"DataSpider Servista 4.2" Customer Interview: Part 1
"Having fun" brings out teamwork and creativity

Aiming to be a company that creates and provides services

Yokogawa Rental & Lease, which rents out IT equipment and measuring instruments, has recently undergone a major renewal of its in-house IT infrastructure. Executive Officer Toshiyuki Takakura recalls, "We felt that having fun was important."
What does it mean to "have fun"? We spoke to Takakura and Akio Hayata of the Information Systems Department to find out more.

As time goes by, the purpose becomes more specific.

This has enabled us to respond quickly to requests from each department, and we have begun to hear comments from within the company such as, "We might be able to make some interesting discoveries from this data," and "Wouldn't this job be more fun if we did it this way?"

Yokogawa Rental & Leasing's main business is the rental of IT equipment such as PCs and measuring instruments. We always provide the latest PC terminals in the condition that our customers need to suit their business. We also provide maintenance and operation services, and respond quickly to any breakdowns or malfunctions. In other words, it's like using a PC terminal like a cloud service, "whenever you want, as much as you want."

Cloud services are now being used for a wider range of purposes, not just for cost reduction, but also as a platform for linking data, a stepping stone to remote work and work-life balance, etc. Similarly, the purpose of rentals has changed from "reducing the hassle of purchasing and managing PC devices" to more specific goals such as "increasing productivity" and "reforming work styles."

In response to this, we decided to transform ourselves into a company that "creates" the things our customers want to achieve as services, rather than simply providing rental products. "Enjoying" this creation was a very important element.

"We're seeing results," but the people on the ground are tired

All development was done using the waterfall method. Whenever a rework occurred, we were forced to recover, and although we were able to achieve results, the people on the ground were exhausted. We could probably do it for another year. But could we do it after that?

Just as I was thinking that something needed to change, I had the opportunity to observe the DataSpider development team's Scrum development site. There, all team members participated, and high-quality information was being shared. I was struck by how lively and enjoyable the team members seemed to be at work.

We wanted to be like that, we wanted to change, we wanted to be different, so we decided to adopt an agile process.

Takakura-san
We were able to change the IT environment, but we realized that unless we changed the mindset of those using it, we would just be "using IT" as before. Rather than trying to make our current work more efficient, we needed to "create work" ourselves. It would be great if we could reduce the amount of work we had to do as a result, but we would then have to use that reduced effort to take on new work. We shifted our focus to how we could make our work enjoyable.

What effect does "enjoyment" produce?

Hayata-san
We decided to change our waterfall process to agile and give it a try! When we started using a task board, the team's efforts became visible and communication increased. We were able to share a sense of accomplishment within the team, and we felt that it had become more lively. I also realized that my previous methods and ways of thinking were not necessarily correct, and I was able to accept them and change them.

As a team, we thought together about how we could make things better, and by continuing to make improvements while reflecting on the process, we gained new insights and learned new things, and as we began to see results, it started to feel fun.

Now, the occurrence of rework has decreased dramatically, and we have more time and mental space to take on new challenges. We are also receiving more requests from other departments saying, "We want to do this." The other day, a public relations representative who was at an exhibition asked us, "Can we quickly view customer information in mission-critical system, core system?" and we responded, "Let's do it right away."

Takakura-san
Everyone thinks and thinks together, and the results come out of that - that's "fun." Ideas that come from "having fun" lead to new "fun." Saison Information Systems not only provides services, but they also recognized our goals and said, "That sounds interesting!" They helped us by introducing us to people with whom we could exchange opinions about agile and setting up a forum. This kind of attitude makes them a company that "creates" and provides services.

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List of "DataSpider Servista 4.2" customer interviews

Yokogawa Rental & Lease Co., Ltd. Case Study

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