2022年11月3日

What is needed to promote DX in Aomori?

What is DX Promotion in the first place?

With the evolution of information technology, we have recently been hearing the term DX Promotion in many different places in Aomori Prefecture. DX Promotion has been attracting attention for its importance, especially in the business scene.

However, not many people have a clear understanding of what DX promotion is and what DX is. In this article, we will introduce the reasons why DX promotion is attracting attention and its benefits, along with an overview of DX. We will also explain the issues that companies should address in the future, so if you are considering DX promotion, please take a look at this article.

DX promotion refers to the promotion of DX (Digital Transformation) within a company, a concept proposed by Swedish university professor Erik Stolterman in 2004 that "ever-evolving digital technology will affect people's lives and change them in every aspect, enriching their daily lives. In a nutshell, "digital technology is changing the way we live.

In a nutshell, DX means "using digital technology to change our daily lives and business styles for the better.

In a nutshell, it means "using digital technology to change our daily lives and business styles for the better.

DX promotion is especially important in business. It is not just about digitization of business operations, but also about reorganizing and reforming the organizational structure and framework by utilizing the latest IT technologies.

Difference from IT-ization

IT and DX are both used in the sense of introducing and utilizing digitalization, but there is a major difference in their ultimate purpose.

IT refers to information technology, which is technology that makes use of the Internet and other networks to do things conveniently, and to do various things and systems conveniently.

IT is also referred to as digitization, the preliminary stage of DX.

DX, on the other hand, is a term that refers to changes, reforms, and flows to make people, things, and companies more convenient by permeating services and mechanisms using such IT and other technologies.

DX has a broader meaning than IT-ization, and DX is seen as a step beyond IT-ization.

Background of DX Promotion

Digitalization has been changing society significantly, related to changes in consumer behavior due to the spread of smartphones and the increase in remote work due to the Corona disaster. This has led to the emergence of a number of companies that are developing new business models, products, and services. In order for companies to survive in such a competitive society, transformation through DX promotion is necessary.

The Cliff of 2025

The "2025 cliff" is a term used in the DX Report published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2018. The report predicts that a number of issues will loom ahead of companies around the year 2025. The current situation is that only a few companies are actually working to promote DX.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) strongly urges that if Japanese companies do not engage in digitization by 2025, they risk suffering economic losses of up to 12 trillion yen per year between 2025 and 2030.

DX Promotion Guidelines

In response to the 2025 problem, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) released "Guidelines for DX Promotion" in the same year. The DX Promotion Guidelines aim to clarify the issues and initiatives that management should hold in promoting DX, and consist of two parts: "Management approach and structure for DX promotion" and "Establishment of IT systems as a basis for DX realization. It is hoped that these guidelines will help companies promote DX.

Benefits of DX Promotion

The government is currently implementing a variety of measures to promote DX, but what benefits can companies gain from DX promotion?

There are three major benefits.

Increased productivity
Improved business continuity planning
Risk avoidance of outdated systems

The following are concrete explanations.

Productivity Improvement

Perhaps the greatest benefit of DX promotion is the ability to improve productivity and accuracy of operations through digitization. If operations can be optimized through digitization, work hours can be shortened, labor costs can be reduced, and accuracy can be improved by eliminating human error. With these benefits, employees will be able to focus on more important tasks.

Enhanced Business Continuity Planning

A business continuity plan is a plan that determines measures to minimize damage and smoothly continue operations in the event of a crisis situation such as a disaster or system failure. If business efficiency is improved by promoting DX, you can respond flexibly to such unforeseen situations. Business continuity planning is considered very important to ensure early recovery and resumption of normal operations.

Risk Avoidance of Old Systems

The biggest cause of the "2025 cliff" is the complexity and black box nature of the internal systems of Japanese companies. It is said that internal systems are often left unattended, having become complicated and difficult to use through repeated improvements. Leaving these old systems unattended makes it difficult to improve productivity, and maintenance costs are high. In addition, the number of personnel who can handle these systems without handing them over to the next generation will decrease, causing the systems to become black boxes. By reviewing and optimizing old systems through DX promotion, the risk of continued use can be avoided.

Challenges to DX Promotion

Here are three challenges that many companies face in realizing DX promotion.

Presentation of clear goals and management strategies
Building a consistent system
Securing and training IT personnel

Presentation of clear goals and management strategies

Many companies may understand the need for DX promotion, but are still searching for a specific direction. Trying to realize DX without clear goals and management strategies will end up with simple digitization of operations, which is far from the original objective of DX. In order to successfully promote DX, it is important to first solidify your company's management strategy in concrete terms, not in vague images.

Build a consistent system

The existence of outdated systems within a company is one of the reasons why DX promotion is lagging in many companies. One of the reasons for the increased complexity is probably that repeated system development from a short-term perspective has resulted in bloated systems and technological obsolescence, making it difficult to utilize data. As a result, the system became a black box and accumulated as a technical debt. When promoting DX, it is important to clean out the aging systems and ensure that consistent systems can be built.

Securing and Developing IT Human Resources

In Japan, many companies rely on outside IT firms because there are not enough IT personnel at upper management and in the field to promote DX. As a result, even when new services are launched, they cannot be immediately reflected if they are dependent on other companies for system development. In order to start operations earlier than anywhere else, securing and training IT personnel is a major issue for companies. As competition for IT personnel becomes more and more intense in the future, companies

Summary of DX Promotion

So far, we have provided an overview of DX, the reasons why DX promotion is attracting attention and its benefits, and the issues that companies need to address.

DX is not just a buzzword, but an important issue that companies should address in the future.

Society is undergoing major changes in response to the wave of digitization of the times. In the business industry, DX promotion is of particular importance, and many companies are being asked to make changes.

Since DX does not take effect immediately, it is necessary to steadily work on DX one by one.

In order to confront and overcome the problems we will face in the year 2025, we must tackle a variety of issues in the future, including DX promotion. Let us clarify our company's goals and take steps toward corporate reform with an eye toward the future.

Success will be achieved if you clearly define the goals you want to achieve, share them throughout the organization, and work to transform while making digitalization a reality.