Canon Invites Enterprises to "AI-GEN at Work"

Succeed with All Kinds of Intelligence

HONG KONG, Oct. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The globe has entered an age abounding in innovative ideas, in which people are more open to state-of-the-art technologies regardless of generation. Our society encompassing Generation X to Z shares the adventurous spirit which drives them to explore contemporary methods for streamlining daily practices. AI, being a powerful tool for workplace transformation, has prevailed across industries. Solutions and devices leverage existing resources and automate workflow with intelligence beyond senseless operation, leading to unprecedented improvements in this day and age.

Canon Hong Kong hosted "AI-GEN at Work" at Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui to introduce enterprises with top-notch solutions incorporating AI and other advanced technologies, inspiring cutting-edge workplaces in this era.

"Machine intelligence is in the limelight worldwide. Generative AI, in particular, has brought us revolutionary changes in the workplace with its astonishing capability", said Mr. Ozawa Kazuhiro, President and CEO of Canon Hongkong. "Enterprises' masterful use of the breakthrough technology at work could push productivity to another level with process automation, which spares time for workers to cope with more challenging tasks. This is especially needed at a time of shortage of workforce and pressure on operating costs."

Canon Hongkong has provided countless solutions to business partners from various industries across generations. Mr. Philip Chan, Senior Director and General Manager of Business Imaging Solution & Production Printing Group, Canon Hong Kong added, "The younger generations have grown up in a digital age and are familiar with technology. They are keen to find innovative ways to work smarter and accomplish more in less time.  AI is streamlining data analysis and decision making.  The AI-Gen professionals tend to value collaboration and teamwork that technology provides to build high performance team with high employee satisfaction. 

AI & Robotics Automate Daily Practices

Real-time processing plays a vital role in the fast-paced business landscape, especially in handling complex and time-consuming documents. Canon's all-purpose document management solution – Antelope Enterprise brings along an intelligent AI assistant, Antelope Genie, to offer ultra-efficient analysis in both data and text files.  The latest plug-in does not simply summarize paragraphs immediately, it can also analyze data in multiple documents in one go by receiving a job role and appropriate instructions. For instance, sales reports accumulated for years can be instantly analyzed from the point of view of a business development manager, a data scientist or a sales manager. The smart AI tool can also act as other roles in a company and suggest relevant keywords to be hashtags of the document, allowing more diverse ways of categorization. The simultaneous responses with different perspectives taken into consideration bring document management in Antelope Enterprise to the next level.

To enhance contract lifecycle management for enterprises, Canon's AI Contract is a critical tool. It enables high-level contract analysis and comparison within minutes, empowered with advanced natural language processing (NLP). Intelligent AI acquaints itself with abundant legal concepts to conduct speedy comparisons between contracts, and remarks on the points to be noted, facilitating the approval procedure. The entire process is carried out one-stop with our AI Contract, which eventually boosts productivity by streamlining one of the most often business practices.

A key edge of robots is significantly time-saving by eliminating manual work. Canon's most recent solution — Kofax RPA enhances efficiency remarkably by automating mundane processes with numerous smart robots, all of which are carefully managed with the industry-recognized Version Control System (VCS). Monthly payment and salary calculation are greatly facilitated with coordinated robots dealing with data analysis and settlement. HR's compulsory task of managing employee attendance records, as a case in point, could be very much simplified with Kofax RPA processes from summarizing card reader data to uploading the files to a payroll system. Tasks are eventually speeded up with highly accurate outcomes with the least manual operation.

Kofax RPA, moreover, accelerates business processes further with cognitive document automation (CDA). Unstructured information scattered in files and emails is first interpreted by the trainable AI-based intelligence, which understands the information given and takes consecutive steps without further instructions. The advanced machine learning ability pushes process automation in enterprises to the next level by automatically summarizing and proceeding hundreds and thousands of emails every day.

Trouble-free Virtual Collaboration

Hybrid working is still prevalent in the post-pandemic period. Canon offers our comprehensive information management system, Therefore™ Online, facilitating co-working in a virtual environment. Digital documents are tidily categorized with unified indexing rules in the system. Merging with tailor-made workflows, office workers could retrieve the designated file at first glance and pass the task to another colleague located elsewhere with a click.

As documents are passing back and forth in the system, Therefore™ Online offers a highly secure environment accepted internationally. Complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), Victorian Electronic Records Strategy (VERS), and more industry-recognized standards worldwide, Therefore™ Online safeguards information during frequent document transmission. The risks of data leakage are largely eliminated in such a platform with renowned security.

Document editing is certainly a notable part of daily practices which should be done without any difficulties in an efficient workplace. Therefore™ Online has a standard plug-in with Microsoft Office, allowing users to be auto-directed to common editing tools such as Word and Excel. Authoritative e-signature services are also accessible in our system, in which enterprises can have contracts signed instantly with legally binding e-signs offered by well-known providers. Compulsory tasks like staff employment and deals of accounts payable are cleared in a moment, with practical software incorporated into our sophisticated cloud system.

Smart Workplace with Top-notched Camera

Business in the present time has been transforming with workplace technology since the pandemic. Canon's Smart Workplace solution leverages contactless technology spotlighting in the workplace to enhance security management further.  Being one of the core components of the solution, our Door Access System uses face recognition technology to identify users before granting access. Staff and authorized visitors can enter the premises simply by standing in front of the terminal for a second without taking their masks off. Not only does it reduce the security force required, but also gives the best impression to workers and guests by providing them with an intelligent and hygienic check-in experience.

Utilizing technology for co-working is also of practical necessity when diverse work modes have been incorporated into the modern workplace. Some industries have adopted resource-sharing policies for cost reduction since remote work has become ever prevalent. For instance, bank and insurance agents may share seats in the office. Canon's Smart Workplace caters for resource management by offering a user-friendly facilities booking solution, allowing users to book rooms and desks anywhere with just a smartphone and supports check-in and check-out with QR code, PIN and HID. The facilities booking system, therefore, is enterprises' best assistant to manage shared resources.

A video solution is another essential for enterprises since the global network has been expanding given the trend of distance work. Canon's live broadcasting solution and service adopting our 4K CR-N cameras with 60 fps is certainly the top choice to provide both a high-quality visual and an interactive experience. CR-N series is our signature remote camera series having excellent low-light performance with a 1.0 CMOS sensor. Apart from giving high-resolution output, its wide-angle feature and high magnification ratio with optical zoom of up to 15x and advanced zoom of up to 30x suit shooting needs largely under different circumstances. The camera, meanwhile, also offers auto-tracking to focus on a specific actor better when filming. Our live broadcasting solution and service simultaneously offers various tools to engage viewers including live chat, interactive Q&A sessions, and instant feedback. The dual offer combining advanced video quality and extensive online communication is widely appliable across industries, ranging from cross-border business conferences to governmental public announcements. Canon's broadcasting solution is hence a universal tool that upgrades communication in a virtual environment, suitable for all kinds of workplaces.

Canon's Smart Surveillance combines robust surveillance technology with a video analytics solution to strengthen security, and extend its usage further to conduct effective marketing analysis. To prevent theft and all kinds of illegal invasion, a light or audio alert will be triggered promptly alongside a  real-time notification whenever an unauthorized person is detected in the office, bringing immediate attention to the security members. Apart from sending our security alert timely, our smart surveillance is also applicable to customer behavior analysis as equipped with face recognition and heat mapping technology.  By identifying the movement of customers in the shopping area, companies can understand the customers' demographic and can be utilized to improve sales strategy. Our Smart Surveillance explores benefits beyond safety when constantly monitoring a workplace, which enhances both workplace security and strategic planning.

Fully Draw on Device Capabilities

A multi-function device (MFD) could be fully utilized with an all-rounded solution creating a secure and cost-saving printing environment. Our signature solution for MFD – uniFLOW Online features multiple authentication methods, ranging from ID cards to highly accurate face recognition technology. All functions remain inaccessible until the user is successfully identified. Print and scan data is also encrypted when being sent out with our intelligent client software, SmartClient. Information is safeguarded throughout the printing cycle with numerous authentication options and encrypted data transmission. While cost management is in no way less crucial compared to security, uniFLOW Online also offers comprehensive reports on the uniFLOW Online Portal. User activities, device usage and departmental data are all observable on the portal, on which accurate numbers and colorful charts are available. The all-in-one solution consisting of various features agreeing on data safety and budgeting is the best tool to build a workplace with effective print management.

Connection to cloud destinations is a common demand among enterprises as well. In view of the significant requirement, Canon launched the Cloud Connector which seamlessly links print and scan jobs with the most popular cloud platforms. Users can directly print from or scan to online services such as Microsoft OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint Online and other prevailing cloud services every time. Its prior setup remain simple which enable enterprises to synchronize data on the cloud without any IT manpower.  Meanwhile, the connector is hosted in Microsoft Azure data centers using 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption across the globe, safeguarding business information worldwide. Our Cloud Connector joins print and scan jobs with plenty of cloud destinations in a convenient yet secure manner.

When it comes to cost management, many industries have found contactless mobile payment favorable because of its incomparable convenience. To fulfill the market demand, Canon presents PayLink – an on-demand payment solution supporting cashless transactions in diverse ways. All mainstream e-payment platforms, namely Octopus card, AlipayHK and WeChat Pay are applicable to our advanced MFD solution. The payment could be done in the blink of an eye, by tapping the Octopus card on a Mini-MOP (Multipurpose Octopus Processor) or scanning the QR code generated on Canon's MFD. Each transaction is precisely noted in our real-time report for better cost management. PayLink is no doubt the best option for budget control, which at the same time offers extensive flexibility.    

Boundless Creativity with Colors

Stunning visual in reality is of equal importance to digital graphics or videos for effective advertising. Canon's PANTONE™ calibrated imagePROGRAF GP series visualizes pictures on each paper accurately by the PANTONE PASTEL & NEON GUIDE Coated, which helps to beautifully display graphic designs on physical media. The large-format printer covers an ultra-wide gamut with 11 colors to produce attractive promotional materials, in which the world's first aqueous pigment fluorescent ink is particularly impactful in creating eye-catching hardcopies. Furthermore, it forms a perfect combination with our PosterArtist application providing numerous templates for flyers, menus and certificates to present aesthetic prints with vibrant colors effortlessly. The amalgam of the certified printer and the comprehensive application hence produces attention-grabbing visuals without equal.

About Canon Hongkong Company Limited

Canon Inc. (TSE:7751 / NYSE:CAJ) was founded in 1937 in Japan. Its predecessor, Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, produced Japan's first 35 mm focal-plane-shutter camera "Kwanon" in 1934. From there, Canon Inc. expanded into the photocopying and printing industries, launching Japan's first plain-paper copier NP-1100 in 1970 and the world's first inkjet printer BJ-80 in 1985. Through the years, Canon Inc. has acquired in-depth experience in digital imaging product manufacturing, research and development. Pioneering in innovative products development, Canon Inc. holds the most technology patents in the imaging industry. Canon Inc. also makes significant contributions to promote photography. Today, Canon Inc. has a strong global presence, representing one of the most important market players in the imaging, office and industrial product categories. As of 31 December 2022, Canon's global revenue was US$30.31 billion.

In 1971, Canon Hongkong Co., Ltd. (Canon Hong Kong) was established as one of the first Canon offices in Asia. Canon Hong Kong is a Total Imaging Solution provider, providing professional pre-sales, marketing and after-sales services for all Canon products and solutions in Hong Kong and Macau. With the solely owned subsidiary Canon Business Solutions (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. established in 2018, the company continues to deliver intelligent total business solutions and professional services to Greater Bay Area. Canon Hong Kong adheres to Canon's corporate philosophy of "Kyosei", encouraging the company and staff to engage social, charitable and environmental activities for the community. Implementing internationally-recognized management system, Canon Hong Kong has achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 27001 (Canon Digital Production Center) certifications.

For more information about Canon Hong Kong, please visit our website: https://hk.canon.