Buyers Laboratory honours bizhub MarketPlace with top award

| 14 August 2017

JOHANNESBURG- 14 August 2017 - Konica Minolta South Africa is pleased to announce that Konica Minolta’s bizhub MarketPlace has clinched a prestigious ‘Pick’ award for ‘Outstanding MFP App Ecosystem’ from the analysts at Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI), the world’s leading independent evaluator of document imaging software.

bizhub MarketPlace was developed by Konica Minolta to serve as an online store for licensing and deploying time-saving apps designed for use and to take full advantage of its leading-edge bizhub multifunctional printers (MFPs). The system’s apps help streamline workflows and improve efficiencies and also host a user interface (UI) customisation studio, where clients can create and deploy control-panel UIs personalised to the needs of their users.


BLI recognised the platform for many of its strengths, including:

  • Tools that allow administrators and other users to easily create customised control-panel UIs and remotely deploy them via the bizhub MarketPlace portal.
  • A wide library of productivity-enhancing apps for scanning, printing, cloud access, communication, security and more, that extend MFP functionality and the user experience.
  • Easy customisation capabilities to best suit a company or specific department’s workflow.
  • Cost-saving print management features that can be deployed via the custom UIs.
  • Enterprise management features, including simplified app and MFP UI licensing, across a fleet of MFPs from the bizhub MarketPlace admin portal.


IT personnel (and others with a bizhub Marketplace login), can browse and deploy any of the listed applications to extend the features and functionality of their compatible bizhub MFPs. Administrators can utilise a web-based, intuitive drag-and-drop tool, to create and deploy customised user interfaces. MFP UIs can be populated with specific features needed by the client to tackle desired workflow processes - thus simplifying use, reducing errors and making it easier for staff to work more efficiently at the MFP. In addition to the DIY capabilities of the UI Builder tool, Konica Minolta also offers professional design services through its Solutions Engineering Centre, to create custom UIs for clients. A key feature of the bizhub MarketPlace Chameleon, an intuitive solution that allows organisations to personalise the experience of their MFP, is that users have the ability to customise the UI to conform with company branding.


“Konica Minolta’s bizhub Marketplace is at the forefront in the growing trend of MFP ‘app’ stores and its added Chameleon features are particularly impressive. You can build custom UIs that will turn multi-step processes into one-touch processes, which will save time and reduce mistakes for users at the MFP,” explains Jamie Bsales, director, Office Workflow Solutions Analysis at BLI.


Says Greg Griffith, business solutions product manager at Konica Minolta South Africa : “bizhub MarketPlace presents a new and easy way to browse, purchase and download apps similar to those used on mobile devices, but that are specifically designed for your MFP. This enables businesses of any size or geographic location to essentially transform the way that they work. Receiving this BLI award, acknowledges Konica Minolta’s commitment to provide the industry with innovative, ready-to-use business applications.”

ABOUT BLI PICKS:

With its annual document imaging solutions Pick awards that recognizes the most impressive solutions evaluated during the previous 12-month test cycle, BLI gives special recognition to the software products that provided the most outstanding performances. Software products submitted for testing undergo an in-depth hands-on review that focuses on key attributes for a solution’s target market and compares how well the product stacks up against leading competitors. Pick winners rise above the competition in key areas such as feature set, ease of use, ease of administration, software integration and value. Consequently, a BLI Pick is a hard-earned award that buyers and IT directors can trust to better guide them in their acquisition decisions.