Keigo Ando (安藤啓吾), Executive Officer, CIO and Head of IT at Macnica Holdings, discusses the role IT departments should play in the AI era. He outlines a vision of using DX as a driving force for organizational transformation, centered on Vision2030.
Macnica, which has built its business around semiconductors and security, has set out a transformation into a “services and solutions company” under Vision2030. Keigo Ando (安藤啓吾), who oversees the IT function, reflected on how he has promoted DX as the core of organizational transformation, drawing on more than 30 years of IT experience, and expressed the view that “building systems itself will no longer be the job of IT.”
Ando emphasized the importance of each employee having a clear understanding of and buy-in for the changes, and explained the phased approach to expanding DX across the company. The initiative began with the introduction of translation and scheduling tools, followed by a cross-functional DX promotion project and the establishment of a “Digital Execution Factory.” The goal is to build a framework that enables everyone to advance DX quickly.
He also discussed a policy of developing “DX Core Talent.” Through hands-on development experience and citizen development, employees will be enabled to improve their own operations, with the expectation that they will involve those around them when they return to their departments. He stressed that the IT department should shift to upstream processes and that it is important to make effective use of personnel with operational and domain knowledge.
He described a cycle for turning the company’s internal DX expertise into customer value. The IT Division should act as “Customer Zero,” sharing its internal initiatives with the business divisions, creating value for customers, and bringing know-how gained from external initiatives back into the company.