GURGAON, INDIA: Canon's theme for the year is growth. Inline with this idea the vendor has launched two new sub-divisions—Government Business and System Integration (SI).

One of the major trends is document management space is that of opting for a complete printing solution from a single vendor. Seeing the huge revenue in printing solutions, Canon has decided to explore the opportunities here. Though the vendor does not have server space or a PC it is going ahead and venturing in this space with the help of its SI sub-division.

Speaking about the initiative, VP Sajeevan, Asst Director—Consumer Systems Products (CSP), Canon India said, "The SI channel contributes as much as 25 percent to the IT industry and hence, as a part of the strategy for CSP, a SI division has been created to grow the SI business for Canon. For the printer business, we felt that there is a huge segment which is relatively untapped and that is the government tenders, turnkey projects, IT Infrastructure etc. Our key partners will provide the required end-to-end solution or SI to our customers."

As e-governance projects and the BFSI sector are increasingly adopting document management solutions, Canon will be working with its SIs to make paper a part of the electronic workflow in the organization. The vendor has created the new sub-division to address this burgeoning market. Through the Government Business sub-division, Canon is looking at doing a business of Rs 100 crore this year and has selected three states, which include Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, for this initiative. Speaking about the division, Alok Bharadwaj, Senior VP, Canon India shared that the government sector is one which is never impacted by a slowdown, hence the decision to focus on it.

Sharing details about the partners Canon is looking to sign up, Sajeevan said, "As a part of the company's strong focus on distribution and channel network Canon currently has nine national SIs and is planning to have 22 regional SIs by the end of the year. The printer category was previously largely driven in the market by conventional IT channels. It is now getting an equal display opportunity in the LFRs, SIs and corporate channel business. To pursue its retail strategy, Canon has already initiated 140 IT imaging zones, the multi-brand retail outlets for printers. Canon's presence in printer retailing is conducted through 320 IT Imaging Zones across the country and 3,000 IT resellers."

While the vendor is mainly looking at appointing tier-1 partners it has not excluded tier-2 partners from its strategy. "The company already has a wide reach of tier-2 partners who contribute 70 percent of the total business of CSP. Our marketing strategy for tier-2 partners would include increased market penetration and easy accessibility to Canon products and service network. For this we will be focusing on channel network. We will also be launching new localized marketing campaigns," said Sajeevan.

Canon aims to achieve a revenue target of Rs 700 crore by the end of the year, registering a growth of 40 percent over 2007. In order to reach its target, the company has identified growth pillars to drive. This includes introduction of a comprehensive range of advanced digital imaging products, strengthened retail footprints across the country, strengthening the brand appeal and focused manpower. Canon is aiming to attract five lakh new customers to its current base.

The company is now ramping up its reseller network, product portfolio and manpower strength to double its Rs 100-crore printer business by December 2008.

The future road map includes increasing channel base from 4,000 to 6,000 outlets across the country, increasing the retail footprint through its Canon Xperience Zones and other retail formats. Canon has invested in opening two more B2C showrooms called 'Canon Image Lounge' and two more 'Business Solutions Lounge' in Delhi and Bangalore.

The vendor has already tied up with 13 retail chains with presence in 200 stores and has plans to expand the same as well.