The liquidation of Heidelberg-owned Zaikio has spawned two new software businesses aiming to pick up where Zaikio was thwarted. Neither is intending to replicate what the new defunct company was doing, however.
Cococo is the business that picks up the connectivity aspects of the strategy using API links to move files to and from its core platform between applications that would otherwise need extensive engineering to create bespoke interfaces. Director Karl Ciz, along with Andreas Aplien and John Maxwell, says that Cococo intends to have “a laser like focus on connectivity”.
The second company is the New Crispy Mountain, a reference to the business that became Zaikio. It has secured the IP and rights behind the Keyline MIS technology that preceded the Zaikio concept. It continues to be led by Christian Weyer and will focus on the MIS solution and the connectivity that is needed for an effective MIS.
Neither currently has outside investors or shareholders, though this may change. While not wanting to attract a major investor the size of a Heidelberg, Ciz says that smaller investors would be welcome. There are too many risks linked to having one large sugar daddy. Heidelberg proved as much an impediment to success, as some companies were reluctant to open their systems up with Heidelberg in the background, as it underpinned development. “And then,” says Ciz, “Heidelberg said earlier this year they were divesting stuff, we didn’t understand why.” But it meant that the response to starting up “has been incredibly positive”.
There have been changes. “Things had become a bit confused. So we have moved away from procurement and want to have a single laser focus on connectivity to help get rid go any confusion.
“We believe that that the need for open connectivity is today more important than it has ever been. Connectivity should not be a cap ex, we want it to be plug and configure.”
Ultimately that would be a self install model. Initially Cococo would be involved in the implementation. Each link will be a set amount “$100 a month” according to Ciz that will enable a trade printer to collect orders from a range of sources at an affordable cost, or to pass on outsourced work to the linked network.
“We are completely vendor agnostic. This is completely different to Zaikio. We are realistic. This will take time to scale, but we firmly believe that the industry needs agnostic connectivity.”
At New Crispy Mountain, Weyer is equally optimistic for the Keyline MIS. It had not disappeared in the last five years, but had been overshadowed by the Zaikio developments. “Heidelberg supported us for five years, so Keyline is better than it was. It is disappointing, but Heidelberg wanted to concentrate on manufacturing machinery. It was a strategic decision. If there’s a single investor, they get to decide what they want to do to find the best solution,” he says.
Demands have changed in the meantime. When Keyline first arrived eight years ago, printers were happy to do their own estimates, now there is demand for automated calculation engines he explains. The MIS will be more open than it was at that time. “MIS is our core business, we will extend from that. We are looking at how Keyline users can collaborate with each other because many are already sending orders to each other.”
Keyline will be focused on the German and then wider DACH market. As a cloud based application, wider distribution will be possible. When Keyline launched, the company collected a handful of orders from the UK, impressed by the new approach to MIS. That remains “a counterweight to the likes of giants like EPS”, he says. “Today we value our independence. The printing industry is highly dynamic, so software used has to change and grow. That means there’s a big opportunity for Keyline to do that.”
Weyer says that New Crispy Mountain will not take space at Drupa, though the team will be visiting. Cococo on the other hand is negotiating to see if it can secure a presence in Hall 7, home to the Drupa Next Age feature which focuses on start up businesses.
