Japan has always been at the forefront of the changing world of work. Take the revolutionary kanban system, for example: It started as a way to manufacture Toyota cars more quickly, but it soon became a popular way to efficiently work on many kinds of projects—including agile software development.
Now, with government support, Japanese companies are embracing work-style reform: a plan to help employees work smarter, instead of longer hours, while also making the labor market more competitive.
Though partially designed to promote healthier work environments by limiting overtime and encouraging more flexible career paths, the government’s work-style reform initiative also paves the way for technologies like automation to play a bigger role in the average workplace.
“The bill is part of a wider work-style action plan that includes measures encouraging people to design their own careers, redirect human capital to where it is best used and revitalize Japan’s economy,” writes Richard Solomon for the Japan Times.
That’s why we’re pleased to announce a new partnership with NEC Networks and System Integration Corporation (NESIC). Founded in 1953 as a telecommunications construction company, NESIC has grown into a tech powerhouse. In partnering with them, we hope to bring the new era of automation to the entire APAC region.
“In recent years, more and more companies are introducing cloud services as infrastructure to [make work more flexible] by streamlining business systems [and enabling] teleworking and mobile work. Moreover, by introducing advanced technologies such as IoT, AI, and robotics, the [push] to tackle further business process automation and innovation is accelerating,” NESIC notes in their press release.
“Under these circumstances, many companies use multiple cloud services in their work, and the need for workflow development that cooperates with data sharing and cloud services is expanding,” the company says. “[Workato] can streamline workflows and help companies easily realize productivity improvements.”
By making Workato’s intelligent automation platform available to its customers, NESIC hopes to make automation more accessible for Japanese companies that hope to help employees work smarter.
“NESIC will support work-style reform by utilizing Workato and aiming for related sales of ¥1 billion by 2020,” the company pledges.
That’s a big number—but the amount of manual work and employee stress saved is even larger. It’s priceless.
