In its survey, the industry analyst concludes that cyber security, AI and the environmental impact of printing are the most important factors for businesses. It considers Konica Minolta to be “well positioned to meet the diverse needs of both SMB and enterprise customers.” According to Quocirca, “Konica Minolta’s ICW [Intelligent Connected Workplace] offering is a particularly good choice for SMB and mid-size customers.”
Cyber security and AI are important
Quocirca conducted its annual survey across 500 organisations with over 250 employees using MPS in the UK, France, Germany and the US. This revealed that cyber security (66%) and AI (64%) will be the most important technology investments in the coming year.
According to Quocirca, Konica Minolta offers “a range of tailored security measures to help customers achieve document and data security.” In addition, Konica Minolta has launched the new generation bizhub i-Series this year, which “include an advanced firmware upgrade that delivers greater protection against malicious activity”.
The analyst emphasises that Konica Minolta has “a global, unified portfolio of workplace services and a strong focus on AI-enabled information management.” Konica Minolta has also recognised the growing role of AI in MPS-related services and “is expanding its AI strategy to enhance business automation for customers”. This includes “AI-enabled solutions, including data capture, robotic process automation (RPA), content and business process management, and optimisation.” Quocirca also highlights Konica Minolta's AI-powered MPS platform (OPS backbone platform) as one of its strengths “to enhance support for ICW customers. This includes advanced remote diagnostics employing AI to predict and pre-empt equipment, infrastructure and/or solution failures”.
Environmental impact of printing
This Quocirca study also reveals that one of the biggest challenges companies face is reducing the environmental impact of printing (38%), moving from third place last year to first place in 2024. This is also reflected in companies' expectations to MPS: they rank a reduced environmental impact as the top expected benefit (average score of 4.56 out of 5). In its report, Quocirca states that Konica Minolta “offers a range of expanded sustainability services. These include the bizWORKPLACE Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) assessment tool, which enables customers to monitor the energy consumption of each MFP; the bizhub Refreshed programme, which offers refurbished devices; and the Clean Planet recycling programme.”
Strong ICW portfolio
The top three criteria when selecting an MPS provider, given by respondents to Quocirca’s research, are IT (42%), cybersecurity (33%) and workflow automation (31%) expertise. Quocirca states that Konica Minolta’s strength is its comprehensive portfolio to support customers’ digital transformation. The company ”has effectively transitioned beyond traditional MPS to deliver a wider suite of solutions and services” under its ICW brand including “Cloud Services, Security Services, Managed IT Services, Managed Application Services, Information Management Services and Workflow and Automation Services”. Furthermore, “Konica Minolta has established a strong and mature portfolio of products that are customisable for businesses of all sizes," states the report.
