OEM News: Ricoh’s Push for Communication Services

Sep 17, 2015 12:22:28 PM

By Priya Gohil

OEM News: Ricoh’s Push for Communication Services
A/V Solutions Help People Stay Connected Anytime, Anyplace

A prime advocate of ‘workstyle innovation’, Ricoh has broadened its focus to develop new strategies and technologies around a services-led portfolio, with an emphasis on adapting and optimizing information and collaboration processes. Recently, Ricoh Innovations Corporation, headquartered in the United States, set up a new Visual Services and Solutions business unit tasked with “understanding and interpreting the world’s visual information in order to provide an enhanced human experience”. One of its remits is developing products for B2B markets related to the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. In Europe, Ricoh is building on the success of its Communications Services line in B2B markets. Arguably, it is well placed to do so given that its Swedish arm has already established a firm foothold in delivering B2B communication services in the Nordic region. As part of its ‘Ricoh Connect and Collaborate’ offering, Ricoh provides visual solutions, such as video conferencing, interactive white boards and digital signage, that are designed to encourage and foster better communication and collaboration in the workplace.

Unifying Communication Finds Its Place in Sweden
Ricoh Sweden (Ricoh Sverige AB) was formed in 2009 out of the acquisition and merger of two of Sweden’s leading office solutions companies: Carl Lamm Holding AB and NRG Scandinavia. The latter company was already part of the Ricoh Group, with the former acquired by Ricoh Europe Holdings PLC. Back then, the move was heralded as an opportunity to offer a unique level of service to Swedish B2B customers and to broaden Ricoh’s range of products and services. Carl Lamm already had a heritage of selling video conferencing services and visual solutions, and this experience proved a stable foundation on which to develop Ricoh Sweden’s Communications Services portfolio.

“Indeed, Ricoh Sweden found itself well placed to bring innovative B2B products and services to the fore, as the Swedish market is particularly receptive to new ideas and work-style practices,” said Kristoffer Birkedahl, business area manager for Ricoh’s Communication Services in Sweden. “Our appetite for new ways to communicate is the driving force behind our visual communications products and services.”

Kristoffer Birkedahl, business area manager for Ricoh’s Communication Services Sweden.

Huddles in the Workplace
Companies are continually forced to react to business globalization, accelerated business speed and the relentless pursuit for productivity and efficiency. With such pressures, the ability to collaborate and achieve consensus is essential for enabling efficient business operations, but the opportunity for fast decision-making is often at the mercy of logistics. Finding a vacant conference room, whether you want to arrange a meeting in advance or hold an impromptu one, can be problematic, particularly in space-constrained offices. Not only that, if the meeting requires audio and visual link-ups with remote offices, or a projector for presentations, IT staff have to be consulted and brought in to set up the necessary equipment. This means the opportunity for colleagues to share ideas, collaborate and achieve consensus is often scuppered by logistical and resource limitations and delays.

These pain points are being addressed through the work of Ricoh’s Communication Services globally, which provide a number of solutions to enable agile ways of working. “Ricoh has coined the ’Huddle Concept‘. Every company needs huddle areas—small areas where people can get together quickly and easily,” Birkedahl said. “Our Interactive White Board D5510 has proven to be very popular in this type of business scenario. It is very simple to operate and provides a flexible and instant way to connect colleagues together. Users have the ability to resize, annotate and print content directly, and it offers a host of features, such as an embedded PC, OCR recognition and email functionality. Key discussion points can be captured, saved to a USB drive or a network folder and then emailed directly to relevant parties. Plus, information flow is controlled as data can be permanently erased as soon as the D5510 is switched off.”

The Ricoh Interactive White Board D5510 offers real-time collaboration across multiple sites.

The ‘huddle’ concept is not confined to one office setting either. As Birkedahl stated, “The D5510 adds an extra dimension to global meeting interactivity,” as the same presentation can be viewed in real-time on up to eight other D5510 whiteboards that can connect via a company’s intranet. Additionally, as many as 20 other remote users can contribute by linking through a web browser on their smartphone or tablet. Annotations made on one D5510 appear instantaneously on others. Currently, the D5510 is available in a 55" (diagonal) HD screen and a 65" version is in pre-production, and these will also be aimed at other vertical markets, like higher education.

Design is in the Details
Alongside the D5510 is Ricoh’s award-winning visual conferencing solution, the Unified Communications System P3500, which provides audio and video communication via a lightweight and flexible system. Ease of use and portability were key requirements for Ricoh’s product designers. “I wanted to design this product so that it is enjoyable,” said Ryota Yano, design director of Ricoh’s Corporate Design Center. “It also needed to be able to fit in an A4 size desk drawer so that users can use it whenever they want.” It is this attention to detail which landed the P3500 a 2015 iF Design Award from the iF International Forum Design GmbH, a German-based organization which promotes industrial product design. In terms of its usability, Birkedahl notes that “customers are using it very effectively as it is a simple plug-and-play unit, and it offers them a flexible and fluid service.” Features include the ability to make conference calls and for remote workers to connect to it via dedicated smartphone and tablet apps.

“Ricoh has coined the ’Huddle Concept‘. Every company needs huddle areas—small areas where people can get together quickly and easily. Our Interactive White Board D5510 has proven to be very popular in this type of business scenario.” –Kristoffer Birkedahl

In today’s evolving business workplace, where the rapid adoption of smart devices and remote working has forced a rethinking on conventional work styles, Ricoh believes connectivity should be at the heart of any innovation on that front. It advocates a future where all people and things will be connected all the time—what Ricoh calls ‘The Infinite Network’. By implementing Ricoh’s Unified Communications platform, an interconnected office would have the means to engage clients, stakeholders and team members easily, and across multiple sites and multiple devices, too. This is key to being business ready and reactive, working collaboratively and achieving consensus when fast decisions are needed. Moreover, the necessity for business workers to travel to attend meetings and conferences is minimised, which not only cuts costs but promotes eco-friendly office initiatives.