Konica Minolta has been named a ‘Major Player’ in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Security Solutions and Services Hardcopy 2022-2023 Vendor Assessment.
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, the company 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.’
Olaf Lorenz, Head of International Marketing Division, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe said, “We believe that security in today’s workplace has never been more important. Organisations in every sector are still determining the best ways to work following all the disruptions 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 that are 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.
Olaf added, “managing the security settings of multiple MFPs can be difficult. Network administrators often struggle with setting and remembering strong passwords. Shield Guard, together with bizhub SECURE and bizhub SECURE Platinum or bizhub SECURE Ultimate, 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.”
