DirectCloud, Inc. will begin offering “SmartFiling AI Powered by DirectCloud,” a new service integrating multifunction printers, cloud storage, and generative AI, for Canon Marketing Japan Inc. on September 7, 2026. This launch is driven by corporate demand to go beyond simply digitizing paper documents and to efficiently search and reuse the vast amount of accumulated internal data using AI.

Overview of the New Service Connecting Multi-Function Printers and the Cloud

DirectCloud Inc. announced on August 31, 2026, that it will launch “SmartFiling AI Powered by DirectCloud,” a new service for Canon Marketing Japan Inc., starting September 7 of the same year. This service is an innovative corporate solution that seamlessly combines office multifunction peripherals (MFPs), the corporate cloud storage “DirectCloud,” and the generative AI feature “DirectCloud AI.” The minimum basic configuration of the service consists of 5 users and 500GB of cloud storage, with two options available: an Entry Plan and a Standard Plan. The service will be sold through Canon Marketing Japan Inc.’s robust direct sales and partner sales channels, with a target of acquiring 300 new contracts within the first year of its launch. It aims to transform conventional passive office tasks of “just scanning and saving” into active data utilization tasks driven by AI.

Challenges of Traditional Document Management and Background to the Development

While digital transformation is encouraged in many companies, a vast amount of information originating from paper documents still remains in actual business operations. Simply scanning these paper documents into PDFs and storing them in cloud storage leads to various challenges. Specifically, issues arise such as “not knowing which folder the necessary file is saved in,” “taking an enormous amount of time to find past similar materials,” and “being unable to reuse accumulated electronic documents for subsequent tasks.” Furthermore, even when companies attempt to introduce and utilize generative AI, which has seen rapid adoption in recent years, processes such as organizing business workflows, preparing training data, selecting tools, and ensuring secure operational management post-implementation have posed an extremely heavy burden, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises lacking specialized IT personnel. This new service was developed to create an environment where companies can smoothly integrate advanced AI technology into their operations by combining the cloud and AI with the physical gateway of multi-function printers—which are already familiar and used daily in the office.

Advanced Features and Security Mechanisms of SmartFiling AI

Advanced Information Discovery Enabled by MFP Integration and Full-Text Search

The greatest feature of the new service lies in its ability to make office multifunction printers function as a direct gateway for the digitalization of corporate documents. When a user scans a paper document using a multifunction printer, the captured data is automatically uploaded to cloud storage via a pre-configured folder for multifunction printer integration. This eliminates the need for manual folder relocation and upload tasks. Furthermore, various uploaded documents such as contracts, estimates, manuals, and application forms are automatically processed within the system. Rather than simply searching by file name, a sophisticated full-text search function targeting text information within Office files, PDFs, and scanned documents is provided as a standard feature. This function significantly reduces the time required to find necessary information from past materials and vast internal documents, dramatically improving operational efficiency in the office. For the detailed flow of information, please refer to the diagram below illustrating the mechanism.

Conversational AI Utilization and Enterprise Security Measures

The accumulated document data can be intuitively utilized using the generative AI feature “DirectCloud AI.” This system incorporates Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology, which is considered to have an extremely low risk of hallucinations (AI fabrications), as well as an interactive user interface. This enables accurate information retrieval, summarization, and organization based on stored internal company documents. An AI chatbot is also available in the Standard Plan. In addition, cloud-based collaborative editing, file sharing, and document searching are centralized, allowing for seamless execution from document creation to updates and secondary utilization. Furthermore, to securely protect a company’s critical confidential information and personal data, various single sign-on (SSO) integration features and advanced corporate-level security functions that protect data from cyber threats such as ransomware are implemented as standard, comprehensively supporting a secure work style in a cloud environment.

The Significance of AI Adoption and Its Impact on the Market

Overcoming Barriers to AI Adoption for SMEs and the Significance of Practical Application

For many Japanese companies, especially mid-sized and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), improving productivity through the use of AI and IT has become an urgent challenge. However, the reality has been that the lack of in-house personnel with specialized knowledge and high development costs act as bottlenecks, hindering the company-wide adoption of practical AI. SmartFiling AI Powered by DirectCloud plays a role in dramatically lowering these adoption barriers. Without the need for special training, and as an extension of routine multifunction printer operations, documents are naturally aggregated in the cloud, allowing users to benefit from AI-powered automatic summarization and advanced search capabilities. This promotes the “democratization of AI,” where every frontline employee can seamlessly utilize AI as a natural tool in their daily operations. This holds extremely significant social importance in terms of visualizing business know-how that tends to become siloed with specific individuals as shared corporate knowledge, thereby enhancing the overall competitiveness of the organization.

Future Outlook and Forecast of the AI-Powered Storage Market

DirectCloud, Inc., the provider of this service, declared its evolution into a “data infrastructure company for the AI era” in March 2026, and this partnership serves as an important milestone in that strategy. Through a powerful alliance with Canon Marketing Japan Inc., which boasts a high market share in the office multifunction printer sector, the company aims to acquire 300 new clients within the first year of rollout, strongly driving office DX across Japan. Furthermore, demand for such AI-integrated storage systems is rapidly expanding worldwide. According to market forecast data, the global market size for AI-enabled storage was valued at 17.55 billion US dollars in 2024 and is projected to reach 165.89 billion US dollars by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.3 percent from 2025 to 2032, expected to record phenomenal growth. Moving forward, it is anticipated to evolve further as an intelligent data infrastructure that transcends the boundaries of document management, by incorporating technological advancements in edge AI and autonomous storage operations.

Reference Page

• [DirectCloud to Launch “SmartFiling AI Powered by DirectCloud” for Canon Marketing Japan Inc. on September 7] https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000150.000000400.html

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