Chris Maclean (Canon Business)
Canon has unveiled plans to sell the benefits of collaboration technology to the New Zealand Government, as agencies seek smarter ways of doing business.
As reported by Reseller News, the provider has been appointed by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) to offer meeting room services to government agencies, one of three suppliers to join the Telecommunications-as-a-Service (TaaS).
Canon has been a member of the print equivalent (PTAS) for five years.
Generally speaking, there is no lack of collaboration technologies in the marketplace, yet New Zealand remains somewhat skeptical, due to regular occurrences of unreliability and performance issues.
Canon however, aims to change such a mindset across the country and at the heart of government.
“There is huge value to be gained from collaborating over distance, which has a significant impact on the success of meetings and can massively reduce travel costs,” Canon Business general manager, Chris Maclean, said.
“However, this is only possible if the experience is almost as good as being there in real life. Canon is in this space because we understand the importance of brilliance in imaging and that technology must be easy to use as well as very high quality.”
Since joining the business in February 2016, Maclean has spearheaded the Business Solutions team in New Zealand, spanning business and professional print technology, unified communications, collaboration and digital signage solutions.
“We want our customers to be able to recognise subtle nuances over any distance – that’s the point at which video conferencing becomes an extraordinarily valuable business tool,” he added.
“Anything less than that and people will still prefer physical travel. We want to give them the freedom to focus on their core business, delivering better outcomes for New Zealand.”
Specific to the TaaS agreement, the solutions and services on offer are designed to accomodate team-based workshops, boardrooms, meeting rooms and video-centric rooms, through fit-for-purpose offerings.
“We offer agencies a range of implementation options, including the ability to transform existing screens into fully-featured video-conferencing systems or installing best-in-class dedicated video- conferencing systems that guarantee an awesome experience,” Canon Business national collaboration manager, Ben Smythe, added.
“Our position as Cisco New Zealand’s leading advanced video technology partner and tight partnership with Kodum along with associated brands like Crestron and Kramer, means we can help agencies and all our customers get the best possible outcomes.
“This technology will allow government agencies to work with anyone, anywhere in the world, using platform agnostic meeting room technology.”
Since entering New Zealand in 1989, Canon now employs more than 200 staff across the country, with offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.
