NASDAQに上場し、世界中の著名企業が活用するカスタマーエンゲージメントプラットフォームを提供するBrazeの米国本社CEOビル・マグヌソン氏と日本法人代表の菊地真之氏に、日本市場への期待とこれからについて伺いました。

https://vimeo.com/719740613

2022年4月19日付
外資系ＩＴ企業が日本での事業展開を活発化している。データ活用など関連ビジネスが広がり、日本に進出する外資系ＩＴも増加傾向にある中で外資系SaaS企業の日本展開を支援するジャパンクラウドがインタビューを受けました。
＊日刊工業新聞社の転載承認を受けています。

https://www.nikkan.co.jp/spaces/view/0064583
今後も各社の取り組みにご注目ください。

【関連会社メディア掲載】＜Apptioお客様事例＞日経ビジネス電子版にて「良品計画が業界に先駆けて導入した最先端の予実管理とは」と題して、良品計画様のApptio導入事例が公開。経営戦略を正確に反映した予算策定と執行管理の実現に向けた良品計画様の考えについて伺っています。

https://special.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/ONB/21/apptio_0531/

Aruna Basnayake, CEO and Partner, Japan Cloud

The second of three posts on Japan market entry.

If anything keeps enterprise cloud CEOs up at night in Japan, it’s not a lack of opportunity. Japan is fertile ground for cloud services that can help businesses succeed in a data-driven, hybrid world. If CEOs lose sleep at night in Tokyo, it’s because they struggle to find top talent.

A Costly Conundrum

The average tenure of Japan country managers over the past 10 years at firms listed in Bessemer’s Emerging Cloud Index is 22.6 months, according to Japan Cloud research. Companies often fall into a vicious cycle of hiring and firing. The cost in terms of time, money and reputation is incalculable.

But there’s a way out of this costly conundrum. Global cloud leadership must escape their corporate comfort zone. They need to think twice about candidates who seem the obvious choice. Seasoned sales people whose resumes include familiar global cloud brands and who impress HQ with their English skills may be a great corporate fit, but they’re not always the best fit for growing and managing a business in Japan.

Corporate leaders need to put themselves in the market--the second largest enterprise software market in the world--and ask themselves: which candidates have the growth mindset and passion to keep developing their leadership and management skills, as well as their sales prowess, to grow the Japan business to a thousand employees and 10 percent of global company revenue?

This is the executive they want running their business in Japan.

Stuck in Mainframe Days

It’s not hyperbole to say that the recruitment process for country managers in Japan has changed little since the days of the mainframe. While meetings with search firms and candidates may now be virtual, the candidate profile usually includes country manager or sales management experience, preferably with a reputable global software firm, as well as proficiency in English.

In most cases, the management team decides who will lead their Japan business based on feedback from corporate colleagues, a recommendation from the recruiter, endorsements from candidate-nominated references and perhaps the advice of a trusted, local advisor. The new country manager is then “empowered” to hire a team and start closing deals.

There has got to be a better way. The intent isn’t to denigrate the efforts of companies or their partners or consultants. The language barrier and time constraints leave corporate leadership few options but to rely on local experts. But given the challenges software firms have had with their Japan leadership over the decades, it behooves them to do things differently.

They should begin by rethinking their candidate profile.

In Pursuit of “Learn-it-alls”

In addition to evaluating experienced country managers and salespeople, companies should shortlist executives who have limited experience but show potential for growth.

Candidates who have 10 to 15 years of solid sales and management experience in the IT industry and who have a growth mindset are often preferable to English-speaking country managers who talk a good game and boast that they know everyone in the industry.

While English skills are desirable, they’re not as important as local credentials--a degree from a reputable university, for example--and the ability to engage with senior executives at Japan’s leading companies. Companies can always rely on a local partner or consultant to bridge communication gaps with HQ.

Candidates with a strong network are also welcome. But people who have the mindset to continuously grow their network are even more attractive. Executives who can learn to network across industries and keep improving their value-selling skills are exceptional.

If they have the humility and EQ to build trust with customers and employees, they are truly golden. Recruiting and management skills are absolutely critical for the country manager job.

To quote Satya Nadella, “The learn-it-all does better than the know-it-all.” Candidates who are coachable, collaborative and constantly try to improve themselves often trump proverbial “rock stars” who rely heavily on past accomplishments to define their future capabilities. This is true in Japan as it is anywhere else in the world.

Hiring for Customer Success

In the go-to-market phase, corporate leadership should also be involved in the recruitment of the core management team, from marketing to pre- and post-sales. In addition to minimizing the country manager’s overreliance on personal relationships, the goal is to build a foundation for scaling the local team over the next three to five years. While the country manager should be the final decision maker on who makes the team, corporate leadership should have a say in the screening of candidates.

Unlike the country manager, the core management team should have solid enterprise cloud experience. They should live and breathe Customer Success. While seemingly counterintuitive, companies should prioritize hiring a post-sales leader. The objective is to embed Customer Success processes and values in the organization early and to build relationships with systems integrators. Again, English proficiency among core management is desirable, but not essential.

In Search of EQ

In addition to reference checks and third-party feedback, companies should include formal aptitude and personality assessments in their screening process, especially if they are considering candidates who are new to a leadership role.

Despite the widespread adoption of personality testing and job-fit data among U.S. corporations, very few, if any, global cloud companies assess their candidates in Japan. This is not good. Along with fundamental cognitive abilities, companies should test for communication, team-building and organizational skills, among other soft skills that are essential for leadership positions. They need to assess the whole person. The cost of not doing so is simply too great, for candidates, as well as for companies and their customers.

Beyond the Comfort Zone

Global cloud companies need to rethink their approach to talent acquisition in Japan, especially at market entry. Expanding their search while spending more time on screening candidates is the surest way to avoid the hire and fire cycle and to get their business on track.

They shouldn’t be enamored by candidates who fit the corporate bill. They need to escape their corporate comfort zone. Their goal should be to hire leaders who can sell on value as well as achieve operational excellence and Customer Success-driven growth longer term.

How cloud companies can develop their team in Japan and build a company culture anchored in local Customer Success will be the subject of my next post. Stay tuned.

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Aruna Basnayake, CEO and Partner, Japan Cloud

BlackLine Japan customer Saison Information Systems is the IT subsidiary of Credit Saison, issuer of the third most popular credit card in Japan with some 30 million customers. Saison took its accounting processes online in 2020 with the BlackLine Continuous Accounting Platform, automating more than 50% of its bank statements in just 90 days and integrating data across its global operations as well as improving its quality and visibility. In the process, Saison’s accounting team transformed itself into a strategic partner to management and the company’s front lines. Thank you to Saison and BlackLine for sharing their truly exemplary digital transformation story!
https://www.blackline.jp/customers/saison-information-systems.html

Aruna Basnayake, CEO and Partner, Japan Cloud

This is the first in a series of three posts on Japan market entry.

There’s an upside to COVID in Japan: the pandemic has disrupted Japan’s formalistic business culture, catapulting workers out of stifling protocol, if not packed trains, into a virtual world where executing to plan and achieving results are all important.

While traditional, physical interactions will of course remain, there is no question that remote work and online services will outlast the pandemic. Japan’s future, like the world’s, is hybrid. The productivity gains for Japan’s businesses will be enormous.

For enterprise cloud companies with an eye on Japan, the opportunity is likewise huge.

Japan is Cloud Ready

Comprising the second largest enterprise software market in the world, Japanese businesses have been pursuing digital transformation—albeit with mixed results—for close to two decades.

They are now embarking on the next phase of their digital journey. They are extending and securing their business processes to empower remote workforces and to deliver seamless customer experiences online. They are gathering and analyzing key data across employee and customer touchpoints to make more predictive decisions.

Indeed, more than 40 percent of close to 1900 Japanese executives said they will boost investments in cloud services this year^[1], according to a May 2020 survey. A pre-COVID report from IDC Japan projected the market for public cloud services to grow more than 18% annually to around $20 billion by 2024^[2]. Japan has never been more cloud ready.

Being Japan ready

For their part, enterprise cloud companies looking to enter Japan need to be Japan ready. They need to have the scale and stamina to meet the demands of large, pragmatic customers. Whether they are digitally transforming existing businesses or launching new ones, Japanese customers want to work with market-tested vendors that can help them achieve business outcomes.

While early-stage startups may find an audience in Japan—especially now over Zoom— technology and vision will get them only so far. If global companies want to do business in Japan, they need to show evidence that they can deliver Customer Success.

Paths to Market Entry

Entering Japan is no small feat. Japan is a massive, highly opaque market. The country is second to the U.S. with nearly 15,000 companies boasting revenues of more than $100 million.^[3] Japan usually garners 60 to 70 percent of Asia Pacific revenue, excluding China, for enterprise software companies. It cannot be served from a regional headquarter, whether Singapore or Sydney. Japan is its own region. Building a strong local presence is essential.

Cloud companies can enter Japan directly or in partnership with a local organization, whether an industry incumbent, a Japanese trading company or an enterprise cloud specialist such as our firm, Japan Cloud. While I am of course partial toward the partnership model, many industry experts would agree that companies carry more risk when entering Japan directly. The market’s sheer size, dearth of local talent and persistent language barrier—Japan ranks 55th in English proficiency among 100 non-English speaking countries^[4]—make smooth entry a challenge.

Companies are often encumbered by weak direct sales capabilities, ineffective value selling to CxOs and an overdependence on resellers as well as highly procedural PR and marketing. Companies often lack visibility into their local operations other than through their country manager. Many companies fail to gain market traction after years of trying on their own.

Partnering for the Long Term

Although partnering by no means ensures success, companies that enter Japan with a partner should, at the very least, benefit from quicker access to local knowledge. customers, potential recruits and vendors. Introductions to trade and business media should also be included in the partner’s go-to-market menu.

Ideally, partners should support companies far beyond market entry—not only with words of wisdom, but also with hands-on execution. They should be bilingual, bicultural translators of the local culture. They should serve as a company’s eyes and ears into their local operations. They should help companies build a local organization that can deliver stable, long-term growth.

The goal should be to build a thriving Japan business that can contribute 10 percent of global recurring revenue—because Japan comprises 10 percent of the global IT market—within 10 years.

For cloud companies that have the will, wisdom and wherewithal to commit to the second largest enterprise software market in the world, Japan’s hybrid, data-driven future presents an enormous opportunity for innovation and growth.

Stay tuned for my upcoming posts on hiring and building a locally rooted Customer Success culture in Japan.

[1] https://www.m2ri.jp/release/detail.html?id=426

[2] https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prJPJ46845820

[3] S&P Capital IQ Database

[4] https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/