Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. has announced a strategic alliance with Epson America Inc. Konica Minolta will offer Epson's commercial scanning solutions to its national network of channel partners and office technology dealers. The partnership will enable Konica Minolta to provide a wide range of scanning solutions to meet the evolving needs of its customers and partners.

As a leader in advanced document management technologies, application solutions and IT Services, Konica Minolta focuses on complete solutions, including enterprise systems, digital services, production print systems and printers, vertical application solutions and related services. A global technology leader in scanning, printing, projection and more, Epson provides a range of fast and dependable scanning solutions — portable, desktop, workgroup and flatbed — to enhance any work environment.

"Konica Minolta prides itself on delivering best-in-class technologies to our partners to ensure their customers are successful," said Dino Pagliarello, senior vice president of portfolio management and planning, Konica Minolta. "Epson's breadth of scanning solutions and leadership in scanning technology make them the ideal partner for long-term success, and we are excited for the continued growth with this alliance."

Epson works closely with leading third-party software companies to ensure drop-in compatibility into virtually any existing workflow. Most Epson commercial document scanners are backed with a three-year limited warranty with next-day-business-day replacement, and almost all Epson commercial models are equipped with both TWAIN and ISIS drivers for seamless compatibility with software platforms.

"Epson continues to innovate and deliver scanning technologies that organizations across industries can depend on," said Tim Anderson, group product manager, Epson America Inc. "This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to channel partners and customers, and we look forward to working with Konica Minolta to provide efficient document management solutions for all businesses and organizations."

In other news, Konica Minolta has announced it has again been named as one of the technology industry's premier worldwide managed service providers (MSPs) in the 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings. This is the 12th consecutive year Konica Minolta has been selected as one of the top-performing MSPs. This recognition represents the efforts of its IT Services Division in the United States as well as Canada.

For the past 17 years, MSPs around the globe have submitted applications for inclusion on this prestigious and definitive listing. The Channel Futures MSP 501 survey examines organizational performance based on annual sales, recurring revenue, profit margins, revenue mix, growth, innovation and supported technologies.

MSPs that qualify for the list must pass a rigorous review conducted by the research team and editors of Channel Futures. It ranks applicants using a unique methodology that weighs financial performance according to long-term health and viability, commitment to recurring revenue and operational efficiency.

"As a leading MSP in North America, this is an important recognition for Konica Minolta, and we are proud to be named among the best-in-class providers that appear on this list," said Todd Croteau, president of global information technology services, Konica Minolta. "We work extremely hard to provide customized IT services and solutions to address our clients' ongoing IT management and support needs while also helping these organizations embrace the digital transformation that will give them a competitive advantage for future success."

This year's list is one of the most competitive in the survey's history. Winners will be recognized on the Channel Futures website and honored during a special ceremony at the Channel Futures Leadership Summit, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, in Miami, Florida.

Since its inception, the MSP 501 has evolved from a competitive ranking into a vibrant group of innovators focused on high levels of customer satisfaction at small, medium and large organizations in public and private sectors. Many of their services and technology offerings focus on customer needs in the areas of cloud, security, collaboration and hybrid work forces.

"The 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501 winners persevered through challenging times to become the highest-performing and most innovative IT providers in the industry today," said Jeff O'Heir, senior news editor, Channel Futures, and project manager, MSP 501. "The MSP 501 ranking doesn't award MSPs solely on their size and revenue. It acknowledges the business acumen, best practices and trusted advice they deliver to customers every day. They deserve the honor."

"We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the 2023 winners, and gratitude to the thousands of MSPs that have contributed to the continuing growth and success of the managed services sector," said Kelly Danziger, general manager, Informa Tech Channels. "These providers are most certainly driving a new wave of innovation in the industry and are demonstrating a commitment to moving the MSP and entire channel forward."

The data collected by the annual NextGen 101 and MSP 501 drive Channel Futures' market intelligence insights, creating robust data sets and data-based trend reports that support our editorial coverage, event programming, community and networking strategies and educational offerings.

The 2023 MSP 501 list is based on confidential data collected and analyzed by the Channel Futures research and editorial teams. Data was collected online from February to May 2023. The MSP 501 list recognizes top managed service providers based on metrics including recurring revenue, profit margin and other factors.