[Celebration of ISAO's 20th Anniversary Interview] 20 years so far, and the next 20 years

Hello. This is Harada, who is in charge of PR.

Thanks to you, ISAO celebrated its 20th anniversary on October 1, 2019.

And October 1, 2019 is the birthday of the new ISAO.

Over the past 20 years, we have not only undergone major changes as a company, but also dramatically changed organizationally, such as the introduction of the "Variflat Model" in 2015, which eliminated departments, positions, and hierarchies.

This time, we spoke with two members who have known ISAO since its founding.

The members of the conversation are Mr. Okuno, who is still active in sales even after his sixth birthday, and Mr. Nishimura, the payment solution project leader.

Profile

■Shinichiro Okuno (born in 1958)

After joining CSK Co., Ltd. in 1981, he was involved in the ISP business of "Dreamcast" in 1998 as a project leader in the technical department. In 2000, he transferred to ISAO Co., Ltd. In 2010, he launched a cloud-managed service. Since 2012, he has been in the sales department, and in 2018, he celebrated his sixth birthday and is still working as a salesperson every day.

■Tatsuya Nishimura (born in 1964)

After joining Sega Enterprise (now Sega Group) in 1988, he participated in the ISP business of "Dreamcast" in 1998 as an operation department. In 2000, he transferred to ISAO Co., Ltd. Since 2004, he has been in charge of the Segakara ringtone service until the end of the service in 2012. Since 2013, he has been in charge of billing and payment services as an infrastructure engineer, and is currently the project leader of the billing and payment services.

１． Looking back on ISAO's 20-year history

**―On October 1, ISAO celebrated its 20th anniversary. And it is also the birthday of the new ISAO, so how about looking back on the past 20 years? **Nishimura:

ISAO was founded in 1999, but the Dreamcast business has been around since 1998, and I am sure I was involved in it from around the fall of that year, but by that time, Mr. Okuno had already been involved as a person in charge for several months, right?

Okuno:

I think it's been since the summer of 1998. At that time, there was a timing of "who will go to SEGA", and what would everyone do? In the midst of that, I suddenly decided to say, "Huh, me?" (laughs).

At that time, I wonder if it was in the form of a permanent consignment. After that, we talked about releasing Dreamcast three months later... That's where history began.

ISAO was born as the operator of Dreamcast's internet service

I worked in a place called Otorii, where SEGA's headquarters was located at the time, and I was involved as a project leader.

There was a team that created a network for Dreamcast and a team that created a program for Dreamcast.

As for the work places we have experienced, we started with the large torii, Roppongi, Gotanda, Yotsuya, and now Akihabara.

After Yotsuya, is it Sancha? I was thinking.

It **was 6, 5, and 4 in the number sequence (laughs). **Nishimura:

Oh, I was never aware of that, but I realized it just now. It's amazing (laughs).

Okuno:

I wonder if he was in Roppongi until about 2001? 2001 ~ 2006 is the Gotanda era. 2007~2011 was Yotsuya, and since the earthquake, the current office has been the longest since the earthquake.

Nishimura:

I had the feeling that the Gotanda era was the longest, but now the office has become the longest.

Okuno:

The era from Roppongi to Gotanda was almost a dreamcast-oriented era. After that, I feel that the main products have changed as the company's location has changed.

Nishimura:

After moving to Gotanda, I was also in the Internet business, but my number one earner was ringtones.

Okuno:

Oh yes. Mobile phones are also changing a lot over history. At the time of Dreamcast, the Internet itself was rare, and there were very few people with mobile phones. It's a very big one even if you hold it (laughs).

Nishimura: It's the era of analog mobile phones.

Okuno:

Then the i-mode service appeared, and it was very profitable at that time. But that is also becoming obsolete with the times.

After that, the Yotsuya era was tough~.

This was the time when various businesses began to be sold.

It was a time when the parent company began to tilt and I wondered what would really happen in the future. At that time, it was called "Dutch roll" in a popular term. It was such a situation that I didn't know where I was going.

Nishimura:

It's a plane crash. Spinning and unstable flight. ISAO was in such a state too.

Okuno:

By the way, I don't have a close business connection with Mr. Nishimura now, but at that time, ISAO was also doing e-commerce sites and other businesses, and there were sales. Summer sales and year-end and New Year sales. At that time, it wasn't a cloud, so I was using a normal server, so I had to check if the server was down.

At that time, Mr. Nishimura and I were always in the Gotanda office and were the server's watchers.

Nishimura:

That's right. At that time, my home, my parents' house, and my office in the Gotanda era were within 15 minutes of riding a bicycle. So from the end of the year to the beginning of the year, the home-office-parents' home cycle has been going on for many years.

Okuno:

The two of us really spent New Year's Eve together (laughs). I wonder how many years it has been~.

Nishimura:

For 3 or 4 years, I spent the New Year's Eve office era.

Okuno:

When there was a sale, someone had to stay up all night. It was a time when there was no proper shift system like now, and the person in charge had to take responsibility for it.

When I looked back at my old notebook, I was working on about 5 projects by myself.

Nishimura:

Anyway, clean up the work in front of you in order, and when you're done, yes, next! I was doing everything anyway.

**―From such a turbulent era, when is the timing of change? **Okuno:

Then in 2010, Toyota Tsusho became the parent company, and the office changed, and **the culture of ISAO changed a lot here. **

First of all, attendance. Basic behavior has become common sense for the time being. Well, there is also a historical background.

Nishimura:

In the Gotanda era, I usually went home at 2 a.m., but when I left, my greeting was "Excuse me first." It means that there were still people around at that time. Now, at least when I go home, no one is there.

Okumura: No, Mr. Nishimura still works a lot of overtime (laughs).

Nishimura:

That's right... But I really feel that it has decreased a lot...

Okuno:

No, I can reduce it even more! It was just an insane way of working at the time of comparison. Let's take the obvious things for granted now, let's take a long vacation. I think it has become a very clean company. Well, I think all Japanese companies at that time were like that.

**― Mr. Nishimura, there are rumors that you live in a company (laughs)? **Nishimura:

Ahaha (laughs). It must have been in the Gotanda era. Both my home and my parents' house were close to the office, so I could go home immediately even if it was late. Well, it is said that overtime is still the most, so I am working hard.

It's also a matter of my own time management ability, and the other thing is that I'm at an important juncture right now, and if I get through this mountain, I will be able to drastically reduce the number of things that only I know and be able to operate with technology that everyone knows.

Okuno:

I see, it means eliminating personality.

Nishimura:

That's right. If I can do that, I feel that I can afford to try another job.

2. I want to continue to be active in sales even after reaching my sixth birthday.

**―By the way, Mr. Okuno (born in 1958) celebrated his sixth birthday last year and was congratulated by all ISAO employees. **Okuno:

60 years is a long time (laughs).

When I was in the first grade of elementary school, I watched the Tokyo Olympics on black and white TV. I can see it for the second time next year. Moreover, I won a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics!

Nishimura:

That's good~! What did you hit?

Okuno:

The basketball finals are here! My sons were playing amateur basketball, so I really like watching the game. I watched it for 12 years with my eldest and second sons.

The basket also has the same rules as the old Slam Dunk original drawing era and the NBA rules.

Nishimura:

It also feels quite old.

Okuno:

No, no. **Times have changed. **

When I joined the company, it was a time when there were no computers. Everyone was working with paper and pencil.

There was no email, so I had to call. Also, I think there was a fax and a photocopier.

However, because I have been in the wave of digitalization related to IT, I have experienced changes in real time. That's why I think I can still sell without feeling uncomfortable even at the age of 60.

I had never worked in a professional sales position as a salesperson. Of course, I had to deal with customers as a project leader. I think it's been since around 2012? Since then**, I've been "Okuno of sales"**.

-What is the **driving force behind your continued active sales even after the sixth anniversary? ****Okuno: I guess it's because I'm at ISAO. **

If I had been a civil servant or a normal company, I might not have done it anymore. I guess it's because it's an environment where you can work regardless of age, and if you raise your hand, you can do it.

**-Do you have any thoughts on what kind of work you want to try in the future or what kind of career you want to build in the future? **Okuno:

I want to do something interesting without getting stuck in the frame. But I want to stay on site. Because the scene is really exciting. I would like to continue to cherish the environment where I meet new partners and interact with various people.

**―I would like to ask the two of you, what do you like about ISAO? ? **Okuno:

I have an attachment to the name ISAO~. The reason for the name is good, but I've been saying ISAO for 20 years. The rest is an unconventional company. In the past, it was full of difficult things, but I still managed to do it without conforming to the mold, and I still like the positive changes.

Nishimura:

I don't know if this kind of phrase is correct, but **I like the fact that it allows me to take responsibility even though it's free, and I feel happy. **

３． The future of ISAO. The next 20 years.

**-On the other hand, is there anything you feel is an issue for ISAO right now? **Okuno:

It's a challenge, or rather, it became a new ISAO from October. **It's the future of ISAO, isn't it? **What kind of lines will everyone say in 20 years from now? The current ISAO is a company with globalization and a proper mission and vision, so the challenge is to achieve them. I'm really looking forward to it because the starting point is different from the 20 years we have spent there.

**―What do you think, Mr. Nishimura? **Okuno:

Mr. Nishimura, **first of all, no overtime! ! **I'm a member of the safety and health committee (laughs).

Nishimura:

Put that aside for a moment... (Laughter). Is it an issue to do even better work in the current organization called Bali Flat? Detailed work like gaps. Or what to do with something that has entered a stable period from the challenge of new things, and whether we can do that without destroying the good points of ISAO.

Personally, I will be 55 years old this year. In five years, the so-called retirement age will be old, so I am old enough to have no one else's business. But my father was a craftsman and was active until he was 94 years old. Seeing that, I wonder if I will work for about 40 more years.

**Okuno: It's not the era of "living to be 100 years old", but the era of "working until 100 years old" (laughs). **Nishimura:

It's not forced. But I really want to be able to work until I'm 100 years old. I might be able to see the Olympics again in Tokyo (laughs).

Okuno:

I really like my job. But Mr. Nishimura is a hobby car racing fan, right?

Nishimura:

Yes, I like watching motorsports. Every year, the only day I use paid time off is to watch a car race (laughs).

Okuno:

Let's do our best while increasing our hobbies time! This interview gave me a short-term goal (laughs).

Nishimura:

That's right. I will do my best. Thank you very much.

**―Thank you both very much! **