IT Builds Bridges for Business

Among the very great number of Japanese enterprises that are active in America, in regards to the commercial products and services that they offer at present, the scrupulous nature and attention to detail has received high acclaim. The characteristically Japanese insistence on quality is also presently being demonstrated in the field of Information Technology. In matters like development of applications, network solutions and storage solutions, the separate areas of IT services, the uniquely Japanese concentration on detail and thoroughgoing dedication to the philosophy that the customer comes first is the motivation behind it.

At this time, we have enlisted the cooperation of JBS USA, Inc., which adheres completely to the “customer first” spirit in California while offering consultation in all sorts of subjects in the field of business enterprise systems, in examining this situation. We wondered what kind of questions must be answered in the field of systems in regards to the present Japanese and American IT services, and furthermore, the IT services of the future, as well as in the case of those American companies that are considering moving into the Japanese market. We spoke with Paul Tanoue, who is in charge of public relations.

S&S: First, please give us a profile of your company.
Tanoue: First, our company was originally established in Japan in 1990 and seven years later began operations in the USA, that is, in 1997. At that time, our principal business was the export of software aimed at the Japanese market and compared to now, the scale was very much smaller. After that, there were various structural changes in the industry and in 2002 our company began what is at present our main service, the IT consult network solutions and application development service. At the time when the USA operation was started, there were two people on staff whereas at present there are 14 people and thankfully our results have also been increasing well.

S&S: What are the strong points of your company’s services?
Tanoue: Our company is not simply a developer of systems, you know. As is common knowledge, in the IT field, the industry changes extremely rapidly. It very frequently happens that a system from a year ago is already unsuitable for present conditions. However, despite incurring high costs, it regularly happens that although a new system is put in place, if it does not in actuality work effectively, it is completely meaningless. Our company regularly increases the technical power of the systems we work on, but the more important thing that we do is put the focus on the business as well as the management. We make a detailed analysis of the direction and nature of the client’s business and determine what kind of system is necessary to achieve those objectives. Without introducing anything unnecessary, we only offer the client what is truly practical and then we put it in place. Whether a system just works as an ordinary system or else works so effectively that it becomes an asset to the company is a significant difference, we believe.

S&S: One of your strong points is that the Japanese and Californian parts of your company each have their own strong points, right?
Tanoue: That’s true. First, all of our USA staff are bilingual. We support Japanese businesses that are moving into the American market, while on the other hand we provide support for American companies that are expanding into Japan and we have earned a high reputation among our clients. Just recently we worked on providing support for an American business in the food industry that is beginning operations in Japan. In moving into a foreign country, one is aware of the existence of a number of subjects such as laws, the time difference and currency exchange and since our company has bases in both Japan and California, we can offer the kind of reports that our clients need instantly, so the fact is that we can provide not only systems, but also consultation in regards to laws, the time difference, currency exchange and other things. Here in California, Japan is in third place in terms of export trade and we think that in the future the distribution of services between Japan and California will grow greater and greater. Under those conditions, we believe that in the future the number of American companies aiming to move into Japan will increase. When American companies want to establish a base in Japan, they can get advice right away from JBS and our objective is to become that kind of resource. In the future, as well, we plan to work hard to accomplish that.

As JBS strengthens the bonds between Japan and California, it may be expected that the importance of the services that JBS offers will grow. We look forward to seeing the expansion of the activities of JBS in the future.