I began working in the software industry in April, 1960. For the 12 years leading up to the founding of JASTEC Co., Ltd. in 1971, I was troubled by the differences in how I and the top industry managers and insiders at the time thought about software engineering, the evaluation of software engineers, and how IT companies should be managed.
I established four corporate philosophies based on my experiences.
Considering an IT company to be in a knowledge-intensive industry means working to establish a healthy market by providing customers with innovative systems amid competition among companies based on cost and quality, as the outstanding manufacturing industry in Japan has done.
Most IT company pamphlets during this time introduced the headquarters building, the hardware of businesses using the software, such as bullet trains and airplanes using seat reservation systems, etc.
In contrast, JASTEC has studied how PR should be done as an IT company advocating for a knowledge-intensive industry and announced the following in our catalogs.
A merit evaluation system based on productivity and quality for the various tasks in an IT company was established
April 1997 to May 2015 Appointed to the Board of Directors
Acquisition of LTU (France)
Withdrew in 2017 with the advent of AI
Established 14 priority items for continued improvement and reform
Quantitative management, process definition, division of employee duties, customer meetings, team skills, acquisitions, and 8 other items
I will discuss the various issues facing the industry that I am currently aware of.
This has been ongoing for the past 10 or more years and will be tackled again in the future. However, success is not guaranteed, as neither the technology to define each user’s requirements nor the software engineering technology to guarantee development productivity and quality have been established.
Major corporations that lead due to their originality often introduce packages from overseas after experiencing many software development failures from major domestic IT firms. However, these mass-market, general-purpose packages do not meet the unique requirements of these major users. Consequently, they find themselves in the mire of repeatedly adding functions, delaying delivery or increasing costs, and even stopping development in some cases. IT companies that can respond to these situations seem hard to find.
While it is a wonderful to have made it this far, global competition has begun, especially among car, semiconductor, 6G, and other manufacturers. Initiatives for multifunctional platforms for level 4 cars, super-multifunctional semiconductors, and high-capacity, high-speed communications among 6G manufacturers have begun.
Under these circumstances, even if Japanese IT companies support the manufacturing industry with time and materials contracts (or even with turnkey contracts), I am concerned that the Japanese manufacturing industry will be unable to compete. To avoid this, JASTEC will humbly strive with the belief that IT companies must continue taking on challenges and accumulate software engineering technology that is foundational for productivity and quality.
JASTEC considers the IT industry as knowledge intensive, and we will work together with IT companies that share this position, as well as with clients, employees, the students who will join us, society, and the nation, to contribute to the world.
JASTEC Co., Ltd.
Shigeru Kamiyama