01732 759725 36 somewhat bewildering. However, Canon nailed it. Giving partners the toolkit to grow and evolve. Westcoast is privileged to be able to support all of this.” Investing in strong relationships In an exclusive Director’s Cut interview last year, Stuart Miller, Director of Channel Partners at Canon UK & Ireland, said that the company’s partner sales channel is central to its success. He spoke about Canon’s commitment to investing in strong relationships with partners and how that enables it to better understand their needs and their customers’ needs, to support mutual growth. Miller opened the event on a high note announcing that in 2024, Canon secured the number one market share position within the A3 colour market. “Thank you for helping us to achieve that,” he said. Next up was newly appointed Managing Director Guido Jacobs. In his address he reiterated Miller’s sentiments that the partner channel is critical to the company’s growth strategy. “Your success is our success,” he said. In particular, Jacobs spoke about the value in partners’ local presence and deep understanding of customers’ needs, to deliver a personalised service and secure strong trust among their client base. “Working in partnership we can expand into new markets and industries, develop and implement innovative tailored solutions and turn our technology into real business value for customers,” he said. Industry trends Fabrizio Falzarano, Marketing Director, Canon Europe provided an overview of some of the current and emerging trends shaping the market landscape. He explored several key themes including sustainability, AI, cloud and security. Speaking about the standardsdriven shift towards longevity, sustainability and serviceability, Falzarano explained how Canon produces longer lasting products with longer-life consumable parts and how this enables partners to differentiate on sustainability, as well as improve efficiency and profitability within their service operations. Canon’s focus is firmly on providing solutions that address ongoing digital disruption in the technology landscape, marked by the continued rise of AI, accelerated cloud adoption, and cybersecurity challenges. Falzarano pointed out that industry analysts report that AI adoption and cybersecurity continue to be top agenda items for organisations of all sizes. “You are the experts in print security,” he said, adding that AI is the new competitive battleground, and by expanding their knowledge of AI solutions and focusing on countering AI‑driven cyber threats in particular, partners have an opportunity to get ahead. AI-driven technology George Harot, Portfolio Marketing Specialist, Canon Europe provided an in-depth overview of Canon’s offering and explored how performance, security, sustainability and serviceability are redefining its next-generation products. He explained how the new imageFORCE series integrates AI-driven technology to enhance reliability, security and efficiency in office printing, leveraging This year’s partner conference showcased how Canon is consistently innovating to offer solutions for the evolving business environment, particularly in response to trends like security, sustainability and artificial intelligence, to help its partners grow and evolve. Ryan Mitchell, Print & AV Director at Westcoast was there and he said: “With so many events focused on the popular talk tracks, such as AI, sustainability and security, it can be Canon hosted 110 guests from more than 70 partner companies across the UK and Ireland at its 2025 partner conference which was held at The View at The Royal College of Surgeons, London on June 12. Michelle Ryder reports Canon UK&I partner conference CONFERENCE Stuart Miller
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDUxNDM=