OREANDA-NEWS. June 30, 2011. Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President and CEO Shiro Kondo) announced today that it will launch 'Cloud Service for Office 365' as a new offering of Ricoh IT Services. It combines the support that the Ricoh Group is specially qualified to provide, adding it to Microsoft Office 365 cloud service, with such features as installation and operation support. The service will be provided to the Japanese market.

The rise of cloud computing has enabled more convenience in IT, and diverse ways of working. On the other hand, in small and midsized businesses where system administrators are rare, there do not seem to be enough IT environments and optimal IT usage styles to suit the customer. Lower costs and shorter installation times are some of the strengths of cloud services. In the wake of the recent earthquake, many customers are studying the use of cloud services that do not store data in-house as part of their business continuity plans.

This new service combines proxy services for the initial registration of Office 365, as well as operation support and troubleshooting via a help desk. By improvements in the various work styles achievable by Office 365 and a move from ownership to the use of servers and software, Ricoh provides a service that reduces overall costs, including maintenance. The nationally uniform quality of sales and support capabilities developed over time by Ricoh will allow it to provide this service to a wide range of customers from small businesses to large enterprises.

The Ricoh Group has been providing small and midsized business customers with one-stop services for the networking of digital multifunction devices, printers, PCs, and servers, and the constructing and maintenance of the Internet environment. Building on this foundation, Ricoh will add cloud and various other services, for stronger responses to diverse customer needs.