TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) and Box (NYSE:BOX) announced they have
entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with regard to a
strategic partnership in the content management space. Under the
proposed partnership, Fujitsu would deploy Box to the approximately
160,000 employees across its internal communication platform. In
addition to improved content management, Box will help control storage
expansion costs that grow in line with increased volumes of data storage.
Fujitsu will use Box internally and, leveraging the knowledge gained
through this experience, intends to integrate Box into global
communication solutions. Under the proposed partnership, the two
companies would jointly roll out solutions tailored to specific
industries, and also plan to make Box available to Japanese customers as
part of the FUJITSU Digital Business Platform MetaArc (MetaArc).
In light of their initial experience in the Japanese market, Fujitsu and
Box also aim to expand the collaboration into the global market,
including joint investment in Asia.
Fujitsu has been building its global group-wide communications platform
since January 2012. Leveraging the knowledge gained from this internal
implementation, Fujitsu seeks to provide communication platforms as
solutions capable of supporting customers in various industries and
business categories, and going forward, to develop solutions with an
even greater level of convenience to meet customer needs. Fujitsu also
aims to provide solutions that integrate the cutting-edge ICT of MetaArc
with Box for a content management platform with even higher quality.
Proposed Partnership overview
Deploy Box to Fujitsu’s Global Communication Platform
Fujitsu will explore deploying Box to its globally integrated
communication platform, and expects to begin making it available to the
approximately 160,000 Fujitsu employees worldwide in the latter half of
Fujitsu’s fiscal 2016 (fiscal year ending in March 2017). This will
empower simple and secure information sharing as well as consolidated
content management, further accelerating collaboration in the enterprise
environment. It will also enable control of storage expansion expenses
incurred with growing volumes of data.
Offer Box from Fujitsu’s data centers in Japan
Fujitsu plans to offer Box as one part of its MetaArc service beginning
in 2017. This will allow Box content to be stored in Fujitsu data
centers located in Japan, meeting the needs of those customers who
require data storage at data centers inside the country.
Develop solutions that integrate Box, and conduct joint sales and
marketing
Leveraging its own experience using Box, and based on its track record
of supporting so many customers transform their workstyles, Fujitsu
intends to launch new solutions that combine its global communication
platform with Box. Fujitsu is targeting this for the second half of its
fiscal 2016.
Box and Fujitsu intend to jointly develop solutions for CRM, ECM, and
industry-specific solutions such as for manufacturing, retail, and
public sectors. This will be done by integrating Box with Fujitsu’s
solutions, specialized for various industries and with advanced features
such as security, mobile devices, network capability, and palm vein
authentication. To promote these, Fujitsu and Box intend to jointly
conduct marketing activities.
Global rollout
Following successful collaborative efforts in Japan, Fujitsu and Box
intend to explore ways to target a wider global market. In Asia, a
particularly promising region for growth, the companies will consider
expanding their collaboration with an eye toward joint investments in
sales and marketing activities so as to better address the requirements
of local customers.
Company quotes
Fujitsu
“Fujitsu’s objective is to bring Digital Transformation to life by
creating a secure, user-friendly, and simple environment where people
can thrive. Our collaboration with Box will be a big step towards making
this vision a reality. This partnership will help us to provide our
customers with new business opportunities by harnessing cloud-computing
technologies. It fits perfectly with our strategy, and it will
contribute significantly to the future of ICT.”
Fujitsu Limited, Corporate Executive Officer, EVP, Head of Global
Marketing, Hiroyuki Sakai
Box
“Global businesses today are more connected, collaborative and global
thanks to the power of the cloud. Fujitsu’s move to Box underlines its
appetite for improved ways of working in the new digital era. The
intended partnership will help power digital transformation for
customers and we’re excited at the possibilities to accelerate
international growth with Fujitsu.”
Co-founder and CEO, Aaron Levie
Box Japan
“We’re thrilled to be working with Fujitsu to identify ways of creating
transformative software for Japanese businesses in every industry. Our
intended partnership will help more organizations to benefit from
entirely new ways of working by providing technology which enables
secure collaboration and content management.”
Katsunori Furuichi, President and managing director, K.K. Box Japan
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology
(ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions,
and services. Approximately 156,000 Fujitsu people support customers in
more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to
shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited
(TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.7 trillion yen (US$41
billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. For more information,
please see http://www.fujitsu.com.
About Box
Founded in 2005, Box (NYSE:BOX) is transforming the way people and
organizations work so they can achieve their greatest ambitions. As a
leading enterprise content management platform, Box helps more than
57,000 businesses, including Eli Lilly and Company, General
Electric, KKR & Co., P&G and The GAP securely access and manage their
critical information in the cloud. Box is headquartered in Redwood City,
CA, with offices across the United States, Europe and Asia. To learn
more about Box, visit www.box.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the expectation
that Box and Fujitsu will enter into a binding partnership agreement;
the benefits that are expected to result to Box, Fujitsu, their
customers and other stakeholders from a partnership agreement between
Box and Fujitsu; the potential deployment of Box to Fujitsu’s 160,000
employees; the deployment of Box using Fujitsu’s data centers for
content storage in Japan; Box and Fujitsu’s planned joint sales and
marketing strategies; and the integration of, and anticipated growing
customer demand for, and future sales of, Box’s and Fujitsu’s services,
technologies and joint solutions. Statements including words such as
"anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", “future” or “will” and
statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. The
achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking
statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which, if they
do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of
the anticipated partnership between Box and Fujitsu to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are
not limited to, risks associated with the negotiation and execution of a
partnership agreement; changes in product plans or roadmaps; product
development or integration delays; market acceptance of, and customer
demand for, the companies' products and services; and changes in the
relationship between Box and Fujitsu due to the business environment,
competitive factors or other factors. Further information on these and
other factors that could affect the anticipated partnership between Box
and Fujitsu or the financial results derived therefrom, can be found in
the documents that Box files with or furnishes to the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed
by Box. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based
on information available to Box as of the date hereof. Box assumes no
obligation, nor does it intend, to update these forward-looking
statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise
after the date on which this press release was first issued.
