device), and scales to $1,100 per year for 100 licenses ($11 per device). Unlike some print management platforms, which offer various modules and are priced accordingly (and potentially confusingly), CounThru Professional s straightforward pricing includes all monitoring and management functionality. And while its list price is slightly higher than some leading third-party fleet management solutions, which are priced at around $9 per device per year, the fee includes all maintenance and support for which others charge 18 to 20 percent per year, which makes the total price for CounThru Professional competitive with those solutions. Ease of Administration HHHH Unlike most other print management platforms, CounThru Professional can be deployed by a customer s IT department. Any IT administrator familiar with installing network device management utilities (such as HP Web Jetadmin or Samsung s own SyncThru Admin) will feel at home rolling out CounThru Professional. Of course, installation can also be handed off to the Samsung dealer providing the managed print service. The wizard-driven installation routine automatically detects if Microsoft SQL Server is installed on the server, and prompts the administrator to enter the name of the database to be used. If SQL Server is not present, the installation package loads Microsoft SQL Server Express to be used for the data repository (it is recommended that full SQL Server be used for enterprises with thousands of devices under management, due to its more scalable nature). The wizard then continues installing CounThru Server and CounThru Web components. The installer is prompted to enter the language and currency the program is to use, and a few other parameters, then to click Install. In BLI s lab test, it took about five minutes to install the program. 6

7 After discovering devices on the network, administrators register devices to be managed and assign then to clients or departments. CounThru Professional employs a Web-based interface to access device data and perform administration tasks. So once installation is complete, the program can be launched in a browser. The first step is to discover output devices on the network. This is handled easily enough via the Printer Search menu choice under the Administrator tab. An administrator can enter an IP address range for CounThru Professional to search, or register IP addresses en masse by selecting Batch Registration and browsing to the file that contains the addresses. BLI chose the former method, and CounThru Professional successfully discovered all 26 SNMP-compliant devices on the network both Samsung and third-party devices in less than 2 minutes (a handy progress bar shows that the discovery is in process). All were correctly identified by product make and model save for one, which appeared on the list with simply its model number, since that s the name entered in the product s MIB (the leading device management tool also returned only a model number for this device. Next, an administrator creates Clients, Regions and Branches so discovered devices can be registered to those entities for tracking and billing. Once an client s organizational structure is entered, devices can be registered to a specific department via the Administrator tab s Printer Registration menu choice. The process is a simple matter of selecting the entity from the drop-down list at the top of the device list, then selecting devices from the list (by clicking on the checkboxes adjacent their entries) and clicking Register. Administrators can also easily set alerts for general errors (paper jam, offline and so on) supply-related errors (toner low, toner out and so on) via the Supply Faults menu choice under the Print Management tab. This helps ensure that the administrator or other personnel are alerted promptly when an error occurs, minimizing device downtime and disruption for end users. CounThru Professional s Consumable Management menu allows dealership personnel (or IT personnel or facilities managers at the client site) to check on consumables status of registered devices, drilling down by Region and Branch, to re-order 7

8 supplies as necessary before they are needed. Conveniently, the administrator can set a percentage threshold for each consumable (toner, fuser, developer, OPC, transfer belt, other) on a device-by-device basis, so when that threshold is reached 20 percent toner remaining, for example a supply order is triggered. And unlike some print management tools, supplies ordering can be triggered by estimated remaining life based on historic usage patterns for the device. The CounThru Professional Web interface also lets administrators manage the platform s job accounting features. As with faults and supplies, accounting parameters are set by client, region and branch. The administrator selects the User & User Group menu choice from the Job Accounting tab to enter departments, employees, and employee groups for quota assignment. Department and employee names can be entered individually or, conveniently, this information can be imported from a CSV file. Unfortunately, CounThru Professional does not integrate with Active Directory for importing such information. Once departments and employees are set up, The administrator can use the Permissions menu choice to indicate quota settings (by either employee or by a group) ; these quotas will apply to all registered devices, not just Samsung devices. While it takes some time and a fair number of clicks to set up departments, users, and their permissions/quotas per printer, it is a chore that needs to be done only once. That said, Active Directory integration would be welcome for ongoing changes to personnel, so that as employees were added or removed in AD their status would automatically be reflected in CounThru Enterpsise, reducing manual maintenance for the administrator. CounThru Professional also offers a Statistics tab, where administrators can see usage statistics and fault history. For the former, the administrator specifies the client, region, branch and, if desired, the particular device serial number; then the time period (one week, two weeks, one month, three months, one year, or a specified date range) for the query; then the print options desired for the query (mono/color, simplex/duplex, letter/ledger, or by device function). CounThru Professional performs the query and returns the granular usage data. Similarly, queries can be constructed for device errors in a given time period via the Fault Types menu choice. This allows administrators to see which devices have been most problematic or trouble-free, and see if a particular device has become more prone to errors valuable information when it comes time to suggest future equipment purchasing/leasing decisions. The faults that can be searched on include all, hardware, door (cover open), jam, paper tray and toner. Ease of Use HHHHH CounThru Professional s Web-based interface is modern and attractive, while the logically organized tabs make finding features easy for administrators. After logging in, the user is presented with a Dashboard page with bar graphs showing the number of devices with faults and those with low consumables. This information 8

9 can be presented on one chart for the entire device fleet, or with separate boxes with individual graphs for each client/department. This at-a-glance view makes keeping tabs on device status extremely easy, and the hyperlinks in each box let administrators quickly jump to a particular device list. The program s home page is a customizable Dashboard view that shows pertinent information at a glance. Moving beyond the Dashboard, CounThru s interface features tabs along the top to access various areas of the program. First is the Printer Management tab, where selecting the Printer Status menu choice presents a folder-tree view of device groups and a device list for the selected group. The device list shows an icon for the device s status (a green smiley face for normal, a red frowny face for error, and a yellow exclamation point for warning), the model, the serial number, IP address, printer name, and location (as entered by the administrator). Lists can be sorted in ascending or descending order by simply clicking on the desired column header. In a long device list, this makes it easy to identify devices with errors, for instance, or to have devices from each manufacturer grouped together. Also via the Printer Management tab, users can pull up device lists by general fault, supply fault, or by firmware registration date. 9

10 The Consumables Management tab lets a user run a query to find registered devices that meet certain criteria in terms of their consumables. For example, an administrator can search for devices in a specified branch that have any consumable below a certain percentage threshold, or search for particular models and then specify which consumables to check for. This tab also allows users to view the consumables order history, replacement history, consumables serial numbers and more. Data Analysis and Reporting HHHH CounThru Professional offers a complete range of prebuilt usage statistics and reports, so dealers (as well as managers at the client site) and track print output and device usage. A user can generate a report for all devices or a selected region or branch/department and for a specified time period, and export data to Excel for archiving or further analysis. As noted earlier, the Statistics tab has a Print Type menu choice where users can generate a report on usage by device function (print, copy, scan, fax in, fax out, or total of all jobs), with further breakdowns by color/mono, letter/ledger, duplex/ simplex, or impressions/sheets. Results can be viewed as a table or as a line chart or bar chart by simply clicking on the proper icon at the top of the results list. The Usage Comparison menu choice under Statistics allows a user to compare two or more usage reports to see trending over time. Administrators can also see usage statistics with department and individual employee included via the Printing History by Device and Billing Report by Employee choices under the Job Accounting tab. Beyond the usage stats, CounThru Professional offers a Reporting tab where personnel can access these particular reports: Operation Rate: This report calculates the device uptime (expressed in percent) each device experienced in a selected time period, based on the expected hours of operation (for example, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) set by the administrator. Supply Provision Rate: This report shows an overview of how long it has taken for supplies to be delivered and the corresponding faults corrected for devices in the selected range. Fault Fixing Rate: This report displays the resolution time for fixing general device faults, divided by printer and showing the average length of time for which the faults were not resolved. Usage & Billing (Region): This choice generates reports based on usage and billing for all the printers in a specified branch/department in a region. Columns show the number of color and monochrome sheets (or impressions) and their associated costs (based on the price per page entered by the administrator). Usage & Billing (Printer): Similar to the above report, this menu choice is used to generate usage and billing reports by device. 10

11 Print Type: This report shows the different output options used print/copy, color/ mono, letter/ledger, simplex/duplex, total sheets by date for a selected set of devices. While these reports are certainly useful, it should be noted that the leading thirdparty print management tools offer an even wider range of canned reports. Compatibility HHHHH CounThru Enterrpise supports full tracking of meters, supplies and operational status for Samsung-branded printers and MFPs, as well as meter counts and supplies information for third-party devices as reported by the device s public printer MIB. And unlike the print management solutions from some device makers, the utility can also collect the private MIB information from a growing list of third-party devices including select Canon, Epson, Fuji Xerox, HP, Kyocera Mita, Lexmark, Ricoh, Toshiba and Xerox models. For third-party devices not supported natively, Samsung offers a free solution-customizing service program that can be used by resellers to add support for any customer devices. All told, CounThru Professional s compatibility rates favorably when compared to the solutions from other device OEMs, although it should be noted that the leading third-party print management platforms support a wider range of devices out of the box, thanks to those ISVs relationships with device makers. CounThru Professional works under Windows XP Professional, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, and Windows 7. While this should not be an issue for most businesses given the dominance of Microsoft operating systems, it should be noted that some print management solutions also support Novell, Linux and UNIX server operating systems. Software Integration HHH CounThru Professional integrates with Samsung s SyncThru Admin device-management application to offer a complete fleet management platform. However, unlike other print management tools, it does not offer Active Directory integration to seamlessly add/remove users in an organization. Also, while usage data can be exported to Excel for import into another program, CounThru Professional does not connect directly to leading billing platforms (such as SAP, OMD, and Abacus) used by many organizations. On the plus side, users can customize exported files to suit the needs of the target software. For dealers, the platform connects to MWAi Scope, but not service-dispatch platforms such as Remedy and Magic. 11

12 Security HHHH CounThru Professional offers most of the security measures typically found in a print management tool. A login is required to access the program, so administrators can control the data and its integrity. All communication between devices and the server is via a secure HTTPS connection. In addition, CounThru Professional supports two types of users for the utility, each with different permissions. Administrators have full access to all the data and the administrative tasks in CounThru, which include registering, editing and deleting users, printers and groups. Users are only able to see data for and manage their assigned clients. Reseller Support and Training HHHHH Samsung s field solutions team is available to help reseller partners with sales calls and post-sales support, eliminating much of the burden from the reseller. Accordingly, partners do not have to be certified to resell CounThru Enterprise. Samsung does offer free Webinar training for resellers, with different programs offered for sales and technical reps. There is also an online knowledgebase maintained by the Samsung field solutions team that resellers can access. Company Profile Vendor: Samsung Electronics Inc. Phone: Web: Status: Publicly traded 2010 Revenues: $14.8 billion Employees: 275,000 12

13 Customer Support and Training HHHH Samsung s field solutions team handles any customer training and support issues that arise after CounThru Enterprise is placed. Phone and technical support is available nationwide during normal business hours (local time), and is included in the price of the subscription. Customers can also be given access to the online knowledgebase. Documentation HHHH The CounThru Professional disc includes very thorough documentation. A 15-page PDF installation guide has step-by-step instructions (complete with screenshots) for configuring the SQL database and installing the solution. A 150-page User Guide clearly explains all functions of the product, and features a hyperlinked table of contents and annotated screenshots that illustrate how to use the program. The inprogram help file is equally impressive and is context-sensitive, so when a user clicks on the? icon the help file opens in a new browser window already at the topic corresponding to the page he was on. Global Business Readiness HHHH Samsung is a global company with offices around the world. CounThru Professional is offered in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Korean and Japanese a wider range of languages than some other leading print management platforms. Upgrade Path HHHHH CounThru is a true enterprise solution that can accommodate an unlimited number of devices per server instance, as opposed to the few thousand supported by some competing platforms. Samsung releases updates approximately twice per year, and those are offered free of charge to current customers. Full versions are released about every 24 months. 13

14 What is Print Management? solution allows organizations to track and account for print/copy usage to reduce (and in some cases, recoup) costs, optimize fleet deployment, and promote more environmentally friendly print practices to help satisfy green initiatives. Print management solutions can be deployed and used either internally within the organization looking to manage hardcopy output, or externally by an equipment dealer or other reseller as part of an MPS (managed print services) engagement. The features of a print management/mps tool can range from meter collection (for billing and analysis purposes), supplies management (for the automated re-ordering of consumables based on usage) and device status monitoring (to enable a proactive service model) to print-job rerouting (from high-cost-per-page printers to more cost-effective MFPs, for example) and behavior modification (to encourage/enforce duplex vs. simplex or monochrome vs. color printing, for example)... Buyers Laboratory INC. North America Europe Asia Michael Danziger CEO Mark Lerch COO Anthony F. Polifrone Managing Director Daria M. Hoffman Managing Editor Lynn Nannariello Asst. Managing Editor Jamie Bsales Senior Product Editor, Solutions Tracie Hines Senior Editor, Competitive Analysis Reports George Mikolay Senior Product Editor, A3/Copier MFPs Marlene Orr Senior Analyst, Printers/A4 MFPs Lisa Reider Senior Product Editor, Scanners and Environmental Jennifer DeFeo Associate Editor Carl Schell Associate Editor Dmitry Sheynin Research Editor Pete Emory Manager of Laboratory Testing Ken Nardone Technical Manager, Field Testing Anthony Marchesini IT Director T. R. Patrick Art Director Pia Beddiges Manager of Competitive Services 14