Konica Minolta and NEC strengthen cooperation to promote DX by utilising local 5G

| 16 March 2020

Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) and NEC Corporation (NEC) announced that they have agreed to collaborate as partners to promote digital transformation (DX) utilising 5G in the fields of imaging IoT/AI technologies, working styles, healthcare, and manufacturing. As a first step, Konica Minolta is going to introduce local 5G to its new Takatsuki R&D Building.


In December 2019, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications instituted a "local 5G" for assigning 5G radio wave licenses to companies and local governments other than mobile operators. By utilising local 5G, companies and local governments are able to flexibly build dedicated networks capable of secure and stable ultra-high-speed communication in response to their needs, and DX is expected to occur in a variety of industries.

As the first step in collaborative activities, Konica Minolta and NEC will establish local 5G verification environments using 5G network products (5G core, base stations, terminals, etc.) in the brand new Takatsuki building of Konica Minolta's development base Innovation Garden OSAKA Center[1], which is scheduled to be completed in October 2020. Using these environments, Konica Minolta will combine its imaging and IoT/AI technologies with a variety of assets, including office equipment and medical equipment, as well as NEC's 5G and AI technologies. Through these efforts, they will increase the value-added to industrial optical systems, medical equipment, and office equipment, thereby contributing to the achievement of Society 5. 0 and SDGs.

With local 5G environments in place, Innovation Garden OSAKA Center will be an open lab where R&D will be conducted in collaboration with co-creation partners. As a result, it will provide new value for the evolution of society by responding to the "wants" of our customers, regardless of industry or scale.

Konica Minolta has long supported Japan's growth by combining the strengths it has cultivated through its businesses with cutting-edge digital technologies to create high value-added products and services, and by offering a wide range of products, including medical equipment, offices, and industrial printing equipment. It also has a strong customer base in Europe and other international markets.

Leveraging the wireless technologies and know-how it has cultivated in its base station business for telecommunications carriers, NEC has developed 5G base stations and begun shipments of commercial equipment. By capitalising on its network strengths, NEC promotes NEC Smart Connectivity[2] as a service business in new areas, creating new value in collaboration with various partners.

[1] Innovation Garden OSAKA: In August 2019, Innovation Garden OSAKA Front in Grand Front Osaka opened in front of Umeda Station and JR Osaka Station in order to develop imaging IoT/AI technologies in earnest in the Kansai area. The new "Innovation Garden OSAKA Center" in Takatsuki will function as a hub to develop the imaging IoT/AI business and promote open innovation with customers and partner companies.

[2] NEC Smart Connectivity: Network services that draw on NEC's accumulated expertise and track record in network technologies and related solutions. Read more about the service here.

 

 

About Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta, Inc. is a global technology company that provides innovative solutions to businesses and society. With its strengths in the combination of its core technologies in advanced imaging, optics, sensing, materials and nano-processing, Konica Minolta is committed to creating new values supporting customers to address challenges in their operations and work processes. Advancing its expertise in digital technologies, the company has been going through business transformation into a digital company, with insights into implicit challenges across the board as ‘One Konica Minolta’ in the era of Internet of the Things (IoT). Konica Minolta is also active in open innovation through various collaborations and alliances with academic, industrial and entrepreneurial partners.Headquartered in Tokyo, Konica Minolta has its Group companies in 50 countries with over 44,300 employees and offers products and services in 150 countries around the world.


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About Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe


Konica Minolta’s journey started 150 years ago, with a vision to see and do things differently. We innovate for the good of society and the world. The same purpose that kept us moving then, keeps us moving now.


Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, based in Langenhagen, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan. With its unique expertise in imaging, data processing and data-based decision making, Konica Minolta creates relevant solutions for its customers - small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises and public sector - and solves issues faced by society.


As a digital workplace solution provider, Konica Minolta helps its clients to identify and unlock the potential digitalisation holds and reach the next level in the digital maturity of their organisation by rethinking the workplace. In support of an ‘Intelligent connected workplace’, Konica Minolta offers cloud, IT, managed print and video solution services for remote working, collaboration, workflow management and automation and security. The company’s success in driving transformation is also confirmed by IDC, since the ‘IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Print Transformation 2023 Vendor Assessment’ has named Konica Minolta a “Leader” in print transformation. Konica Minolta has been a Microsoft Global Managed Partner since 2021.


Konica Minolta's Igniting Print Possibilities offering helps printers, converters and brand owners maximise workflow automation to increase efficiency. The company delivers consultancy in all communication matters as well as top-of-the-line production, packaging as well as label printers. Its finishing devices create print products that stand out and create added value. Konica Minolta has established itself as the production printing market leader for more than a decade in Europe (InfoSource).


For an increasing number of organisations, success today is more than the narrow definition of financial prosperity – it also includes protecting the environment and having a positive impact on their workforce as well as the societies they are embedded in. With its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Konica Minolta has pledged to consistently pursue its sustainability and social responsibility goals.


The company has been repeatedly recognised for its rich history of social contribution as well as for working towards achieving the SDGs throughout its business and supply chain. Konica Minolta received a GOLD Level Recognition Medal in the EcoVadis sustainability ratings for 2023.


For its remote services, Konica Minolta was awarded the prestigious ‘Buyers Lab (BLI) 2023-2024 Pacesetter Award in Remote Service for the Western European market’ from Keypoint Intelligence.


Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe is represented by subsidiaries and distributors in more than 80 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With more than 8,700 employees (as of April 2023), Konica Minolta Europe earned net sales of over EUR 2.26 billion in financial year 2022/2023.


Worldwide, the company has over 39,000 employees and is operating in over 150 countries.


For more information, please visit https://www.konicaminolta.eu/eu-en/news and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.


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