Inkjet & Digital Printing

Konica Minolta named a Market Leader for Managed Print Services by Quocirca

Monday 17. May 2021 - Managed print services (MPS) are a catalyst for digitalisation. They help businesses save time and money and allow IT departments to focus on business-critical tasks. MPS is therefore becoming an increasingly essential cornerstone of secure, cloud-based digital workflows.

At the heart of this paradigm shift, Konica Minolta has helped businesses large and small transform into Intelligent Connected Workplaces. This pioneering role has been recognised by global market insight and research company Quocirca: In its latest “MPS Vendor Landscape, 2021” [1] report , Quocirca re-affirmed Konica Minolta as market leader for the scope and breadth of its portfolio. It notes that the Konica Minolta offering 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.”
Subtitled “Transforming the hybrid workplace”, Quocirca’s report notes that the MPS market has become more mature and businesses are demanding more from suppliers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With 47 percent of workers now working remotely, organisations are seeking to adapt office capacity using satellite offices and flexible working. The report finds that “56 percent of organisations rank workplace services in their top three selection criteria that would make them more likely to choose a specific MPS agreement: This is followed by Cloud Print Services (45 percent) […] sustainability services (30 percent) and managed security services (29 percent).”
The need for a cloud printing partner
The report describes an increase in organisations transitioning print infrastructure to the cloud to help achieve cost efficiencies: 39 percent have implemented a cloud print management platform, while 37 percent intend 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 highlights 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. Konica Minolta offers users the flexibility of location-independent printing, while at the same time unburdening IT from the complexity of managing printers, servers, drivers, applications and networks. 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 scale the solution up or down as needs change.
An integrated security approach is essential
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”.
Depth of MPS offering and services make a vendor a market leader
Konica Minolta’s managed print services are aligned to meet emerging workplace needs and 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”.
“We are proud to have been re-affirmed as a leader in the exciting and fast-moving MPS segment,” says Olaf Lorenz, Senior General Manager Digital Transformation Division, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe. Konica Minolta has maintained its leading position in previous reports since 2017. “From small- and medium-sized businesses to global enterprises, we help our customers navigate digital transformation with effective solutions that bring together managed print, secure IT infrastructure and cutting-edge cloud services. Being named a market leader is a testament that our vision and commitment is fully aligned to our customers’ evolving needs”.