Transforming Workplaces with Smart Workplace Solutions: A Deep Dive with Vincent Low
Businesses face the challenge of retaining resilience and agility in an ever-evolving business landscape. How can Canon’s Smart Workplace solutions augment their capabilities? We find out with Vincent Low.
Since the introduction of Smart Tech, our new strategic vision for Asia, the topic of the future of work has garnered significant interest. Businesses were interested to know how our technologies address workplace challenges today, and how they impact the way employees work across organisations.
To find the answers, we sat down with Mr Vincent Low, Head of Enterprise Business, Singapore Operations of Canon, to learn how our Smart Workplace solutions can empower businesses — and equip them with the right tools to embrace the future of work.
Can you tell us more about Canon’s Smart Workplace?
Canon’s Smart Workplace encapsulates the essence of empowering businesses to embrace the future of work. Our goal is to equip them with the right technologies to digitise traditional processes, whether it’s managing information, automating workflows, or collaborating with employees. We want to help them flourish in an ever-evolving blend of remote, in-office and hybrid work environments.
How can businesses leverage Canon’s Smart Workplace solutions? Do you have examples to share?
A good example is our partnership with Chugai Pharmabody Research. They’re a local drug discovery research company that specialises in the development of breakthrough drug innovations.
When they came to us, their administrative team was drowning in large amounts of paperwork. The staff was spending too much time on repetitive and non-value adding tasks like matching invoices and filing documents. It was counterproductive and highly inefficient. They needed a reliable partner to automate their processes.
To transform their business, we built them an integrated technology ecosystem with our suite of Smart Workplace solutions. We enabled secure cloud printing and scanning environments with uniFLOW, our print management solution, and automated document workflows with Therefore™ , our proprietary information management system.
The results have been positive so far. Business efficiency has vastly improved now that their records are archived electronically. Documents are easily traceable and retrievable in secure environments. Most importantly, the team can now access records anytime, anywhere — a function that greatly benefited their operations throughout the pandemic.
Can you share with us some insights on how Canon’s Smart Workplace solutions can assist businesses with their evolving needs?
One approach we are taking is to proactively renew and expand our portfolio of cloud-based offerings. Businesses that work on the cloud benefit greatly from the flexible and scalable nature of cloud solutions. This enables them to swiftly adapt to changing business needs, easily scaling up or down resources as required without having to manage complex on-premise infrastructure.
Our solutions are also designed to be modular and customisable so businesses can easily tailor them to meet their specific needs, saving time, costs and resources. By leveraging the scalability and flexibility of cloud-based solutions, businesses can future-proof their workplace and navigate evolving requirements with minimal disruption.
Data privacy is a challenge that many businesses are concerned with. How does Canon's Smart Workplace solutions address that?
Keeping data private and compliant has always been Canon’s top priority. All our solutions come integrated with advanced and robust security features like user authentication protocols, secure printing options and access controls.
We also protect against unauthorised access and data breaches through advanced data encryption and document tracking technologies. uniFLOW, for example, safeguards sensitive information by releasing documents only upon face recognition authentication.
How does Canon's Smart Workplace solutions support remote or hybrid work models and enable seamless collaboration between on-site and remote employees?
We achieve that by optimising data flow in the workplace with a range of information management and process automation tools. Digitising hard copy documents, for example, facilitates the document approval process through effortless retrieval and automatic routing of documents. Automated notifications simplify the process of tracking and managing outstanding tasks as well.
By automating various workflows, Smart Workplace eliminates manual processes and empowers employees to collaborate seamlessly from any location, fostering a dynamic, efficient and productive work environment.
What will be your advice for businesses who want to embark on a digital transformation journey?
Many businesses see digital transformation as a complex and behemoth project. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Transformation can take place in a series of small, palatable steps.
In healthcare, for example, we could start by securing sensitive medical records with access controls and document management support. In finance, we could introduce secure printing and authentication controls to fortify confidential financial information. And in manufacturing, we could use data capture to start automating document workflows before integrating systems to enhance collaboration and improve operational efficiency.
Most of all, it’s important for businesses to collaborate with a reliable partner that is capable of delivering tailored and holistic solutions to meet their specific needs.
Keen to kick-start your business’s digital transformation journey? Start by reaching out to our team of expert consultants today: https://sg.canon/en/business/form/therefore-online
