Dan's Desk
From Triangle's CEO
AVOIDING FALSE NEGATIVES – DON’T STOP WHEN THINGS ARE GOING WELL
How do you know if things are going well or poorly for you in penetrating the Japanese market? We expect to be signing three juicy deals in Japan in the coming weeks - term sheets or LOI's are already signed. Each of the deals is strategic for our Israeli Japan Desk client - *very* referencable lead customers who will increase both sales and valuation. Who could ask for more, right? But, ironically, in 2 of the 3 projects, the Japan Desk client wanted to stop midway because they did not think things were going well. Today they are thankful that they continued, but 2 different 2001 Japan Desk projects were in fact cancelled, just when they were going well and getting strong customer interest. Cutbacks, cash crunches, renewed focus - these were the now-standard apparent reasons for backing out.
Underlying all of these is a culture-based difficulty in assessing whether things are going forward, or are going nowhere. It is hard to get a clear picture of the inner workings of Japanese corporations. Since life-time employment is still the norm in Japan, and customer-supplier relationships are long term, much of organizational knowledge in Japan is implicit, hard to put into words or explain to the outsider, even if s/he is Japanese! Add that to the fact that communication among Japanese about delicate or ambiguous issues is often itself highly ambiguous and vague, and often can only be understood in a particular context - nonverbal cues, where the communication occurs, who is present, even time of day or sequencing, speed of response - all influence what a particular piece of "information" means.
And on top of that, market research in Japan ("Is there a market for our product?") is inherently problematic - hypothetical questions are hard to answer, and good market research is empirical, "wet". If the customer buys it, there must be a market. Now, let us figure out how many customers there are. There's more - since organizational decisions are consensual, who are you supposed to ask to find out if things are moving forward or not?
So, how can you tell if things are moving forward? What are the good signs?
This will be the subject of my next Dan's Desk!!
***ISRAEL-JAPAN NEWS***
+VISIONICS SIGNS DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH HOYA
Visionics signed a distribution agreement with Hoya to market Visionics new product, which helps optometrists select suitable eyeglasses for every type of face outline by means of 3D simulation.
***GENERAL TECHNOLOGY NEWS***
+I-MODE EXCEEDS 30 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS
NTT DoCoMo has more than 30 million subscribers of i-mode, its Internet connection service through a mobile phone. The company has achieved this in only 3 years since it launched the service in February 1999. The number of i-mode subscribers is now estimated to be a half of approximately 66 million mobile phone users in Japan, and three quarters of DoCoMo subscribers are using the i-mode service. About 2,000 official sites, which obtain charges through the DoCoMo’s billing system, and 510,000 unofficial sites are now available for a variety of services and contents.
+NEC INFRONTIA LAUNCHES A 54 MBPS WIRELESS LAN
NEC Infrontia plans to release new wireless LAN equipment, which will be used in offices for high-speed data communication. It is compatible with a new data communication standard of 54 Mbps at maximum. The product is compatible with the standard 802. 11b, and with the new 54 Mbps standard, 802. 11a.
+CATV ALLIANCE
Eight CATV companies based in the Tokyo metropolitan area will team up in a broad term, ranging from network interconnection to joint purchase of TV programs, and will integrate same fields of works among the alliance. The number of households who signed up from these eight companies totaled 0.5 million as of November 2001.
+SONY AND USEN IN CONTENT DISTRIBUTION ALLIANCE
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) tied up with Usen Broad Network on deployment of content distribution services for PlayStation 2 (PS2) game machines over broadband networks. Usen is scheduled to start the content distribution, including game software provided by SCE and other game companies, through its FTTH network by the end of April 2002. It will also provide a billing and collecting system.
+TOSHIBA DEVELOPS 30GB REWRITABLE OPTICAL DISC
Toshiba developed a new DVD-sized (120mm diameter) rewritable optical disc that can hold 30GB of data on one side. The disc, which has a single layer structure, is used with a 405nm wavelength blue laser that writes data onto it. It can store both DVD and Universal Disk Format (UDF) data files. Toshiba has not yet announced when the disc will become commercially available, but it would be ideal as a storage medium for DVD video recorders and PCs.
+MITSUBISI ELECTRIC DEVELOPS 3-D DISPLAY SYSTEM FOR MOBILE DEVICES
Mitsubishi Electric has developed a system that guides users around an area by displaying true-to-life 3-D images of the location on a mobile phone or PDA. To access the system, the mobile terminal must be equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor and a special engine for displaying 3-D images. The GPS sensor sends location data to the system server, which responds by transmitting geographical information and 3-D images to the terminal. In addition to providing map data and information about local shops and restaurants, the system can be used for virtual sightseeing.
+DOCOMO TURNS PDAS INTO MOBILE PHONES
NTT DoCoMo has developed a method of converting personal digital assistants and notebook computers into mobile phones. The new method uses a PHS (personal handyphone system) card containing a voice-communications function. The 5 x 4cm CompactFlash card, based on an ordinary PHS card with an e-mail exchange function and Internet access capability, is inserted directly into a PDA or notebook PC for digital voice communications. The card has a memory capacity for storing e-mail messages and other personal data equal to that of a music CD.
+BROADBAND HOUSEHOLDS TO TRIPLE TO 9 MILLION IN 2002
According to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the number of Japanese households hooking up to broadband communications networks is expected to reach 9 million by year-end, up from an estimated 2.8 million at present, helped by the proliferation of ADSL (asymmetrical digital subscriber lines). ADSL services alone are projected to win 400,000 new subscribers a month. After NTT launched a flat-rate ADSL service in December 2000, many firms followed suit, leading to sharp fee cuts. The rate has now dropped to the lowest level in the world, at about $23 per month. ADSL providers expect combined subscribers to reach 2.5 million households by the end of March, up from 1.2 million last November.
CATV, another broadband service, also projects a steady rise in subscribers, although the growth has slowed with ADSL services stealing its customers. The number of subscribers is forecast to increase from 1.15 million as of last September to 1.5 million at the end of March this year and to 2.0 million by year-end.
Fiber-optic lines will also see an increase in subscribers, luring them with an incredibly fast speed of 100 megabits per second. But the time-consuming work required to extend the lines into individuals' homes, and fees more than twice those of an ADSL, will likely limit the increase in subscribers to about 500,000 this year, said an analyst at a private think tank.
+INTERNET MARKETING USED BY 42% OF COMPANIES
According to a survey by Nikkei Market Access, a membership data-providing service, 42% of Japanese companies that utilize the Internet use online marketing on their Web sites.
All rights reserved to Triangle Technologies Ltd. or to the providers of the information. The information is for individual use only. The material contained in this document and/or any portion of it is intended to be strictly informational. Triangle Technologies Ltd. makes no claims concerning the validity or exactness of the information provided herein, and will not be held liable for any use, interpretation, or other implementation of said information
Authorized by Amir Lewkowicz - Marketing Communications Director
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