Konica Minolta evolves digital strategy with Office 365 support from DXC
Customer:
Konica MinoltaChallenge:
- Ensure consistent, reliable operation of the mail environment for 23,000 users in Japan and countries in the Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America regions
- Enhance user support globally
- Optimize IT investment and operational flexibility and scalability to prepare for and implement Microsoft Office 365 services
Solution:
- Preparation project for fast implementation and stable operations
- 24x7 Office 365 implementation support available both in English and Japanese
- Proactive environment monitoring and timely issue response
Results:
- Stable mail services globally
- Service-level improvement through rapid and reliable incident response and problem solving
- Reduction of system operation workload, maintenance and administration costs
Leading with a digital shinka
Konica Minolta, with about $9.5 billion (1.0313 trillion Japanese yen) in revenue in 2018, provides services in 150 countries in office services, commercial industrial printing, healthcare, optical systems for industrial use and functional materials. Becoming a digital enterprise is a top priority for Konica Minolta, so the manufacturer of business and industrial imaging products has made it a priority to strengthen its communication environment with a global Office 365, support service for tens of thousands of employees in Japan, other parts of Asia, North America and Latin America around the clock. Konica Minolta reached out to DXC Technology for DXC Services for Office 365, which provides enhanced 24x7 global support in both English and Japanese languages and delivers reliable and rapid incident response, preventive maintenance and stable Office 365 service provisioning. Konica Minolta’s global communication infrastructure is now supported by DXC experts with considerable experience in technical support. Konica Minolta’s medium-term business plan, “SHINKA 2019” — named for the Japanese word for “evolution” — expressly denotes the company’s strong intention to transform into a digital company. Konica Minolta wants to better predict potential challenges and issues for customers and also create solutions with them to contribute to the evolution of business and human society. Besides offering office systems, its business technology unit has launched a cloud service solution called Workplace Hub to support the various ways of working among customer companies, which has been expanded globally. “To realize this innovative platform business, we have actively enhanced relationships with global IT companies,” says Atsushi Yamada, Senior Coordinator of IT Security Department, Corporate IT Planning Division of Konica Minolta. “Along with the global trend of digital transformation, Konica Minolta is committed to taking on challenges with the keyword of shinka. Workplace Hub is one of our approaches — representing the commitment of Konica Minolta.”
Reliable service and support through outsourcing
When Konica Minolta decided to employ Office 365, that meant migrating the email communication infrastructure for 23,000 internal users in eight countries from an Exchange environment to Exchange Online. This was a successful enhancement of the communication environment in connection with the company’s commitment to “enhance productivity by leveraging IT,” as proposed in SHINKA 2019. As the email infrastructure migration neared completion, “we started to work on the next theme,” Yamada says. “This was the selection of a partner that provides reliable mail services using Exchange Online and supports system development and operations for efficient incident response and service desk operations.” Exchange Online is used by about 23,000 persons in Japan and countries in the AsiaPacific, North America and Latin America regions, according to Konica Minolta. To select a partner to support operation of its new global communication infrastructure, Office 365 Exchange Online, Konica Minolta set the following requirements: • Global service desk: 24x7 availability for 23,000 users in eight countries in English and Japanese. • Rapid incident response: Capabilities to resolve problems in a black box environment specific to public cloud. • Cost savings: Superior cost efficiency versus legacy operations, plus operational flexibility and scalability of services. • Service launch in a short time frame: Development in 1 month from operation preparation to commencement of services. The migration project was led by Konica Minolta Information System, a Konica Minolta subsidiary that contributes extensively to the optimization of Konica Minolta IT environments, including engaging in the design, architecture and operation of backbone systems and research and development systems. “In selecting a partner, we placed particular importance on three factors: the capability to provide consistent technical support to Konica Minolta’s global sites; a proven record in Office 365 support on a global scale; abundant experience and expertise; and the capability to reasonably reduce costs,” says Go Kawakami, Manager of IT Infrastructure Technologies 1, System Development and Infrastructure Service Division of the company.
Problem solving with DXC Service for Office 365
In response to the requirements, DXC proposed DXC Services for Office 365, which serves over 4 million global users and offers: • 24x7 multilingual support by DXC global delivery centers. • Problem solving with a shorter response time than Microsoft’s standard SLA and close cooperation with Microsoft when dealing with any severe fault. • Simple and reasonable fee system based on number of active users and selected services. DXC is already providing Office 365 operation services to dozens of global enterprises in Japan. Customers using the services have achieved significant results, such as improved user service quality and optimal placement of internal IT resources.
Close cooperation with Microsoft
“DXC Services for Office 365 satisfies all our requirements, including large, global scale and rapid problem solving, cost reduction and quick introduction,” Kawakami says. “Office 365 is frequently updated, and we have a number of inquiries and incidents at the time of each update. The rich experiences of DXC and its close relationship with Microsoft have provided us with a sense of security.” DXC has accumulated an extensive range of knowledge in Office 365 operations, and the incident resolution rate at DXC global delivery centers is 98 percent. For critical incidents, the standard service level includes a “starting response within 15 minutes” and “hourly reporting,” among others. Furthermore, DXC has established a strong alliance with Microsoft for Office 365 operations and has co-located personnel at Microsoft for resolution in the event of any unprecedented fault. “They stick to problem solving and do not let the causes remain uncertain. This is one of the great benefits of using DXC Services for Office 365,” says Yamada.