Koji’s and Yochi’s Story

Why did you choose to get certified with EXIN?

In many Japanese companies, “Digital Experience (DX)” is discussed frequently. While these companies advocate for DX, in reality, only Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has been implemented. Perhaps only Marketing Automation has gone as far as being introduced in some businesses, these situations in my opinion are far from true Digital Experience.

As a group of data management professionals, we have been promoting the maintenance and utilization of corporate data. There was a need to change the misconceptions many companies have about DX. However, there was no clear definition of DX in Japan, and no way to introduce the concept with confidence.

Therefore, by learning VeriSM, we learned what DX was and what was necessary to implement it. In addition to this, we organized ourselves around the idea of how to promote DX from a data analysis point of view.

Digital services can be broken down into “data” and “processes.” We combined the “data” area with the Data Management Body of Knowledge and our experience and methodologies. We then developed consulting services from the data perspective that contributed to our overall understanding of DX.

What value did the certification bring you?

As we are in the Digital Experience era, we prioritized ensuring that all employees obtained the VeriSM Foundation certification as essential knowledge. As a result, we were able to create a common understanding of DX within our company and foster a culture where all employees voluntarily learn and think about what they should do.

In addition, we are not only talking about techniques, but we are also learning about how an organization should be and how to learn, such as having the capabilities and organizational culture necessary for a digital organization. In the future, we would like to make it mandatory for managers to obtain the VeriSM Professional certification.

Why should others get certified with EXIN?

We would recommend getting an EXIN certification because nowadays, no business can exist without IT, and the exam content that EXIN offers in their certifications are essential skills.

EXIN’s certification programs are systematically organized and cover a wide range of topics. This wide range of certifications greatly contributes to the building of employees’ career plans. Additionally, for companies that want to utilize IT to expand their business, it will contribute to understanding the knowledge level of their employees.

Koji Ogawa Since 1998, I have been working for the Data Research Institute, Inc. as a consultant specializing in data management. I am currently the Managing Director and General Manager of it’s Consulting Group. I have led over 100 projects in systemization planning and requirements definition for system restructuring, using data modeling techniques developed in-house based on a data-centric approach. One of my strengths lies in the design of MDM (Master Data Management) systems. I have worked in a wide range of industries, including electricity and gas, banking, insurance, steel, materials, office furniture, manufacturing, temporary staffing, automobiles, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals. I am currently helping organizations to embed data governance and management and to introduce metadata management to promote data utilization.

Yoichi Ito I have been working as a Senior Consultant Manager specializing in data management at the Data Research Institute, Inc. I am responsible for data management education. I am also a member of the Information Processing Engineer Examination Committee of the Information-technology Promotion Agency in Japan (IPA). My main activities are as an educator. I have trained more than 1000 data modelers, data architects, and data stewards. These people go on to instigate data management taking root in organizations. My strengths are in assessment, organizational development, and strategy formulation. Major support industries have covered a wide range of areas, including retail, banking, the public sector, insurance, electricity, materials, manufacturing, internet services, advertising, temporary staffing, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals. Currently, in order to develop people capable of data governance, I am working on developing future Chief Data Officers and Chief Data Architects, and fostering data management capability in companies.