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Of the many technical requirements that
need to be negotiated when doing business with global companies,
security issues have become increasingly important in recent years.
In some countries, security requirements, including user authentication,
account for as much as 20% of all technical requirements. And
a growing number of corporate customers with strong concern about
information security now require procured products to fully comply
with their security policies. Therefore, the supplier's success
in closing deals with them increasingly depends on whether the
product in question can satisfy the security requirements of the
customer.
Secure Output
Solutions Answer
a Variety of Challenges |
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Ricoh Europe (Netherlands) B.V. |
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The following recounts the story of Company A, a global automaker
based in Europe. The company's policy formerly was to allow
its group companies to procure digital MFPs and laser printers
from different vendors. This caused problems for the maintenance
of service quality and total cost of ownership. With the main
goal of both reducing the running costs for all devices and increasing
printing efficiency, Company A needed to find a highly sophisticated
and unified solution for group-wide print and output management,
including the complete range of MFPs and laser printers for use
by all employees to generate secure output. To do this, the company
invited suppliers to submit a tender. And Ricoh won Company A's
contract to serve the company and its group companies around the
world as sole supplier.
Ricoh Successfully
Meets Two Security
Requirements |
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Company A presented two key security-related
requirements. One was authentication for digital multifunctional
printers using IC cards, and the other was secure printing. These
are outlined below. (1) Ricoh's answer for authentication
of digital MFPs using IC cards
To meet the requirement for authentication
using IC cards for all IT devices including MFPs, Ricoh came up
with a solution by customizing digital MFPs and equipping them
with smart card readers. (2) Ricoh's answer for secure
printing
Company A's requirement for secure printing
involves sending print jobs to the print server, and then output
is generated on demand once, and only after the user has completed
the authentication using his or her personal IC card. Ricoh provided
a secure printing solution using Java applications and linkage
to IC cards.
Ricoh won this contract by delivering
solutions that fully satisfied the customer's requirements.
Company A, along with its group companies, is preparing to introduce
Ricoh's solutions to its overseas sites.
This contract win of significant size also owed much to the dayto-
day information security-related activities carried out by the
Ricoh Group's development and design engineers and the system
solution staff specialists of Ricoh companies outside Japan. The
Ricoh Group has renewed its commitment to the continued implementation
of these activities.
Note: |
"Java" and other trademarks that contain "Java"
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems,
Inc. in the United States and refer to products using
Java-brand technology of Sun Microsystems, Inc. |
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