Ricoh a 'Leader' in Worldwide Managed Print Services MarketScape Analysis by IDC

TOKYO, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricoh Company, Ltd. today announced it has again been named a Leader in the "IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Managed Print Services 2011 Hardcopy Vendor Analysis."[1] This is the second year of the report.

The latest analysis compares 11 hardcopy vendors participating in the worldwide managed print services (MPS) market. IDC's detailed MPS definition emphasizes proactive management of customers' imaging and printing environment, continuous improvement of that environment, and change management.

As a Leader, Ricoh achieved high scores in both the strategic and capabilities categories. "Ricoh's development of its global scope (consistent global structure, governance and process) is one of its biggest differentiators," states the report, authored by IDC's Holly Muscolino, Research Director for the Hardcopy Peripherals: Software and Services program. "The company's structured approach to MDS delivery is also distinctive."

Ricoh has leveraged its deep, global experience to shape its Managed Document Services (MDS) strategy for addressing pressing customer concerns in MPS, including cost control, environmental sustainability, information security and governance, business process efficiency, organizational change management, information worker (iWorker) productivity, information optimization and strategic infrastructure.

"Ricoh's leadership position in this study confirms what we've already discovered by working closely with the company for five years in MPS and beyond," said Don Kupper, Vice President Supply Chain, Clinical Support, & Chief Pharmacy Officer of the University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky. "They worked with us to analyze our challenges, develop creative solutions, effect a transformation, and follow through with continuous improvement. We increased our efficiency, productivity, improved our information flow and saved $1.6 million."

Ricoh MDS is a globally cohesive approach to executing Ricoh programs based entirely on the ways clients prefer to do business. Its streamlined delivery framework – Understand, Improve, Transform, Govern and Optimize – strengthens the three stages of partnership engagement: Project Management, Service Management and Organizational Change Management.

"While competitive MPS offerings focus tightly on devices and print management, Ricoh MDS addresses the business practices surrounding the management of both print and electronic information," said Sergio Kato, Associate Director of Ricoh Company, Ltd. and General Manager of Global MDS Center. "Ricoh MDS teams work to understand how each enterprise accesses, uses and stores information. Then we adapt and optimize those processes to make them more secure, more efficient and more effective with less environmental footprint."

Ricoh has delivered custom MDS solutions to customers around the world. For customer success stories on Ricoh's MDS approach, please visit ricoh.com/mds.

[1] "IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Managed Print Services 2011 Hardcopy Vendor Analysis," Doc # 232135 December 2011.

About IDC MarketScape
IDC's MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor's position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.

About Ricoh Company, Ltd.
Ricoh Company, Ltd. is a company specializing in technology and services that transform high-volume, document-intensive business processes into more efficient ones. This is achieved through Ricoh's expertise in Managed Document Services, Production Printing, Office Solutions and IT Services. By working with Ricoh, businesses can streamline the way they work, become more efficient and profitable, and share knowledge more effectively within their organizations. Ricoh's worldwide operation covers more than 180 countries and territories in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, China and Japan.

© 2012 Ricoh Company, Ltd. All rights reserved. All other company or product names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Ricoh Web Site: www.ricoh.com

SOURCE Ricoh Company, Ltd.