RAMSEY, N.J. and FOSTER CITY, Calif., June 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leader in information management focused on enterprise content, technology optimization and cloud services, today proudly acknowledges its one year anniversary of its Business Innovation Center (BIC) in Silicon Valley with the aim of driving a fundamental global business transformation to augment the vibrant core business.
Ekta Sahasi, the Business Innovation Center's vice president and leader, has been aggressively spearheading this global initiative for the past year and has driven an impressive investment and partnership strategy to deliver outcomes at unprecedented pace. She said that while the core business is vibrant and growing, her charter is to look beyond the two to three year horizon and establish new business lines for Konica Minolta that will fundamentally alter the trajectory of the company. Based in Silicon Valley, the BIC works closely with a diverse range of entities – from startups, research institutions to venture capitalists – to introduce disruptive solutions to Konica Minolta's growing global portfolio.
According to Sahasi, the Business Innovation Center will drive the transformation leveraging four pillars:
Leveraging its Advanced Technology Lab, to evangelize and incubate differentiated solutions
Drive strategic investments in early and late stage startups that are trying to deliver on the "next next"
Establish strategic partnerships with startups and large companies to jointly drive a differentiated portfolio
Aggressively pursue Merger and Acquisitions to accelerate the pace of innovation and drive rapid transformation in specific focus areas.
When asked about the key focus areas for the Business Innovation Center, Sahasi mentioned that some areas of interest include: Robotics, WorkPlace of the Future, Healthcare, NextGen Enterprise Solutions, Connected Intelligent Ecosystem and 3D Printing. All existing partnerships and investments BIC has made thus far are tied to one of these areas.
Ekta Sahasi also went on to say "Our Business Innovation Center is a global effort with four additional centers in Europe and Asia. We are rapidly growing and accelerating our efforts across the globe to profoundly change the Konica Minolta's portfolio and deliver global solutions to our global and changing customer base. The Centers are uncovering exciting solutions that will continue to drive Konica Minolta's success and reputation as a leader in innovation and transform the brand into a trusted partner in all the new areas she is looking to move the business in."
A sampling of intriguing investments that the BIC has made in the past six months include:
Robin
Robin is a simple meeting room booking system for the office that runs on mobile phones and tablets. It syncs with employee calendars, automatically detects room occupancy and gathers analytics on how rooms are actually used. Changes in room availability are immediately reflected, avoiding conflicts. Robin supports Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365, with Outlook support on the horizon. Konica Minolta will sell Robin through its direct sales channel and its nationwide dealer sales channel.
The product is the result of a strategic partnership between BIC and Robin Powered, a Boston-based company focused on sensor-based technologies and workplace automation aiming to define the workplace of the future. "Robin gives BIC an opportunity to show what the future of office automation can look like," said Sahasi. "That vision begins with intelligent meeting room scheduling."
Konica Minolta and Robin Powered will showcase Robin on June 18, 2015, at the Digital Experience event to be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. Robin Powered CEO, Sam Dunn, will be present.
Zebra
BIC has partnered with Zebra Medical Technologies (ZMT), which has developed a revolutionary new imaging technology possessing the potential to improve medical practice and outcomes in multiple clinical domains. Current imaging modalities cannot resolve cellular structures in living patients. Microscopes can only view samples that have been biopsied and therefore contain no living cells. To fill this need, ZMT has developed the Zebrascope – allowing real-time, minimally invasive in vivo tissue imaging without requiring biopsy or surgery. The Zebrascope is the world's first hand-held multiphoton imager for human use and is delivering imaging systems to researchers investigating the structure and function of muscle, tendon, cartilage, skin, and other tissues.
Knightscope
The growing media coverage of subservient robots helping societies worldwide will soon include Knightscope robots, which utilizes technology to make communities safer and stronger. Their robots can see, hear, feel and smell and watch over corporate campuses and neighborhoods. They are fully autonomous and are used to predict crimes in schools, businesses, and neighborhoods.
Development was inspired by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. One model, the K5, detects crime using a variety of sensors including a video camera, thermal imaging sensors, a laser range finder, radar, air quality sensors and a microphone. If the K5 detects abnormal noise and/or temperature change, or known criminals, it will alert local authorities.
About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in information management focused on enterprise content, technology optimization and cloud services. Our portfolio of offerings deliver solutions to improve our customers' speed to market, manage technology costs, and facilitate the sharing of information to increase productivity. The All Covered IT Services division offers a range of IT strategy, support, project and cloud computing solutions across all verticals. Konica Minolta has won numerous awards and recognition, including placement in the Leaders Quadrant on the Gartner 2014 Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services (MPS) and Managed Content Services (MCS). Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for eight consecutive years. Konica Minolta, Inc. has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for three years in a row. For more information, please visit: www.kmbs.konicaminolta.us and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter @konicaminoltaus.
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