Konica Minolta announced it has been named a “Major Player” in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Security Solutions and Services Hardcopy 2022-2023 Vendor Assessment (doc #US48851622, January 2023). The report notes Konica Minolta’s Intelligent Connected Workplace business philosophy as a key strength in the company’s offerings. The study assessed the market for security solutions and services hardcopy through the IDC MarketScape model, which factors in both quantitative and qualitative aspects that position vendors for success in this important global market.
The Intelligent Connected Workplace is a customer-centric distributed-work model to enable both onsite and mobile work with 24/7 access to data anytime, from anywhere, to help customers on their digital transformation journey. As part of the Intelligent Connected Workplace, Konica Minolta has combined its print and IT services businesses and views print products as other Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are part of the IT framework. The MarketScape report states, “[Konica Minolta] takes a holistic view of security and includes print assets within the construct of an overall view of IT security.”
“We believe that security in today’s workplace has never been more important,” said Chris Bilello, vice president, Business Solutions Development, Konica Minolta. “Organizations in every sector are still determining the best ways to work following all the disruption and changes the pandemic required. Based on the growing incidence of security breaches, we’re focused on delivering the best products and services with essential security features to help protect our customers’ businesses.”
Many of these security features are delivered as embedded, device-level technology, offered as standalone offerings as part of Managed Print and Document Services (MPDS). The IDC MarketScape states that “Konica Minolta’s roots in print and document security date back almost 20 years, when the firm decided as a print device manufacturer that it would offer essential security features such as hard drive encryption and hard drive overwrite to meet military defense standards.” In keeping with the advances in storage technology, Konica Minolta has migrated its product line to Solid State Drive (SSD) storage, which provides enhanced security such as “always on” self-encryption.
The IDC MarketScape report also notes that the company’s focus on security includes cloud printing and management with its cloud solutions and platforms, as well as its ability to host the services. In May 2022, Konica Minolta debuted Shield Guard, a new cloud service for remote security monitoring and management of bizhub MFPs. Shield Guard is a centralized, cloud-based platform that provides automatic notifications and remediation so that businesses can control the security status of their fleets from anywhere. It offers a graphical dashboard for at-a-glance status monitoring that includes all relevant KPIs and enables easy device and policy management for network administrators.
“Managing the security settings of multiple MFPs can be difficult,” said Bilello. “Network administrators often struggle with setting and remembering strong passwords. Shield Guard, together with bizhub SECURE and bizhub SECURE Platinum or bizhub SECURE Healthcare, makes it much easier to manage security policies, group devices or set policies for individual devices and create reports that can be exported and distributed internally. In addition, alerts notify the administrators of at-risk devices, unsecured MFP settings and device and policy assessments as they happen – right from the dashboard via Security alert pop-ups and automatic emails when a device falls out of compliance.”
For Shield Guard or any of its offerings, Konica Minolta starts engagements with a consultancy process that also encompasses “a 360-degree view of discovery” from a security perspective. The company’s related services portfolio offers managed print services, infrastructure managed services, cloud services, managed content services, workflow and automation and managed security services. Together with its print devices, including its award-winning bizhub multifunction printers (MFPs), Konica Minolta can provide its customers with start-to-finish solutions that also provide essential security.
The IDC MarketScape notes companies should consider Konica Minolta because, “Konica Minolta’s vision for the Intelligent Connected Workplace provides a solid foundation for those organizations looking to implement security as part of a modernized approach for print and document infrastructure.”
In addition, the report notes “Konica Minolta should also be on the short list of vendors for those companies looking to implement globalized services with consistency across multiple geographic locations.”
About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.’s (Konica Minolta) journey started 150 years ago, with a vision to see and do things differently. The company innovates for the good of society and the world. The same purpose that kept it moving then, keeps it moving now. Konica Minolta aims to partner with clients to Give Shape to Ideas by supporting their digital transformation through its expansive Intelligent Connected Workplace portfolio. Its business technology offerings include IT Services, intelligent information management, video security solutions and managed print services, as well as office technology and industrial and commercial print solutions. Through its ongoing work, the company is fortunate to be continuously recognized for its products and services. This includes, but is not limited to being included on CRN’s MSP 500 list numerous times; named a finalist in the IT Software Category by The World Technology Awards; recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys and presented with Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Awards for its bizhub i-Series.
