Nuance Communications has been ranked number one in the worldwide document capture software market in a new study from the market research firm Harvey Spencer Associates (HSA). This marks the third consecutive year Nuance has placed as the leading global scanning and capture software vendor.

The report, called “The 2012-2013 Worldwide Market for Document Capture Software,” found Nuance products captured 17 percent of the overall global document capture market in 2011 – leading all other companies. Nuance’s acquisition of Equitrac in 2011 strengthened the value proposition of eCopy ShareScan, the world’s best-selling document scanning and workflow solution for networked multifunction printers (MFPs), the report stated.

HSA research shows that the Ad Hoc Image market segment has grown due to more sophisticated channel offerings driven by the increased use of networked MFPs in the enterprise. Nuance owns 37 percent market share in the Ad Hoc Image segment, more than four times the amount of its nearest competitor, and leads the competition with a 29 percent market share in Ad Hoc Transaction, defined as demand-based capture that is intended to be integrated into business processes.

“The extension of its leadership in the global document capture software market has resulted from Nuance capitalizing on changes within organisations that are evolving how they manage print and imaging capabilities,” said Harvey Spencer, president of HSA, the leading analysis company specializing in document capture. 

“We expect document capture to be an area of significant growth as MFP manufacturers seek to add value by offering technologies that improve efficiency and lessen the burden on IT. Nuance is at the forefront of this movement, and through its partner ecosystem, enhances imaging to bring greater understanding to business processes.”

The Nuance MPS software portfolio includes Equitrac print management and cost recovery software, Nuance eCopy ShareScan scanning and workflow solutions, and Nuance OmniPage, PaperPort, PDF Converter Professional and eCopy PDF Pro Office desktop applications. Nuance MPS software boosts personal productivity, increases departmental efficiency and streamlines enterprise workflows. It delivers an end-to-end solution that supports workflows from MFPs to desktop and mobile devices to the cloud.

Nuance has global channel partnerships with nearly every MFP and scanning vendor, including Brother, Canon/Océ, Fuji Xerox, HP, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh/IKON, Visioneer and Xerox – each of which currently sells or bundles Nuance solutions through dealers or as part of MPS portfolios.