The SaaS Source: November 2023
Discover some of the biggest stories in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry in Japan that have happened this month.
Sekisui House Harnesses Security Evaluation System
As a November 6 story in ZDNet Japan reports, construction giant Sekisui House is using a SaaS platform to analyze the safety of its cloud services (in Japanese). Assured, which is developed by a company of the same name, aggregates security evaluation data for cloud services in Japan. This allows companies that use the platform to independently assess services, without needing to directly contact the service provider. Sekisui House has pointed out how using the platform has significantly cut down the man hours needed in their IT departments that would be spent on communicating with service providers, internal responses, and periodic re-checks of services. The use of the platform also fits into Sekisui House’s overall strategy for digital transformation.
Fukuoka-Based Skydisk Gonged by Tokyo Metropolitan Government
A press release from November 22 published on Hakata Keizai Shimbun reveals that a product by Skydisk has received an Encouragement Award in the Tokyo Contents/Solution Business Awards 2023, which is organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (in Japanese). The product, titled Optimum Works, is an AI/SaaS automatic production planning system for the manufacturing industry. It addresses the need for the industry to strengthen the productivity and efficiency of the manufacturing line, while updating its production planning and management system. Optimum Works takes order information and uses AI to create a plan for equipment operation and personnel allocation; launched in 2022, it already has more than 100 customers, including both large and medium-sized companies.
Parking Lot Management System Raises Funds from Bricks Fund Tokyo
Neely, the company behind a SaaS platform which allows companies that manage monthly parking garages to operate more efficiently and increase their profits, has raised funds from Mitsubishi Estate’s Bricks Fund Tokyo, according to a piece in Sogyo Techo that was published on November 9 (in Japanese). Known as Park Direct, the platform can streamline parking lot recruitment, contract work, monthly usage fee collection, and customer management. The collaboration with Mitsubishi Estate that is triggered by the funding means that Neely will be able to use monthly parking lots managed by the Mitsubishi Estate Group and parking lots attached to residences. Neely hopes to advance the digitalization and sophistication of the parking lot business and co-create next-generation mobility infrastructure through the funding.
ADX’s Madis Wins Oracle Japan Partner Award for SaaS Innovation
The enterprise resource planning (ERP) system Madis has been awarded in the Oracle Japan Apps/SaaS Partner Award Innovation category for the 2023 Oracle Japan Partner Awards. The news was announced in a press release on PR Times dated November 7 (in Japanese). Madis is developed by ADX Consulting, and allows for the accurate and efficient setup of Oracle ERP. Takayasu Kanemoto, executive officer and ERP/CRM Division manager of ADX Consulting, explained that initially in developing Madis, the company faced challenges in meeting the requirements they had set for the platform but was able to overcome them by harnessing the functions of the Oracle application programming interface. The Innovation category of the Oracle Japan Partner Awards recognizes companies that have developed and/or delivered groundbreaking solutions in partnership with Oracle.
