Canon's MEAP Architecture Will Not Increase Its Copier Market Share

Transcription

1 Technology Analysis Canon's MEAP Architecture Will Not Increase Its Copier Market Share Abstract: Canon s Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform architecture makes its copiers smarter, but it is overkill for most businesses. By Don Dixon Strategic Planning Assumptions Less than 10 percent of Canon s customers will upgrade to devices enabled with the Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform (MEAP) because of the need for unique MEAP capability (0.9 probability). Sales of MEAP toolkits will contribute less than 5 percent of Canon s software revenue by the end of 2004 (0.8 probability). Publication Date: 24 September 2003

2 2 Canon's MEAP Architecture Will Not Increase Its Copier Market Share What Is MEAP? Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform (MEAP) is a Java-based application platform developed by Canon. The MEAP Software Development Kit (SDK) is a toolkit that can be used by developers to write Java applications that will run on MEAP-enabled copiers. MEAP s Technology Impact Canon sells a MEAP SDK toolkit for $5,000, which includes the first year of support. Continuing support from Canon costs developers $2,500 per year. Canon has not announced any additional fees or royalties, but it is likely that it will also charge developers royalties. MEAP is included on the recently released imagerunner 5020 and 5020i (whose average selling prices are $17,000 and $23,350, respectively) and 6020 and 6020i ($21,500 and $27,850, respectively). The new models started shipping in the United States in June 2003 through authorized Canon USA dealers and Canon Business Solutions locations. Since these new MEAPenabled models are priced on par with the models they replace, MEAP products are not more expensive. The additional cost is in the development toolkit and application development or software. MEAP permits the development of new software applications that run within the copier or multifunctional product (MFP). MEAP applications run alongside native applications (copy, print, fax and scan). The principal features of the architecture are the following: It is a development platform, not a feature or function of the copier. It allows the creation of embedded software applications and solutions. MEAP uses Java (Java2 Micro Edition or J2ME). MEAP leverages the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) which controls how Java services are run within a device. It also creates a framework for how one Java service can leverage or share capabilities available in other Java services. MEAP applications can display custom user interfaces on the device touch screen and utilize the device console hard keys. MEAP applications can also display custom user interfaces through a Web browser running on a remote PC. The latter type of MEAP application utilizes the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server resident on the MEAP-enabled device. The promise of MEAP is its open architecture to allow third-party developers and customers to create applications and specialty uses. The challenge will be to get third-party developers and customers to allocate internal resources to develop software Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 24 September 2003

3 Currently, MEAP does not have a direct competitor. As a new architectural platform, it is the first to be completely open and Javacompatible. The fact that the platform is unique is a double-edged sword for Canon. While it's a point of differentiation, Gartner Dataquest believes MEAP will not be seen as a tangible value until applications begin to roll outnextyear. Gartner Dataquest does not believe that MEAP, in and of itself, will create a significant boost to Canon's copier sales through Canon's customers will gradually transition to MEAP-enabled products, because it will be embedded in new product releases. But until new applications are built, the transition because of MEAP will be minimal. The ecopy ShareScan product is likely to be the more practical application to be deployed in the short run. For example, with ecopy's ShareScan operating system embedded in the MEAP-enabled copier or MFP there is no longer a need to have a separate $7,000 server for each copier or MFP. 3 MEAP s Limitations The MEAP platform does have a few limitations. Canon is not recommending that computationally intensive applications run on a MEAP device. This is due to the processor speed and the nature of embedded Java. MEAP may not be suitable for heavy image processing applications such as optical character recognition (OCR). Basic image scanning may not be an issue since it is performed using native device capabilities. The MEAP platform can run a maximum of nine applet services simultaneously. Its hard to understand why a customer would need to run anymorethannineservicesatanygiventime. Other Smart MFPs Both Ricoh and Xerox have new software architectures deployed on their MFPs, but neither offers the user the capability to alter the operational panel or deploy a development architecture so the platform can be customized by a third-party developer or the customer. The new Xerox controller technology focuses on concurrent operations. The Xerox controller is actually two controllers in one. One is focused on the device, that is, the input to and output from the marking engine. The other controller is responsible for the network management of job submission and receipt, image processing and print queue management. It was designed as a multipurpose multitasking platform that can route a print job, process scanned images through DocuShare and at the same time receive an incoming fax. The following are the three primary attributes: 2003 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 24 September 2003

4 4 Canon's MEAP Architecture Will Not Increase Its Copier Market Share Where to Buy a MEAP Copier It performs concurrent operations and can be programmed ahead. It is a common platform available across the MFP line (monochrome and color). It is also scalable to match the print speed of the MFP with the CPU speed, memory size and disk drive size. It employs an open architecture for network integration. Third-party developers have access to published interface standards and can develop according to industry standard protocols. Most common print streams are easily integrated, and so are industry standard protocols for and scan to addresses. Canon MEAP copiers are available through all of Canon's existing sales channels: direct, dealer and value-added reseller (VAR). Sales and support training is currently underway to support MEAP applications. Of Canon's third-party developers, only ecopy and Equitrac in the United States have the MEAP toolkit. New MEAP applications will likely be developed through vertically oriented VARs made up of Canon's existing vertical marketing alliances. For example, pharmacies have a special need to print small labels for prescription bottles. VARs and software developers servicing this market may develop an application to print prescription labels from an imagerunner, embedding the code into the MEAP platform. The imagerunner's control panel can be changed to reflect this special application, saving operator time and avoiding mistakes. Gartner Dataquest Perspective MEAP is a big deal for Canon, but the capability is likely to become nothing more than a nice feature that only a very limited number of users will find value in deploying. Early adopters will purchase the product for the novelty, and Canon will continue to promote the architecture as its "next best thing." However, since dealers and customers won't be able to buy a Canon device without MEAP capability in the next few years, Canon ensures the success of the platform. The test will be how fast MEAP applications become available. Canon is developing its own and will be eager to do custom work for customers to win deals early on. Help from third-party developers will also be critical to create momentum. There are a few partners that have already bought into the idea of integrating their capability into the MFP device (ecopy and Equitrac to name a couple), but that will not be enough for Canon to begin to make serious money from software developers Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 24 September 2003

5 Recommendations Businesses looking to integrate document management application within their copiers should cautiously approach Canon to develop MEAP applications. Thorough beta testing is recommended prior to deployment. 5 Key Issue What strategies are vendors implementing in order to succeed in this market? 2003 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 24 September 2003

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