Konica Minolta has made it even easier for customers to get the most from their bEST-equipped MFPs with the launch of the bizhub MarketPlace, the company’s online storefront that allows customers to access Konica Minolta-developed apps at their MFP’s control panel. Think of it like the Apple App Store or Google Play, but for apps that add functionality to the MFP. Konica Minolta is the first A3 manufacturer to let customers browse, purchase and download applications directly from the control panel of the device.
“The bizhub MarketPlace is Konica Minolta’s own simple, user-friendly gateway that makes it easy to access, explore and download apps designed to streamline workflow, improve productivity and enhance the user experience of our products,” said John Dembia, product marketing manager at Konica Minolta.
There are two access points to the bizhub MarketPlace: the e-commerce site (www.bizhubmarketplace.com), from which users can create accounts to purchase apps; and the MarketPlace application that gets installed on the MFP. In order to fully utilize the bizhub MarketPlace, organizations must equip compatible MFPs with the bizhub MarketPlace application, which is installed on the device for free by a service technician. Thereafter, administrators simply launch the bizhub MarketPlace application to browse the store, purchase and install applications, manage the device’s applications and modify settings—all from the control panel. The MarketPlace app is also where end users access applications already downloaded to the device.
For this initial launch, the bizhub MarketPlace offers eight applications, the majority of which are free. There’s a weather app that displays the weather forecast for the customer’s area or any zip code a user enters. The Connect to Twitter and RSS Feeds apps let businesses display tweets or feeds that are relevant to their business or industry, and the Announcement app enables organizations to display a company ad or announcement on the MFP’s screensaver. Paper Templates Lite, which is designed for the education market, gives users access to a library of templates to print, including cover sheets, certificates, graph paper, permission slips and more. The Clean Planet app lets users order bulk shipping boxes and print shipping labels, as part of Konica Minolta’s free recycling program for consumables.
At the moment, the only paid applications include Paper Templates, which adds functionality to the Lite version, such as the ability to import and delete documents, and removes the Konica Minolta logo watermark that the Lite version features; and Connect to Microsoft SharePoint, which lets users access their SharePoint accounts, download and print files or upload documents to SharePoint folders.
Konica Minolta is currently developing several more applications, as the company plans to release a number of applications every month, continuously growing the marketplace.
“The platform offers customers the flexibility to add new functionality to their MFPs throughout the life of the installation as simply as adding an app to their smartphone or tablet,” said Dembia.
Compatible devices include the bizhub C754, C654, C652DS, C652, C554, C454, C452, C364, C360, C284, C280, C224, C220, and monochrome devices including the bizhub 652, 552, 423, 363, 283 and 223. In order to support free installation of the bizhub MarketPlace, MFPs must be optimized for internet connectivity, and may require the purchase of an iOption license kit and memory upgrade kit.
