Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. has announced it has been named a "Leader" in managed print services (MPS) by Quocirca for a third consecutive year in its Managed Print Services 2023 report. The industry analyst has identified cost, security and sustainability as the top print management challenges, and highlights Konica Minolta's key differentiators in these areas.

For 37% of respondents to Quocirca's report, cost control was cited as the top print management challenge. It is an issue that Konica Minolta addresses through its flexible pricing models, which align with its customers' payment preferences. The report recognizes how the company "simplifies, streamlines and reduces print costs, providing customers with invoicing predictability."

Cybersecurity and IT expertise are also top priorities for 45% of organizations when choosing an MPS supplier. Quocirca's report states how "Konica Minolta's Intelligent Connected Workplace services provide outsourced monitoring and management of print devices and systems, including device security profile management, vulnerability scanning and intrusion detection and print policy enforcement." The ability of bizhub SECURE to help organizations enhance password protection and hardware security measures, along with bizhub SECURE Platinum and SECURE Ultimate's use of BitDefender technology is also acknowledged.

Reducing environmental impact is an important issue for 31% of respondents, and is recognized as one of Konica Minolta's key differentiators. The use of an assessment tool for printer fleet environmental audits is mentioned for its ability to assess device energy consumption, as well as consumable usage to identify opportunities to limit wastage. Furthermore, the report notes how the uses of rules-based-printing can save resources.

Quocirca also refers to the trend toward organizations wanting more IT services from their MPS providers, such as workplace productivity and collaboration tools, as well as cloud print. Konica Minolta's ability to be a single supplier that manages MPS and IT services is stated, "Konica Minolta's Intelligent Connected Workplace portfolio encompasses a broad range of solutions that address customers' digital transformation needs. Konica Minolta's hybrid working solutions extend beyond print to also include digital document and workflow solutions." Konica Minolta also addresses cloud print demands with its Intelligent Connected Workplace through its Dispatcher Paragon Cloud SaaS solution for centralized print management.

"Recognition from Quocirca as a market leader in this area is a testament to our success in providing integrated IT services as a reliable partner for digital workplaces," said Chris Bilello, vice president of business solutions development, Konica Minolta. "As managed print services have become an essential cornerstone of secure, cloud-based digital workflows that empower flexible and remote working, Konica Minolta's comprehensive offering — spanning digital, print, IoT, artificial intelligence and augmented reality solutions — has helped businesses address the challenges reported by Quocirca as they transform into Intelligent Connected Workplaces."