Success Storiesー ICT

Tata Consultancy Services Japan, Ltd.

Tata Consultancy Services Japan, Ltd. is looking to transform Japan’s digital
landscape, partnering with Japanese enterprises and foreign-affiliated companies to
create business solutions powered by increasingly popular digital technologies like IoT
and AI. Mr. Amur S. Lakshminarayanan, Representative Director, President and CEO of
the company, talks about the current state of the company’s business in Japan and its
initiatives.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra,

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is India's
largest IT services company, and a part of the
Tata Group, which includes Tata Motors and
Tata Steel. Since its establishment in 1968,
TCS has been providing application
development and operation services, IT
system development and consulting services.
The Tata Group consists of more than 100 Mr. Amur S. Lakshminarayanan
Representative Director, President & CEO
companies across seven industries including Tata Consultancy Services Japan, Ltd.
telecommunications and energy. The group
five IT-related companies), Tata Consultancy
conducts its business in more than 100
Services Japan Limited and Nippon TCS
countries worldwide, with more than 690,000
Solution Center Limited.
employees.
TCS Japan, which was established with
the aim of meeting the needs of Japanese
companies, has about 2,700 employees (as
of April 1, 2018). A total of 7,000 employees
worldwide work for TCS Japan focused on
TCS first entered the Japanese market in the Japanese market. As Mr. Amur S.
1987. In that year, as the first Indian IT Lakshminarayanan (Lakshmi – as he
services company to operate in Japan, commonly known) describes, the company’s
established its sales office in Tokyo. sales performance is strong, the 2017 sales
Afterwards, the company established its having reached approximately 62 billion yen
Japanese subsidiary, Tata Consultancy (about 560 million USD). He explains the
Services Japan Limited in 2004. In 2012, it company’s current initiatives for the
established Nippon TCS Solution Center Japanese market saying, "We are trying to
Limited (a nearshore delivery center), in find business opportunities in new ways as
partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation. In we are now a merged company with an
July 2014, the new Tata Consultancy integrated corporate culture.”
Services Japan, Ltd. (TCS Japan) was
established through a merger of three Utilizing IoT and AI technologies
companies, namely Mitsubishi Corporation Lakshmi regards TCS Japan as a “hybrid
subsidiary IT Frontier Corporation company,” that has combined the strength of
(established in 2001 with the integration of the Japanese subsidiary of TCS, with its

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 Success Storiesー ICT

international knowhow, and the IT subsidiary ‘mass customization’ or ‘extreme

of Mitsubishi Corporation, with its extensive personalization’; second, creating
domest business expertise. TCS Japan is exponential value not only for customers but
currently focusing on business that utilizes also for employees and society as a whole;
IoT and AI technologies in this digital era of third, utilizing business ecosystems to
the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Lakshmi provide customers with more attractive
explains, “In the Japanese market, interest in products and services; and, fourth, embrace
digital technologies, such as IoT and AI, risks,” says Mr. Lakshmi.
increased sharply in 2016, and business He describes the present IT era with these
opportunities have been increasing.” The requirements as "Business 4.0,” and
Ministry of Internal Affairs and proposes it as a framework for use by
Communications estimates that IoT and AI companies trying to survive in the digital era.
technologies will contribute to an increase in On mass personalization, Mr. Lakshmi
Japan’s real GDP of 132 trillion yen by 2030 emphasizes: “Personalization used to be for
(2017 White Paper on Information and each individual, but in this digital era, when
Communications in Japan), and TCS Japan an individual makes multiple transactions,
will play a certain role in this growth. personalization is required in each
As a pioneer in the digital era, TCS Japan transaction. This type of customization
is working on developing new business should be made not only in B-to-C but also in
models in collaboration with Japanese B-to-B business.”
companies. One of the models is the use of TCS Japan opened a Japan-centric Delivery
IoT and AI technologies in the operation of Center (JDC) in September 2015, within TCS
thermal power plants. By introducing AI and Sahyadri Park in Pune, India. This was to
IT, the operation of thermal power plants can strengthen the company’s ability to provide
be optimized and the associated nitrogen services to Japanese customers. It also
dioxide (NOx) emissions contolled, which opened a training facility called “Hikari
would result in a reduction of the Academy” for learning Japanese business
environmental impacts. practices and the Japanese language to
TCS has developed a system that enables enhance the provision of attentive services
the application of IoT and AI technologies that customers in Japan expect. The academy
across all industries. The system is the provides TCS employees training to deepen
world's first neural automation system with AI their understanding of Japan.
for enterprises and was named “ignio™”. The Lakshmi explains: "We provide customers
system makes accurate operational with services by combining our expertise,
predictions and can take prompt and
autonomous actions by collecting information
and learning like a human brain. This makes
it applicable to various operations within a
company where it can improve efficiency by
identifying the root causes of system failures.

Training facilities in India to specifically

meet the needs of Japanese companies
"What is important in this digital era is, first, Japan-centric Delivery Center (JDC)

Copyright (C) 2018 Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). All rights reserved.
 Success Storiesー ICT

global talent and knowledge about the become a catalyst for digital innovation.” He
Japanese market in an optimal manner. This continues that many Japanese firms are
is our hybrid solution. The JDC plays an “seeking opportunities for overseas
important role in such customer service expansion as the domestic market shrinks
delivery. We also opened another JDC in due to the declining population, while also
Nagpur and already placed 300 to 400 facing the challenges of digitalization in
employees there. We second employees Japan. This is a chance for us to help
from the JDCs to Japan and vice versa.” Japanese companies to digitalize and
globalize their business. Additionally, the
Supporting Japanese companies to digitalization of Japanese society itself also
digitalize and globalize their business presents another opportunity for us to grow
At its headquarters in India, TCS focuses our business.”
on co-innovation with other companies and
academia, as seen in the establishment of Support from JETRO
the India Innovation Center in April 2017 in JETRO provided temporary office space as
Bengaluru in collaboration with Panasonic well as information on office locations as the
India Pvt. Ltd. TCS Japan is also focusing on company was preparing to open its office in
co-innovation with other companies as Osaka. Mr. Lakshminarayanan thanked
evidenced in the launch of the Co-Innovation JETRO for its support on the occasion. He
Network (COIN™) in Japan. Lakshmi said that “in addition to providing the
emphasizes: "Co-innovation can be achieved necessary support for companies
by bringing together a network of universities, establishing or expanding a foothold in Japan,
start-ups, client companies, and our own JETRO also plays a crucial role in
company. It is easier to achieve positive encouraging them to do so.”
outcomes if we can utilize the knowledge of
other companies, develop and create things
jointly than by trying to make innovation on (Interviewed June 2018)
our own. COIN™ is a network for
co-innovation and our clients are at the
center of that network.”
TCS Japan is also focused on enhancing
its brand perception in Japan. As one part of
this effort, the company has sponsored a
team in the Japanese Super Formula
Championship since 2017. In order to
increase the popularity of motorsports in
Japan, TCS has become the title sponsor of
TCS NAKAJIMA RACING led by Satoru
Nakajima, the first Japanese full-time F1
driver. TCS is also working with the team on
improving the efficiency and accuracy of race
and machine data analysis.
On the company’s future business
aspirations, Mr. Lakshmi says: "We want to

Copyright (C) 2018 Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). All rights reserved.
 Success Storiesー ICT

Company history

1968 Establishment of Tata Consultancy Services in Mumbai, India

1987 Entry into the Japanese market, as the first by an Indian IT services company
2004 Establishment of Japanese subsidiary, Tata Consultancy Services Japan Limited
2012 Establishment of Nippon TCS Solution Center Limited (a nearshore delivery center) with
Mitsubishi Corporation
July 2014 Establishment of Tata Consultancy Services Japan, Ltd. Through merger of three
companies; IT Frontier Corporation (established in 2001), Tata Consultancy Services
Japan Limited, and Nippon TCS Solution Center Limited

Tata Consultancy Services Japan, Ltd.

Establishment: July 2014

Business overview: IT services, consulting, and business solutions
Parent company: Tata Consultancy Services
Address: 4-1-4 Shibakoen Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8508
URL: https://www.tcs.com/jp-ja/home

Support from JETRO

― Provision of a temporary office space

― Introduction of a real estate agency
― Support for job matching

Copyright (C) 2018 Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). All rights reserved.