Oki races for pole position in A3 colour

The news puts Oki firmly in the race for number one position in the Middle East market.

"To say we're pleased is an understatement. This is the result of a huge amount of work and investment from our partners across the region and we're now positioned to really get going and go for number one spot. The products are winners, the team at Oki is driven and customers truly appreciate the sound advantages that Oki's products offer to them," said John Ross, General Manager at Oki Printing Solutions Middle East.

IDC's preliminary results put Oki in second place across Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with the company taking 30.6% of the European market. Oki has already moved to take number one position in ten countries across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, an achievement that Ross wants to mirror in the Middle East specifically: "The Middle East is our newest market and we're seeing very strong growth here indeed, which is driving our share up. There's still a long way to go and we're going to have to work really hard to challenge the dominant position of the market leader, but we've done it in Europe and we can do it here."

According to IDC, HP takes a 35.8% share by product volume of the European A3 colour printer market, while Oki is chasing with 30.6% of the market - over three times the share of closest competitor Xerox. In the CEMA (Central & Eastern Mediterranean and Africa) market, HP takes 53% and Oki takes 21% of the total market. Again, Xerox takes third place in share by product volume.

"We've got a bigger job to do in the Middle East, but do remember we've only just opened our point of presence here and we're already making our presence in the market felt by our competitors. That's built on hard work but also by being able to offer customers a clearly superior value proposition," said Ross.

Please note that these figures from IDC are preliminary and are subject to change as the final figures are expected to be published by IDC in the coming days.

Oki is to preview new products, demonstrate its solutions and make technical experts available to customers and potential customers alike at the Oki Open Day in Dubai which is being held at the Bur Juman Hotel, Bur Dubai, from 1-7pm on the 22nd May 2007.