Canon’s intelligent document management solutions deliver greater office productivity and security

August 10, 2011

Naoshi Yamada

Document management systems are increasingly becoming an integral component in the growth strategies of business enterprises in the UAE, as recent surveys show that office workers spend almost an hour each day looking for information, while information leaks continue to be a legitimate concern in all office environments. While business enterprises across the UAE deal with growing volumes of documents in light of expanding business activities, a corresponding surge in demand has emerged for document management solutions that are highly efficient, secure and cost-effective.

One important aspect in document management is security, as almost a quarter of security breaches among enterprises are paper-based. Many companies adopt proven Information Data Loss Prevention (IDLP) approaches to classify and monitor the status of data and apply policies governing sharing and access. Unfortunately, many IDLP architectures do not cover critical automated document management areas such as the use of multifunctional devices (MFD). Enterprise IT and information security teams are often not given jurisdiction over the implementation and administration of MFDs despite the heavy document and information traffic serviced by such devices.

To address this gap, leading imaging solutions provider Canon Middle East has been focusing on helping organisations to safeguard business data and information around the MFDs, and complete their DLP infrastructure. For example Canon’s uniFLOW V5 solution, uses keyword recognition technology to automatically classify the data in a document and decide how it should be handled. It enables organizations to apply existing IDLP policies and controls to their MFDs to prevent or detect information leaks.

The UAE has naturally emerged as one of the most lucrative markets for Canon’s intelligent document management solutions, driven by a sustained increase in expenditure on IT products and services, which is estimated to reach USD 3.5 billion in 2011. Moreover, the UAE now ranks 24th in the world and number one in the Arab region in its use of information and communication technologies (ICT), according to the Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011, Transformations 2.0, released by the World Economic Forum. In particular, UAE businesses are aggressively investing in solutions to address a variety of document-related security threats, which are now a growing concern in various office environments. Canon has developed solutions such as the uniFLOW V5 to enable companies to effectively address these security issues and help streamline the entire document management process.

“Effective document management tools are essential in any business environment, particularly in this new era of rapid business growth and development. With the UAE being a major business hub in the region, offices across the country are particularly feeling the pressure with the increasing volumes of documents being processed every day and the growing need for effective and efficient document management capabilities. Canon’s uniFLOW V5, which incorporates IDLP to the entire document management chain, serves as an ideal solution to address these emerging office challenges as it empowers all areas of the business to use document-based information more efficiently. With the eagerness of UAE-based companies to invest in reliable and secure IT-based solutions, the UAE certainly serves as one of the most lucrative destinations for Canon’s premium range of intelligent document management solutions,” said Naoshi Yamada, Deputy Managing Director, Canon Middle East.

UniFLOW is the first unified print and scan platform developed by Canon. The latest uniFLOW version includes new scan management functionalities including an optical character recognition (OCR) engine with extensive language support, advanced document compression technology and the capture of index information through zone OCR or barcode recognition. The system controls both the print and scanning processes of the MFD, thus enabling so IT managers to administer a single system with one set of user accounts and one database.

Taiwan Trade Centre Dubai reports nearly 67% increase in exports and re-exports of IT products in first half of 2010 as hardware contracts alone expected to reach AED 550m in 2011

Dubai, October 6, 2010:  With the region’s IT market hungry for new innovation and design, Taiwan Trade Centre Dubai has announced an enormous 67% increase in year-on-year trade during the first half of 2010 between Taiwanese companies and those in the UAE.  New contracts and greater economic cooperation will continue to see that number rise, according to the group, with exports and re-exports expected to reach nearly AED 550 million for IT hardware alone during 2011.

Direct trade between the two countries reached almost AED 3.6 billion last year, of which machinery and electronics equipment accounted for almost one third of the total sum.  In free trade zones, an additional AED1 billion of IT goods were traded between the two countries in 2009, far surpassing any other industrial or agricultural sector.

“Taiwanese products continue to play a major role in the UAE technology market with more and more local companies having the opportunity to establish links with these manufacturers of the future,” comments Tom Tung-Chung Tseng, Director at Taiwan Trade Centre Dubai.  “Such partnerships are supported by the events like this month’s GITEX 2010 exhibition, in which UAE companies will be able to view cutting-edge ICT products while forging business links with leading technology manufacturers.”

Being one of more than 50 overseas offices established by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Taiwan Trade Centre works to help Taiwanese manufacturers consolidate their position in emerging markets by arranging for foreign delegations to attend trade shows and fulfil regulatory requirements.

Michael Y.W. Hsiao, Manager at TAITRA, believes that the competitive nature of the UAE economy will continue to attract companies to the region—especially within the ICT industry.  “We are actually expecting a greater number of products being sent to the UAE during the second half of 2010 following events like the upcoming GITEX exhibition, where Taiwanese exports to UAE normally double compared to other months of the year,” says Hsiao.

It is worth to mention that the Taiwan government has made the development of branding the key task to raise the competitiveness of Taiwan’s economy and to promote Taiwan’s industries. The government has set two goals for the Branding Taiwan program, the first is integrating resources to assist the establishment of brands and create a favourable environment for development while the second is to aid Taiwan enterprises in brand development and increase the value of Taiwan’s international brands.

More than 550,000 computer units expected to be sold, as stock of installed computers reaches 4 million

February 27, 2010

Computer hardware sales in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expected to reach SAR 7.5 billion in 2010, fuelled by the growing adoption of technology solutions by businesses and households across the country, and the increasing computer penetration, which has reached 24 per cent and is expected to exceed 30 per cent by 2014. Easy accessibility to top-quality IT products and services has helped encourage IT spending in Saudi, which remains the biggest IT market in the GCC with a forecast value of SAR 19.5 billion by 2014 from an estimated SAR 13.875 billion in 2010.

GITEX KSA 2010, a premier business-to-business networking event and leading consumer ICT showcase, has been one of the key marketing platforms that have supported the sustained growth of the ICT sector and helped drive sales performance of ICT companies in the country. To be held from April 25 to 29 / Jumada al-Awwal 10 to 14  at the Riyadh Exhibition Centre, GITEX KSA 2010 serves as the perfect gateway for distributors, manufacturers, resellers and other ICT businesses to boost exposure and gain a foothold in Saudi Arabia’s lucrative ICT market.

PCs, notebook computers and computer accessories are expected to be among the best-selling product categories at GITEX KSA 2010 as analysts estimate that at least 550,000 computer units will be sold in the country this year alone. Current stock of installed computers in Saudi has been estimated to exceed 4 million units.

Shahid Bhatti, Project Manager of GITEX at Riyadh Exhibitions Company, organiser of the event, said: “With Saudi Arabia being the biggest IT market in the Gulf region, ICT expenditure has always been strong in this country. However, with confidence levels in other industries surging this year following a generally conservative outlook in 2009, we expect greater market activity and more business opportunities at GITEX KSA 2010. At least 15,000 square metres of exhibition space has been allotted this year and we are nearly sold out. This certainly underlines the enthusiasm of ICT companies in the Saudi market this year.”

“GITEX KSA 2010 has consistently provided exhibitors a convenient platform to easily reach buyers and decision makers, generate new leads, showcase new products, and appoint new agents and distributors. In addition, the event concurrently provides direct access to the entire Middle East market, giving exhibitors optimum exposure in key target markets in the region,” added Bhatti.

GITEX KSA 2010 will showcase a wide range of products and services that cater to the full spectrum of Saudi Arabia’s diverse IT segments. The event will run concurrently with Saudi Communications 2010.