〜Directions for 2023 and beyond〜
Toward collaboration for global expansion
日本語 | English
Since last year, Orizon Systems has been preparing to take the next step in promoting global solution development in parallel with its core IT service business. In the second half of last year, following the Flowmon product which has secured a large market share in Japan, we started the resale business of new solutions for Penetration Test and GoodAccess. Like Flowmon, these solutions are provided from the IT solution companies based in the Czech Republic. Based on this trend, we asked our president, Suga, and Mr. Jiri Tobola, who was the driving force behind this business development, about the future direction of Orizon Systems.
Footprints in 2022
（First, please tell us about the new solutions that were newly added to Orizon Systems’ portfolio last year.）
Kenichi Suga：In November last year, we announced the penetration test service of TNS, headquartered in Czech Republic, followed by the cloud-based access management service provided by GoodAccess, also headquartered in Czech Republic, in December. The penetration testing is an important service for domestic customers who have recently suffered extremely serious damage, especially from ransomware attacks, to understand the current level of risk in their IT infrastructure. GoodAccess provides a cloud-based mechanism for optimizing access management as remote work such as telecommuting becomes common. Both are highly effective solutions that will support our customers’ business in the future.
（Next, we would like to ask Mr. Jiri Tobola, who promoted this business expansion with President Suga, about the background.）
Mr. Jiri Tobola：I am one of the founders of Flowmon Networks, the provider of the successful Flowmon product, which Orizon Systems made a success in Japanese market. After the Flowmon product entered the portfolio of Progress Software, I started to work at JIC in Brno, where I now support many young companies. Like when I started Flowmon Networks, the Czech Republic is known as the Silicon Valley of Central Europe because of its many high-tech and promising IT companies. Based on the relationship of trust spanning more than ten years with Suga-san, who shared the Flowmon success with me, we both agreed that we wanted to create a second and third Flowmon, which led to the launch of the new solution in Japan last year.
Towards 2023
（What are you planning for 2023?）
Kenichi Suga: The Penetration Test Service and GoodAccess have already received many inquiries, but in the future we would like to focus on reflecting customer feedback as needed to make the service even easier to use and satisfying. At the same time, we are currently evaluating multiple other solutions, and if we can identify a solution that can meet the needs of Japanese customers, we will add such new solutions to our portfolio.
As neither Japan nor the Czech Republic are dependent on natural resources, one of the things that both countries have in common is the tendency to focus on investing in people. In addition, the fact that we have a long history of interactions and have a national character that allows us to build trustworthy partnerships is another reason why we want to collaborate on further business.
Mr. Jiri Tobola：JIC has many contacts with promising young companies, and we hope to share these up-and-coming technologies with Orizon to open up new business fields. From now on, I would like to continue to support Orizon from the Czech side so that Orizon can identify solutions that can confirm its affinity for business and deliver them to Japanese customers with confidence. In the deployment of these new solutions, Orizon was able to achieve smooth communication with each company and successfully realize the market-readiness. We believe that the know-how of how to carry out business with Czech companies that Orizon has accumulated in the Flowmon business has been steadily utilized.
As Suga-san and I have been discussing about already, within a few years, Orizon Systems may be expanding its business to Europe, starting from the Czech Republic. Various options are conceivable as to what form it will take, but as business with Czech companies increases, the expansion of Orizon Systems’ own business will also become realistic.
Kenichi Suga：Our business in China is also stable, and we believe that we have entered the realistic stage of entering the European market for further business expansion. We would like to actively develop our business by using the connections with the people of the former Flowmon Networks in the Czech Republic, who have worked closely with Flowmon, as our strength. So far, we have been indebted to the Embassy of the Czech Republic in relation to Flowmon events, but in the future, we want to seek win-win business development with various domestic parties aiming for wide-ranging collaboration with the Czech IT industry.
Closing：This interview took place late last year in a remote meeting format. Mr. Suga and Mr. Jiri Tobola exchange information directly at regular meetings that are held almost every month, and are working closely together to discuss future business development. Please look forward to the next challenge of Orizon Systems.
