Launch of Ricoh-branded version of Kintone will contribute to global acceleration of digital transformation by bringing solutions to customers in Japan and overseas
Ricoh Company Ltd. announced a digital services business alliance with Cybozu Inc., the provider of the Kintone cloud services teamwork platform. Together, their aim is to accelerate digital transformation (DX) by working closely with companies and organizations in Japan and overseas.
Ricoh and Cybozu will jointly develop a Ricoh-branded version of Kintone, which Ricoh will begin offering first in the Japanese domestic market starting October 2022, then globally.
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To deploy the Ricoh-branded version of Kintone in Japan, Ricoh Japan—the domestic sales subsidiary of the Ricoh Group with nationwide sales and support branches in every Japanese prefecture—will take full advantage of the strength of its broad customer base, its capacity to provide community-based services, and its support to a wide range of workers, including small and mid-sized businesses. Furthermore, Ricoh plans to leverage its global customer base and support capabilities to expand the Ricoh-branded version of Kintone to North America by the end of 2022, followed by Europe.
Through the effective use of the sales channels that Ricoh has developed over many years, Ricoh aims to introduce Kintone and its benefits worldwide and create a business worth 10 billion yen by FY 2025.
Background
There is a growing need to promote DX in all companies and organizations. Utilizing digital technology to transform businesses and create new business models is essential for most organizations to achieve their ultimate goal of long-term growth and competitiveness.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also led people to question established norms and practices, resulting in lasting changes to how people live and work. An increasing number of companies and organizations are reexamining the work experience they provide. Regardless of whether their employees work from the office, at home, or in the field, businesses are facing market pressure to improve productivity through automation, and seize opportunities for labor savings by utilizing digital technology.
However, the slow pace of digitization in the communication and sharing of information in business operations still constitutes a significant barrier to improving process efficiency and building customer value. Combine this with the current shortage of IT personnel within companies, and the need to adopt tools that minimize operational inefficiencies in the selection, implementation, and training of relevant company systems becomes clear.
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Kintone offers a broad range of functions, including database and process management, facilitated communication, and low-code/no-code characteristics that allow users to easily build their own systems without programming expertise. The platform’s flexibility makes it an attractive tool for a wide variety of users to drive business improvement in many different situations.
Ricoh and Cybozu have entered into this business alliance believing they can help accelerate DX for companies and organizations in Japan and globally. To do so, they will combine Cybozu’s no-code/low-code development capabilities with Ricoh’s global support network and problem-solving expertise. The two companies will join forces to solve customers’ DX issues and respond to operational needs by widely distributing the Ricoh-branded version of Kintone via Ricoh’s strong global channel and support network.
Future Initiatives
Ricoh Smart Integration (RSI), the cloud platform provided by Ricoh, is evolving into a business platform that transforms business workflows. Linking data between RSI and the Ricoh-branded version of Kintone will allow Ricoh to provide its customers with added value by analyzing and utilizing accumulated digital data to further automate and improve customer operations.
In addition, Ricoh will seek to further strengthen its management base and DX promotion systems to transform into a digital services company; implementing personnel exchanges of digital professionals and software engineers directly in the field, close to customers.
Desired Goals of Ricoh and Cybozu
During the five years of FY 2021-FY 2025, which we have termed the “Ricoh Liftoff,” Ricoh’s global strategy remains focused on driving transformation to become a digital services company while ensuring sustainable growth and development. This alliance will support the further development of digital services, as indicated in Ricoh’s 20th Mid-Term Plan.
In line with the Ricoh Group’s vision of “Fulfillment through Work,” Ricoh will strengthen its ability to provide Kintone and facilitate DX implementation directly at customer sites. Doing so will accelerate the expansion of the office services business globally, which Ricoh has identified as an area of accelerated growth within Ricoh’s business portfolio.
Cybozu aims to realize its corporate vision of “Building a society brimming with teamwork” by using this alliance to acquire an overwhelming share of the domestic market, while also expanding Kintone sales throughout the global market. The partnership with Ricoh will allow Cybozu to accelerate these efforts by offering more robust support for teamwork across partner companies and organizations.
Ricoh and Cybozu will harness their combined creativity and collaborate to promote the wide-scale digital transformation of work. They will also empower the future growth and competitiveness of companies and organizations by utilizing the power of digital technology to support the sharing of information and the streamlining of workflows across all business processes.
