Barrie Street, B2B Marketing Manager for Canon, covering UK and Ireland responds:
1 How has the year has been going so far for Canon?
The market continues to evolve around productivity and security needs in increasingly complex hybrid environments, alongside rising expectations around quality and sustainability. This year, Canon has focused on building on its strong credentials by expanding our MAXIFY, i-SENSYS and PIXMA printer ranges, which sit at the core of our multifunction printer portfolio. These ranges remain trusted choices for home users as well as small and medium-sized offices, giving customers the flexibility to choose between inkjet and laser technology while ensuring reliable performance and long-term value.
2 What are some of the latest developments at Canon that partners and the wider industry should know about?
We have been expanding our MAXIFY GX inkjet printer range for more than 11 years. It combines sustainability with cost efficiency thanks to refillable ink bottles that can last for up to three years. The MAXIFY GX series printers (excluding the GX6550) have also been awarded the Blue Angel certification, a prestigious German ecolabel confirming compliance with rigorous standards for the use of recycled and composite materials. This recognition highlights our ongoing commitment to sustainability.
Additionally, Canon recently upgraded six series in the i-SENSYS laser printer range with advanced security features to help organisations protect data more effectively. These features include the Security Settings Navigator, which supports the easy application of appropriate security settings without advanced IT knowledge, and Strengthen 360 Security, which supports password strengthening.
These innovations show how Canon is helping partners improve their customers’ security posture, from safeguarding sensitive data in home offices through to protecting complex enterprise environments.
3 If you could give one key piece of advice to MSPs that would make a measurable difference to their business, what would it be?
My one piece of advice to MSPs would be to prioritise personalisation. In an increasingly complex hybrid working world, IT management should involve designing a bespoke digital transformation journey tailored to each organisation’s unique business needs. On top of this, it should ensure a seamless transition that enables businesses to fully harness the skills, knowledge and experience of their MSPs.
4 You’re one of our proud sponsors at this year’s Stockies Awards, what makes these awards such a standout event for the industry?
Canon has proudly sponsored the Stockies Awards since their inception, making this our third year in a row. We truly value this event as an opportunity to celebrate innovation and recognise the achievements of manufacturers, partners and resellers across the channel.
5 You’re sponsoring the Print and Scan Reseller of the Year award category, what are the biggest trends you’re seeing in this space right now, and what would you expect to see from a winner?
Resellers are at the heart of our business. Against a backdrop of rapidly evolving customer needs, we are excited to be sponsoring this new category to highlight their successes and achievements. A winner in this category will demonstrate agility, a strong focus on security and sustainability and the ability to deliver personalised value beyond hardware alone.
6 If you could recommend a winner, who would it be?
This competition puts many resellers in the spotlight, each with their own unique strengths and achievements.
In my opinion, many are worthy of recognition for their innovation and dedication to the channel and as such, I am unable to pick just one winner – I’ll leave this very tough decision up to the vote.
