Growth through M&A, Partnerships, and Product Lineup Expansion

「As part of this initiative, the company operates NextGen CaMP, a forum that organizes partner companies to strengthen cooperation among cloud-service providers and promote information and technology exchange. A total of 21 companies, including NTT Docomo Business, are currently members.」

「The Group sells its products and services directly to major telecommunications carriers, which have been customers since its founding. For government agencies and general corporate customers, it sells through telecommunications-focused SI partners with which it has capital and business alliances, including EXEO Group,Inc., SAXA,Inc., NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation and TSUZUKI DENKI CO.,LTD.」

「The company operates NextGen CaMP, a CPaaS marketplace and community for partners providing services using the Group's U-cube CPaaS products, serving as a forum for reciprocal service use, information exchange and interaction. The Group specializes in connecting different communications services, and by providing the CPaaS platform it developed, promotes partners' cloud-service development while enabling reciprocal use of those services to expand the communications-services market. At present, 18 companies support the initiative.」

「The Group's U-cube CPaaS communications platform has been generating steady sales, including through a collaborative project integrating it with the automated voice-response service of Denwa Hoso Kyoku Co., Ltd.」

「Beginning this fiscal year, the company established NextGen CaMP, a membership-based community that enables the reciprocal use of cloud applications developed by partner companies using U-cube CPaaS. The call-center solution for the Construction Skills Human Resources Organization described above is an implementation case created through this collaboration with the TSUZUKI DENKI Group.」

「Beginning this fiscal year, the company established NextGen CaMP, a membership-based community that enables the reciprocal use of cloud applications developed by partner companies using U-cube CPaaS. The call-center solution for the Construction Skills Human Resources Organization described above is an implementation case created through this collaboration with the TSUZUKI DENKI Group. The company aims to promote effective use of CPaaS in the domestic market and further expand the market by increasing membership and facilitating interaction and information exchange among members.」

「The company also announced that it would collaborate with EXEO Digital Solutions Co., Ltd. and Fixpoint Inc. in a three-company initiative to develop solutions for the ITOM (Information Technology Operations Management) market.」

「On 23 December 2022, the company entered into capital and business alliance agreements with NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation and Iwatsu Electric Co., Ltd. With NEC Networks & System Integration, it will develop and sell value-added services using its CPaaS and jointly establish an application marketplace. With Iwatsu Electric, it will establish a delivery model for cloud PBX services and services for contact centers using its CPaaS.」

「As IP and cloud adoption advances, cloud environments can now provide services without limiting the scale of users, from large to small. We therefore regard consolidating cloud-technology expertise across the Group as a key management issue, and decided to integrate Acrossway and strongly pursue initiatives to acquire and expand market share by integrating service planning and development capabilities with the planning, operation and maintenance of cloud facilities.」

「The company decided to carry out an internal reorganization because integrating the process of incorporating market needs identified by its wholly owned subsidiary, NextGen Business Solutions, into the company's planning and development would accelerate decision-making. In addition, as the Group had shifted to location-independent remote work, the merger was expected to improve management efficiency by integrating and consolidating management resources.」

「Contracting company: NextGen Co., Ltd.　Counterparty: TSUZUKI DENKI CO.,LTD.　Agreement: Capital and Business Alliance Agreement　Date executed: 24 December 2021　Agreement details: A capital and business alliance agreement aimed at investing to accelerate and promote the business in cloud-service-related fields, thereby strengthening the business base and supporting business expansion and growth.　Term: From 24 December 2021 to 23 December 2024 (automatically renewed annually)」

「The company has also begun lending local 5G demonstration and field-trial environments to customers, and completed a field trial for an electric power company while promoting collaboration with Kyowa Exeo Co., Ltd., renamed EXEO Group,Inc. effective 1 October 2021.」

「The company's subsidiary jointly developed a telephone-response solution with NTT Neomate Co., Ltd. using its CPaaS platform, pluscomm, and received an order for and began operating a system for accepting vaccine orders for local governments. The software SBC NX-B5000 for Enterprise became the first Japanese product to receive certification as an SBC connecting Zoom Phone's fixed-line, mobile and IP telephony services provided by Zoom Video Communications, Inc. The company will strengthen cooperation with sales partners to increase license sales of the NX-B5000 for Enterprise.」

「U³ COGNI, the monthly speech-recognition BPO service, continues to be used. In addition, by entering into AI integration partnership agreements with Advanced Media,Inc. and AI SQUARE Inc., the company can now provide a wide range of functions as options for its speech-recognition BPO service.」

「On 30 June 2020, the company acquired all shares of Acrossway Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of LignApps Co., Ltd., itself a consolidated subsidiary of the company, making Acrossway a wholly owned subsidiary.」

「The Group's consolidated subsidiary LignApps will acquire shares in Acrossway Co., Ltd. to leverage Acrossway's CPaaS application development capabilities, expand the CPaaS infrastructure business and accelerate the development of WebRTC-related services.」

「The funds raised through this third-party allotment will be used to accelerate the local 5G business, promote the CPaaS business, expand cloud-service-related fields, and provide working capital in connection with increased opportunities to participate in large-scale projects, thereby strengthening the business base and supporting business expansion and growth.」

「The company began providing MSYS Omnis, developed by Marubeni Information Systems Co., Ltd. using Google's™ speech-recognition technology, on the monthly speech-recognition BPO service U³ COGNI under the name U³ COGNI Omnis. Inquiries about speech-recognition solutions are increasing from the standpoint of strengthening corporate compliance and improving operational efficiency, and the company is promoting sales through partners.」

「The company entered into a distributor agreement with Affirmed Networks, Inc. for EPC (Evolved Packet Core) products, expanding its portfolio of mobile-network virtualization solutions.」

「A capital and business alliance aimed at developing and expanding high-value-added services and applications through the companies' collaboration in the CPaaS business for DX, including joint development and reciprocal distribution, and at developing new customers and markets.」

「LignApps Co., Ltd., together with Accrete Inc., began considering the provision of SMS services on a CPaaS platform. This would enable customers to be directed to the company's website and support two-factor authentication, helping expand the SMS market going forward.」

「In response to growing demand for network security in Europe, the company entered into a distributor agreement with Blue Telecom Consulting, an international consulting firm in the telecommunications sector. It received an order for a security assessment for a major European telecommunications operator.」

「The company began selling the Nuance Transcription Engine, a speech-recognition engine of US-based Nuance Communications, Inc., under a sales partnership agreement entered into in the previous fiscal year, after incorporating it into the Group's products.」

「The company had been supporting the business recovery of neix Co., Ltd. At a board meeting held on 26 January 2018, it resolved to establish NextGen Business Solutions Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, and enter into an agreement to acquire the business from neix. Following the required court approval and other procedures under the Civil Rehabilitation Act on 6 February 2018, the business acquisition was completed on the same date.」

「The company had been supporting the business recovery of neix Co., Ltd. At a board meeting held on 26 January 2018, it resolved to establish NextGen Business Solutions Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, and enter into an agreement to acquire the business from neix. Following the required court approval and other procedures under the Civil Rehabilitation Act on 6 February 2018, the business acquisition was completed on the same date. ② Acquisition price: ¥140 million」

「・Entered into a software resale agreement with Avaya Japan Co., Ltd. and won specific projects. The company will expand sales and market share of VoIP solutions, focusing on major companies with contact centers, including financial institutions and non-life insurers with inquiry desks as well as contact centers. ・Began selling VoIP-related products as the authorized distributor in Japan for AudioCodes Ltd. (headquartered in Israel). AudioCodes is one of the leading companies in the VoIP market, developing, manufacturing and selling products in more than 100 countries. The company aims to strengthen sales by adding new products to its lineup. ・As a result of accelerating and promoting its partner business, the company has entered into distributor agreements with 5 companies in total, including Avaya Japan. It will conduct promotional activities, including private seminars involving partners, to increase the number of opportunities.」

「Kyowa Exeo Co., Ltd. Capital and Business Alliance Agreement A capital and business alliance aimed at increasing the corporate value of both companies and shareholder returns by providing higher-value-added services, developing new customers and markets, and developing and expanding sales of new technologies. From 3 February 2017 to 2 February 2020. Automatically renewed for 1 year unless otherwise requested.」

「As measures to address these issues, we will continue to consider M&A and other initiatives, including acquisitions, mergers, transfers and acquisitions of businesses, and business investments; deepen and expand relationships with domestic and overseas partners; and expand our product lineup.」