 "Canon eyes double digit growth in Indian market, launches NorthStar")
For Manabu Yamazaki, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canon India, the opportunity that the country offers over the next few years is in double digits.
“India is an extremely important market for Canon. India is the biggest market and has the biggest potential for growth. For all our businesses in India, we are growing in double digits and we will continue to do so,” said Yamazaki. He added that India is where China was in 2005 and 2006.
Canon, on Friday, also launched Canon NorthStar, a first-of-its-kind one-stop solution platform inclusive of advisory, equipment and associated services, by bringing together technology companies and industry experts in setting up complete studio operations.
Canon North Star service is structured into two tiers; the advisory layer has industry people from segments like cinematography, post-production, data storage, and more, who will offer insights and guidance on setup, equipment selection, and operational strategies tailored to individual needs.
The second layer includes delivering a seamless integration of technology for a complete ecosystem with participation from partners such as Adobe (Post-production solution), Western Digital (Data Storage solution), Dell (Infrastructure Solution), Sennheiser (Audio solution), Aputure (Light solution), SanDisk (Flash Storage solution), and Atomos (Monitor solution).
On the need for such a service, Yamazaki shared that India is one of the largest and growing markets for videography and also for studios working with OTTs.
“For videography, this is probably the largest market where we see versatile application of videography. There are over 40 OTT studios and they are multiplying. The film studios across the country are also looking to upgrade. We found in our conversations that the industry is ready for something like this,” he added.
More From This Section
He further added that as the industry continues to grow with rapid advancements in technology and emerging trends such as digital streaming platforms, 4K and 8K resolution, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR), there is a need for a unified platform to cater to these requirements by providing adequate solutions and services under one roof, ensuring convenience and efficiency.
Yamazaki also added that the consulting part of the services will be free.
Canon in India has a presence in imaging and printing, and document management technology. “We have also evolved into the surveillance segment including security software and remote management software. Add to this the printing market is also growing well and organically for us. India is a very unique market when it comes to printing,” he added.
The company plans to expand its footprint in government projects, including critical infrastructure initiatives, safe city programs, and integrated traffic management projects. It aims to double its growth in this segment in the next two to three years.
The growing aspect of the Indian economy has also made Canon set up its medical systems business in India. This unit will be focused on penetrating into the medical segment like MRI and Scans. “Our presence in the medical segment is very minimal, but we aim to multiply it,” he said.