GOVERNMENT & POLICY
MPT projects get reprieve
NET NEWSVenturing onto the WebJapanese corporations and associations are increasingly utilizing the Internet to support venture capital (VC) efforts. VC firm Jafco, which has investments in some 1,600 companies, is entering the connectivity service provision business, primarily to furnish webpage production and connectivity services for the companies in which it has invested. Jafco intends to launch an "electronic venture network" on the Internet in June. The New Business Council (NBC), an incorporated foundation, is working on implementing NBC World. Within the next three years, NBC World will provide online business information on more than 500 member companies, and will support electronic transactions, technology and personnel exchanges, and other interactions between members. Tokyo-based Internet access provider Alpha, meanwhile, has launched a Web-based support effort for entrepreneurs focusing on cooperative software development.
EC trials to start
Access is a tough business
BUSINESS BRIEFSMS boosts NT sales effortsIn a bid to boost sales of its Japanese-language Windows NT 4.0 network operating system, Microsoft KK has started offering sales staff training and support to key PC resellers across Japan. The company has set up "business solution corner" displays at some 120 authorized NT dealerships across Japan, and will provide free training to 18 facilities now offering help desk services for NT purchasers. Microsoft has been focusing on boosting sales to the small office/home office (SOHO) market through specialized PC retailers, but was hampered by a shortage of sales staff with the required expertise.
Oracle increases NT support
Corporate reorganizations In January, meanwhile, CSK merged two of its subsidiary corporations to create a new firm, Serviceware Corporation. The firm will offer telephone-based client/server system support and field maintenance services. The subsidiaries to be combined are Osaka-based INS, a temporary personnel and data entry outsourcing firm, and Systems Operation (SOC) of Tokyo, a computer operations management firm. CSK expects the newly created firm to have first- and third-year revenues of approximately JPY7.6 billion and JPY10.0 billion, respectively, with telephone support services accounting for about half of total sales by 2000.
More data warehousing planned NEC, meanwhile, has got off to a good start in the data warehousing business. The company, which launched a data warehousing systems integration service in July 1996, had received orders for 40 systems by year-end, of which 10 had already been put into practical use. NEC's data warehousing systems integration services range from consulting and prototyping to operation management. With the business in good form from the start, NEC is now aiming for data warehousing system sales of JPY150 billion in three years.
Software market grows by 25%
The troubling new century
So-so SOHO sales
TELECOM TOPICSDDI buys into KDD's cableDomestic new common carrier DDI has agreed with KDD to acquire 20% of the international carrier's submarine optical cable capacity for an estimated JPY40 billion to JPY50 billion. KDD will start installing a Japan Information Highway (JIH) cable, which will surround the Japanese archipelagos, in the second half of 1997. The system is scheduled to be put into service in early 1999. DDI will own the rights to 20G bps, the equivalent of 300,000 telephone circuits; it plans to connect the eight JIH access points to its own network, which consists mainly of 3.5G-bps microwave circuits. DDI is hopeful that the arrangement will alleviate the capacity shortage problem it is beginning to face.
Next-generation cellular trials
MARKET NEWSPC98 sales hit 15 millionIn December 1996, NEC shipped the 15-millionth unit of its PC98 series of personal computers. Sales have averaged better than 1 million units per year in the 14 years since the PC9800 was introduced, and topped 2.6 million units in 1996. NEC expects to reach the 20 million unit mark in 1998 by using leading-edge technologies to create user-friendly models for specific markets and applications. NEC will also strengthen its support services and extend its PC College Partner Schools program nationwide.
Competition for Mondex NTT, meanwhile, will form a group to conduct electronic money trials based on a system developed by NTT and the Bank of Japan. The group will include city banks, credit card companies, central and local government agencies, computer manufacturers, and Internet service providers. Trials are scheduled to begin early in FY1997 and run for three years. While NTT hopes to make its system a de facto standard, it faces stiff competition from the VISA and Mondex systems.
PRODUCTS & SERVICESMotorola modemsNippon Motorola plans to introduce modems for the Japanese consumer market early this year, hoping to eventually capture a 10% share of the market. The company intends to release a Japanese version of its 33.6K-bps Modem Surfer, a model that has been available in the US. Nippon Motorola will market its modems both through major distributors and via direct sales channels. The push into the consumer modem market by Motorola follows the company's introduction in late 1996 of terminal adapters and card modems.
Navigating by DVD
INTERNATIONAL NEWSUS to benchmark telecom feesThe US Federal Communications Commission announced in December that it will adopt a "benchmark" system whereby it measures fees that carriers in Japan and other nations charge US carriers to complete overseas calls. US rates will serve as the benchmark standard, and overseas carriers failing to reciprocate with comparable rates will be essentially barred from entering the US market. In particular, the FCC is demanding that NTT reduce its connection fee to 15 cents per call within a year, less than one-third the current level. Otherwise, NTT could face restrictions or even exclusion from the US market. Analysts say the move could be a major roadblock for NTT, which has been authorized to enter the international sector; it may not be willing or able to comply with such a dramatic rate decrease within such a short time span.
Hitachi gets Mondex business Meanwhile, Hitachi and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) have signed a partnership agreement to promote the use of the Mondex electronic money system in Asia. The companies will invite officials from the Chinese telecommunications bureau to Hong Kong for a demonstration, and will tap into the strong interest in Mondex from other Asian countries hoping to turn it into the region's de facto standard.
NEC to supply VSATs to Russia
IN 50 WORDS OR LESSNisshin Electric is moving into the systems integration (SI) business, specializing in the design, development, andÅ@maintenance of secure corporate intranets on an outsourcing basis. The company has formed marketing partnerships with several large domestic SI firms, and may establish a full-fledged development presence in the US.Hitachi has released a data warehouse development package targeting divisions in large corporations and small and midsize firms. The company currently offers four packages, ranging from an entry-level Windows NT server-based package to a full-fledged set centered around a cluster-type Unix server. Yokogawa Digital Computer (YDC) has teamed up with Nihon DEC in the electronic data interchange (EDI) business. The companies will market systems based on the DEC Alpha server bundled with Yokogawa's ACMS EDI software. From April, Toshiba will sample-ship an IC card with a built-in 8-bit CPU. The CX3000 series will support ISO and EMV standards and contain 6KB of ROM and 128 bytes of RAM. Volume production will begin in June 1997, and Toshiba aims to ship 12 million units in FY1997. Sumitomo Corp. has made a $5 million investment in California-based Terayon that allows it to sell the US firm's cable TV modems in Japan. Sumitomo will initially supply the modems to CATV operators in which it has financial stakes. NEC plans to enter the telephone service business. It is negotiating interconnections between its leased-line network and NTT's local telephone grid. Ordinary telephone subscribers would be able to use NEC's network simply by dialing 0091 before the phone number. Tokyo-based Information Services International Dentsu (ISID) has formed a partnership with California-based venture firm Enterprise Productivity Systems (EPS) under which it will develop and sell Java software. Nihon Silicon Graphics (NSG) and Toshiba Engineering have formed a partnership in the systems integration and customer support sectors. The two firms also plan to work together to develop new computer graphics applications in the CAD/CAM sector as well as digital content for other applications. Newsbriefs are based on materials provided to Computing Japan by Digitized Information
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