Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. announced it has been named a market leader by global market insight and research firm Quocirca in its latest ‘MPS Vendor Landscape, 2021’ report.
In Quocirca’s latest ‘MPS Vendor Landscape, 2021’ report, the firm notes that Konica Minolta has an offering that is “comprehensive, spanning digital print, IoT, artificial intelligence and augmented reality solutions.” Konica Minolta’s investments, particularly in IT services “enabled it to deliver on its strategy to provide integrated IT services and become a reliable partner for digital workplaces.”
“We are extremely pleased to have been named a leader in this space by such a trusted source in the global print industry,” said Kevin Kern, Senior Vice President, Digital Transformation and Emerging Technologies. “This recognition is a testament to our efforts supporting our customers’ digital transformation through effective solutions that bring together managed print, secure IT infrastructure and leading-edge cloud services.”
Subtitled ‘Transforming the hybrid workplace,’ Quocirca’s report notes that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic the MPS market has become more mature, and businesses are demanding more from suppliers. With 47% of workers now working remotely, organisations are seeking to adapt office capacity through the use of satellite offices and flexible working. The report finds that “56% of organisations rank workplace services in their top three selection criteria that would make them more likely to choose a specific MPS agreement, followed by Cloud Print Services (45%) […] sustainability services (30%) and managed security services (29%).”
The report describes an increase in organisations transitioning print infrastructure to the cloud to help achieve cost efficiencies: 39% having implemented a cloud print management platform and 37% intending to do so. While the majority of companies are managing print jobs on-premises, Quocirca found that three quarters of organisations expect to see greater use of cloud print management by 2025.
With regard to Konica Minolta’s offering, the report flags the customer benefits of Konica Minolta’s cloud print services, which has options for private cloud or hybrid solutions and converts an existing on-premise print environment to a cloud-based service. They offer users the flexibility of location-independent printing, while at the same time unburdening IT from the complexity of managing printers, servers, drivers, applications and network. This ensures the infrastructure is always up to date and meets the latest security standards. Customers benefit from the usual as-a-service advantages like consumption-based pricing and the ability to easily flex the solution up or down as needs change.
With regard to the overarching importance of security for organisations mentioned in its report, Quocirca also noted that Konica Minolta’s scalable security services were “an integral element in all of its Intelligent Connected Workplace services and built in to all of its solutions for digital workplaces.” The company “has developed scalable solutions to meet the IT security needs of organisations of all sizes, and address a wide array of threats – from harmful email attachments to third-party intruders attempting to gain access to customer data. Additionally, Konica Minolta provides vulnerability management to assess and monitor a customer’s critical IT systems.”
Konica Minolta’s managed print services are aligned to meet the emerging workplace needs and its requirements. As a vendor, it empowers customers with a holistic offering that includes consultancy services, hardware and software implementation, and workflow management. Quocirca categorises market leaders, such as Konica Minolta, as vendors that have “both strategic vision and depth of service offering.” Such leaders have made “significant investments in their service portfolio and infrastructure,” which “are supported by strong delivery capabilities.” The report further explains that Konica Minolta “is taking a holistic approach that enables its solutions to be seamlessly integrated with each other to optimise customer workflows and processes – both digital and in print.”
