Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab (BLI announced the winners of its BLI PaceSetter awards in Ease of Use: Enterprise Devices.
Based on Buyers Lab testing as well as research conducted on the enterprise market, these awards recognize the OEMs that have incorporated end-to-end ease of use in the design of enterprise devices.
The winners for 2020–2021 are:
Canon U.S.A, Inc.
BLI PaceSetter 2020–2021 in Ease of Use: Enterprise Devices
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.
BLI PaceSetter 2020–2021 in Ease of Use: Enterprise Devices
“Because enterprise organisations must accommodate many different users, easy-to-use MFPs are invaluable,” said George Mikolay, Associate Director of A3 Hardware/Production Analysis at Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab. “It takes a well-rounded MFP, designed with ease of use and the customer in mind to really deliver for the enterprise. This year’s winners conducted extensive research amongst their customers, dealers, and third parties to ensure they meet the needs of enterprise environments. These OEMs set the benchmark for enterprises in the traditional sense—typical print, scan, copy, and job management functions—and also in the personalization capabilities as well as apps and onboard tools that enable workers to be productive and efficient every day.”
To determine which OEMs lead the market, analysts at Keypoint Intelligence conducted a study on tested ease of use functionality, focusing on features that directly relate to enterprise work habits and environments. An in-depth evaluation was also conducted on levels of differentiation spread across several categories, including importance of ease of use in product design, post-COVID solutions, and apps and onboard tools.
Canon upholds tradition with intuitive MFP operation
Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab said that Canon’s dedication to ease of use is very clear. The company continues to set the benchmark when it comes to the print, scan, and copy functions. Users can customise an entire driver tab with the features of their choice via Canon’s free Driver Configuration Tool, and one-click job presets to streamline workflow can be saved on every tab of the intuitive driver. USB print and scan capabilities are robust, while support for Microsoft Office formats add more flexibility. The control panel, which has a high degree of customisation options, includes a timeline history that lets users access recent jobs. Mobile print and scan functionality is seamless, and simple job management helps enterprises work more efficiently.
Konica Minolta makes its mark with usability-enhancing innovations
Ease of use is a critical factor in product design and development for Konica Minolta, according to Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab’s analysis. Extensive research on commonly used functions and capabilities has led to the development of a control panel that is a large, and fully tilt-able, with slide-and-swipe navigation and quicker access to desired settings, making for a simple and effective user experience. Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab said that while Konica Minolta’s offering is very strong when it comes to typical print, scan, and copy functions, what really separates these next-generation products from the competition are the apps, onboard tools, and innovations that are an essential piece of their new products.
Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab added that via Konica Minolta’s MarketPlace, apps (Scan to gmail, Sharepoint, or OneDrive) and cloud offerings (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Mail, Microsoft OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft SharePoint) can be easily downloaded at the control panel. The free How2 App has been updated to reflect i-Series functionality, now providing customers with online access to instructions so they never have to leave the MFP for assistance. And to top it off, Konica Minolta’s Personalise Follow-You Persona allows users to customise the MFP panel with the apps, tools, and tiles they use most often to get their work done and to access them from any MFP, anywhere.
