Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab (BLI, Fairfield, NJ), a leading independent global evaluator of document imaging software, hardware and services, has announced the winners of its BLI PaceSetter Awards in the Ease of Use: Enterprise Devices category. Based on Buyers Lab testing as well as research conducted in the enterprise market, these awards recognize the OEMs that have incorporated end-to-end ease of use in the design of their enterprise Multifunction Print (MFP) and other devices. The winners for 2020 – 2021 are Canon U.S.A. and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.
“Because enterprise organizations must accommodate many different users, easy-to-use MFPs are invaluable,” said George Mikolay, Associate Director of A3 Hardware/Production Analysis at Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab. “It takes a well-rounded MFP, designed with ease of use and the customer in mind, to really deliver for the enterprise. This year’s winners conducted extensive research among their customers, dealers and third parties to ensure that they meet the needs of enterprise environments. These OEMs set the benchmark for enterprises in the traditional sense – typical print, scan, copy, and job management functions – and also in the personalization capabilities, as well as apps and on-board tools that enable workers to be productive and efficient every day.”
To determine which OEMs lead the market, analysts at Keypoint Intelligence conducted a study on tested ease-of-use functionality focusing on features that directly relate to enterprise work habits and environments. An in-depth evaluation was also conducted on levels of differentiation spread across several categories – including importance of ease of use in product design, post-COVID solutions, apps and on-board tools. Here are some additional comments from Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab about the award winners.
Canon’s intuitive MFP operation. Canon’s dedication to ease of use is very clear. “The company continues to set the benchmark when it comes to the print, scan, and copy functions.” Users can customize an entire driver tab with the features of their choice via Canon’s free Driver Configuration Tool. And one-click job presets to streamline workflow can be saved on every tab of the intuitive driver. USB print-and-scan capabilities are robust, while support for Microsoft Office formats add more flexibility. The control panel, which has a high degree of customization options, includes a timeline history that lets users access recent jobs. Mobile print-and-scan functionality is seamless, and simple job management helps enterprises work more efficiently.
Konica Minolta’s usability-enhancing innovations. Ease of use is a critical factor in product design and development for Konica Minolta. Extensive research on commonly used functions and capabilities has led to the development of a control panel that’s a large, and fully ’tiltable’, with slide-and-swipe navigation and quicker access to desired settings – making for a simple and effective user experience. While Konica Minolta’s offering is very strong when it comes to typical print, scan and copy functions, what really separates these next-generation products from the competition are the apps, onboard tools, and innovations that are an essential piece of the OEM’s new products. Konica Minolta’s MarketPlace, apps (Scan to gmail, Sharepoint, or OneDrive) and cloud offerings (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Mail, Microsoft OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft SharePoint) can be easily downloaded at the control panel. The free How2 App has been updated to reflect i-Series functionality, now providing customers with online access to instructions, so they never have to leave the MFP for assistance. And to top it off, Konica Minolta’s Personalize Follow-You Persona allows users to customize the MFP panel with the apps, tools, and tiles they use most often to get their work done, and to access them from any MFP anywhere.
Canon and Konica Minolta earn Keypoint – Buyers Lab PaceSetter Awards
