01732 759725
14
Q & A
further and where Foxconn is willing to
help Sharp invest.
PITR:
Mr Gou also mentioned an air
purifier.
JA:
I don’t know about that specifically.
But Sharp’s ideas already include
investment in the consumer electronics
area, particularly where internet of
things technology can contribute to the
smart home, and that could include air
conditioners or refrigerators or microwave
ovens.
PITR:
Has uncertainty over Sharp’s
future been damaging to Sharp
Business Solutions Group globally
and in the UK specifically?
JA:
I don’t believe it has been a
major problem, as Business Solutions’
performance has been strong and steady.
But I would like to personally thank all
our partners and customers, because
they will have heard reports that Sharp’s
overall situation hasn’t been great, even
if Business Solutions has been OK. That
might have concerned some partners
and customers. Yet they continued to do
business with us. I think that’s a really
good thing for us, because we can now go
back to them and say ‘Thank you. Sharp
Corporation has been going through some
difficult times. However, our business is
stable and strong and with this alliance
we can now do even better. I want to say
thank you for your continuing support for
Sharp Business Solutions. Now we want to
go even further’.
Sharp introduces managed IT services for SMEs
Sharp Business Systems is building on its experience of managed print services
with the launch of Optimised IT Services for small and medium-sized businesses.
The new offering, which has already proved successful in the US, provides SMEs with a
choice of network support services that that they can pick and choose from or select in their
entirety, effectively handing over the management of their IT network to one trusted partner.
Sharp Optimised IT Services include: Optimised Professional Services for advice on technology
selection and implementation; Optimised Monitoring & Management, including remote network
monitoring to identify potential problems before they happen; Optimised Helpdesk for 24/7
technical support; Optimised Hardware Maintenance offering warranty support and technical
repairs; and Optimised Data Protection for comprehensive data restoration and disaster recovery
through the cloud.
The UK perspective
Paul Leach, UK Sales Director for the Indirect
Division Sharp Business Systems, says that
news of the alliance has been well received
by Sharp’s UK channel partners.
PITR:
Has the uncertainty over Sharp’s future
damaged Sharp in the UK?
PL:
We haven’t seen any major decline. There
has been a level of uncertainty, but apart from
that it has been business as usual. Now the
announcement’s been made, there is a level of
excitement specifically in the dealer community
because they can see the opportunity that such as
alliance will bring.
PITR:
The actual MFP side of the business has
been doing well hasn’t it?
PL:
Yes. We’ve just launched a new range of MFPs
on the A3 colour side and we’ve had strong sales-
through performance on those products, along with
the Integrated Office. We’ve now reached out to the
dealer community and have fully launched the visual
solutions panels, the Big Pads and the interactive
panels to further strengthen our messaging
regarding the integrated office.
PITR:
How has the reseller community
received that message?
PL:
Enthusiastically – trying to understand the best
way to take technology forward, especially when,
as more BYOD devices come onto the market,
they can see the ease of connectivity within the
Sharp product range that enables different devices
all to connect together. There is certainly lots of
enthusiasm and dealers are starting to take on
board the message that we’ve really got to move
from selling just the box to the integrated office, to
find the bottlenecks within business, and education
especially, and to help improve that sales cycle.
PITR:
Have many traditional copier dealers
taken on your AV products?
PL:
Yes.
PITR:
Have you had to do anything in
particular to encourage them to do that?
PL
We had to build an infrastructure to support the
product group, especially on the installation side. We
now offer that, and warranty and servicing, to the
dealer community as a package. Apart from that,
we’ve done some vertical marketing campaigns that
we offer to resellers and some roadshows. So, as a
manufacturer, we are investing in support to help our
dealers push this technology into the wider space.
As an example of Sharp innovation, Jun Ashida
cites the RoBoHoN, a robotic Android smartphone
developed in conjunction with robotics expert
Tomotaka Takahashi, project associate professor
at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for
Advanced Science and Technology. Described as the
world’s first mobile robotic phone, the RoBoHoN can
move its arms, walk on two legs and interact with its
owner through speech, reading out new messages,
for example, or announcing diary entries. In addition
to standard smartphone functions like phone, email,
camera and app support, the RoBoHoN incorporates
a compact laser projector capable of projecting
photos, videos and maps onto a screen or wall.
RoBoHoN is currently only available in Japan.
...continued
