Ramsey, NJ (Aug. 31, 2020) — Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) is proud to announce the Personalize app with Follow-You Persona Service, an advanced, industry-leading solution that allows users to customize the MFP panel on i-Series devices according to their individual preferences and have their personalized user interface (UI) follow them to any supported device on a global scale.
In times of increasingly complex working environments, user experience is key for adopting technology. People need to be able to understand technology quickly and use it intuitively without the need for lengthy or extensive training. Users expect, for instance, a similar user experience to the one they know from their mobile phone. Personalize specifically addresses this challenge, allowing employees to easily customize the MFP UI to match their own working behavior and needs, decreasing the time they spend in front of their devices while increasing efficiency and operational cost savings.
Konica Minolta has a long history of being a pioneer in regard to the user experience of its MFPs. Last year, the jury of the Good Design Award 2019 praised the A3 color MFPs bizhub C360i/C300i/C250i for their highly intuitive interfaces and user experience, and the C650i/550i/450i Series and recently introduced C750i are based on this same award-winning interface. Although the company has offered the ability to tailor the MFP display to customers’ individual needs for more than ten years, Konica Minolta’s Personalize advances this concept even further, optimizing productivity by allowing users to access their own personalized UI instantly on any device around the world. Personalize’s advanced technology was recently recognized by Keypoint Intelligence as part of Konica Minolta’s 2020-21 BLI PaceSetter award in Ease of Use: Enterprise Devices, an honor that recognizes OEMs for incorporating end-to-end ease of use in the design of enterprise devices.
“The enhanced features we offer through Personalize truly pave the way to the Intelligent Connected Workplace,” said Dino Pagliarello, senior vice president, product management and planning. “Taking into consideration the fact that multifunctional devices can have multiple users, we designed an experience based on individual preferences and working behaviors.”
Decreasing operational costs and time spent in front of the MFP, while increasing efficiency
Konica Minolta’s new Personalize app allows users to create individual MFP UIs that are immediately accessible when they authenticate to the device. Features and functions frequently accessed can be moved to the front using drag-and-drop functionality, while features that are not used – or used infrequently – can be removed from view. This allows more efficient operation of the MFP display, as the removal of unused functions causes less distraction for users, and faster access to frequently used functions means less time spent using the MFP in total. Users can also select their individual preferred language in which all MFP functions are presented, a useful feature for organizations with employees from all over the world. And, to add even more of a personal touch, users can choose a custom background for their UIs, selecting from pre-loaded images or (coming shortly) from their own uploaded images.
Personalize’s Follow-You Persona allows the individual UI to follow each user to any supported device within an organization upon authentication. With this unique service, users can have immediate access to their personalized UI wherever they go, with no additional set-up required. This cloud service also provides an easily accessible online admin portal for license and device management, making it easy for our customers to manage Personalize in their office.
Three different plans for organizations of all sizes
While the Personalize app is free of charge, the Personalize Follow-You Service is available via subscription with three plans to support customers ranging from SMEs to the enterprise level: Starter, Business, and Enterprise. The Starter Plan is an introductory plan that offers basic Follow-You Persona features and is best suited for small business. With the Business Plan, customers benefit from all the features of the Starter Plan along with additional personalization features for users. And the Enterprise Plan is an advanced plan that offers individualized support to give administrators more control.
Although these plans will be available on Dec. 1 as chargeable plans, all Enterprise Plan features are available now through Nov. 30 as an extended free trial. To access the free Personalize app, go to Konica Minolta’s Marketplace. Once the app has been installed, users can start the extended trial via the Personalize website.
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About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future with its expansive smart office product portfolio from IT services (All Covered), ECM, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for 13 consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2017 America’s Best Employers list. The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for eight consecutive years and has spent three years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. It partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and work to bring value to our society.
