Global IT vendor Canon IT Solutions (ITS) Japan has signed a multi-million dollar master distribution agreement with Australian Internet/email security and management provider NetBox Blue. Canon will take on around 500 email filtering appliances a month, said NetBox Blue Chairman John Fison.

NetBox Blue will offer its SpamChecker appliance - as it will be known in Japan - to Canon ITS Japan, which will supply to organisations that want an email filtering and content control solution. The drop in appliance is the result of nine months of co-development between NetBox Blue and Canon Japan and is specifically designed for the SME market in Japan.

Fison told CRN that Canon already supplies 50 percent of all IT solutions to this market. According to the vendor, it also has around 40 percent of the Asian market spend on IT, which is bigger than that of China and India put together.

“Canon Japan is different than Canon Australia. In Australia the vendor sells traditional products like cameras etc. However in Japan it provides a variety of products to the market and has broader reach through its direct sales-force, resellers and distributors,” said Fison.

He told CRN that Canon Japan wants to target the 10-100 user market with NetBox Blue’s product. According to research by Canon Japan, the market for mail filtering appliances is likely to triple in the next four years, providing significant opportunities for the distribution of the SpamChecker appliance.

“The SpamChecker is expected to be the first of many NetBox Blue products headed for the Japanese market. The company is currently working on a Unified Threat Management appliance for Canon,” said Fison.

Through the deal with Canon Japan, NetBox Blue is looking to expand its reach into China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the US, Europe and the Middle East, claimed Fison.

“Canon Japan has a pretty good coverage which is unique to the Japanese market. We are also making similar arrangements with Canon Japan to enter the Chinese market,” he said.

Fison added that NetBox Blue was “born and bred” in Australia and it has an indirect sales model – only going through resellers.

“We don’t go through a distributor because our channel is a reasonable sized and can be managed by our sales team,” he said. “We provide resellers with everything they need and pass them leads directly.”

According to Fison, NetBox Blue has 65 active resellers across Australia including Leading Solutions and Queensland-based reseller Centra Networks.