[AWS construction, operation and maintenance] Game information media site | Active Gaming Media

This time, we spoke to Mr. Kawase of Active Gaming Media Co., Ltd. about the background behind the introduction of Beyond's cloud construction, operation and maintenance service, and his impressions after actually using the service.

--Please tell us about your company's business.

Mr. Kawase : We are engaged in a wide range of businesses in the form of games x global expansion. We provide various localized services, such as global PR businesses specializing in games, customer support and community management, and publicize game sales.

I am in charge of AUTOMATON's media business department. AUTOMATON is a game media site that currently has two versions, a Japanese version and an English version, with a total of 10 to 15 million views per month. AUTOMATON itself originally started as a personal blog, and there were problems in operating it as a corporate business, but since it started to grow, we have been supported by Beyond.

 

 

――Please tell us the background that led you to introduce our service.

Mr. Kawase : Around the beginning of 2020, a media site built using a CMS was attacked by a DDoS attack, and the site became unviewable. Inaccessibility on news sites is fatal. Although in-house engineers took initial action and the site was restored, it was still at risk. At that time, I realized that although we have a variety of engineers within our company, they were weak when it came to web operations. I felt that this situation was not good enough, so I started considering asking an external partner and decided to use Beyond's services.

--How did you find out about Beyond?

Mr. Kawase : I found Beyond through a web search, and one of the things that appealed to me at first was that the office was close to my company. At the time, I thought that if I had a problem, I could go straight to the office and ask. As a result, I never had to go to the office for service or trouble, so looking back, I feel that the location didn't matter.

Active Gaming Media Co., Ltd. BtoC Business Department AUTOMATON Division Manager Ayuro Kawase

--In the end, what made you choose our company?

Mr. Kawase : At that time, when we requested a quote, there was a delay between the request for a quote and the reply regarding the status of consideration. From a sales perspective, you want to get started as soon as you get a quote. However, since I am also in charge of editing and sales for AUTOMATON, and I was prioritizing various tasks, I ended up having to wait. I felt apologetic, but the person in charge said, ``It's fine as is, I'll wait.'' When I tried to move forward with a specific discussion, he said, ``I'll listen, so let's talk directly.'' When I wanted to move forward, he moved forward, but he didn't seem to be stubborn, and was very responsive. I felt the slowness. Since I was able to interact at my own pace, I felt that this was a company with deep pockets, so I decided to work with them immediately.

Thinking about it now, I think it was important that he said, ``Let's talk directly.'' By actually coming to visit us rather than by phone or email, I felt that they might come to help me if something happened, and I felt that they would go out of their way to support me when things were important, and I felt that they were very dedicated. I felt that. I think that encouraged me.

--What kind of services do you use Beyond's services for?

Mr. Kawase : We are requesting server maintenance and operation for a game media site. Since it is separated from the server that was originally managed in-house, we also ask them to build the server at that time.

--In what ways does Beyond help you?

Mr. Kawase I think the first thing the quality of the service is high Anyway, the response is quick and they make it clear whether they can respond or not. I think it's very important not to skimp on the ball during exchanges, and he's been doing that very well.

When something happens during maintenance operations, someone picks up the ball right away, and while the response time varies depending on the case, they clearly indicate things like ``I can do it or I can't do it'' or ``I can do it or I can't do it.'' Masu. I think it's actually quite common for the conversation to fade and disappear, but I feel like they're responding by actively picking up the ball. I sometimes end up asking for vague advice, but since I can clearly tell you what I know and what I don't know without being ambiguous, I feel like this is a good fit for me as I don't like things that are too ambiguous. Masu.

Another thing I think is I like the attitude of all the engineers . I'm not trying to be frank, but even if I give a simple answer, I might be happy to say something like "That's outrageous," although it may not be necessary. I feel like people are taking good care of me, and there are many engineers who care about me, so I feel like it's okay to ask for advice. I feel that everyone has really good communication skills as I interact with them.

--Please tell us your impressions after using our service.

Mr. Kawase : Beyond's maintenance and operation services are I feel that the quality of the service is guaranteed no matter who comes in There are probably shifts and the person in charge changes depending on the time, but everyone picks up the ball and responds well, so I feel that they are well trained within the company.

Before I signed a contract with Beyond, I was nervous about what would happen if something were to happen. However, since he started working with Beyond, he has been able to provide "psychological safety" by knowing that I feel that way, so I can't imagine canceling the contract. They even set up a base in Canada to handle nighttime operations.

--Why do you continue to use our service?

Mr. Kawase : It protects our lifeline, so there's no reason to stop it... (lol)

--What is expected of us in the future?

Mr. Kawase : I think the current service quality itself is excellent, so I would like to see it maintained. As a company grows, it will invest in new things, but I think there is a tendency to not invest in things that are working well. It would be sad if we were to lose our footing and the quality of our service deteriorated as a result, but I think the quality of our operations has earned the trust of many people, so I hope they will continue to do so.

--Please tell us about your future business development.

Mr. Kawase : AUTOMATON is a game information site and media that was born in Japan, but the English version is growing significantly in Europe and America, and although it is still a long way off, it is possible that the English version will overtake the Japanese version. . At that time, I think we also need to consider things like servers.

In the future, AUTOMATON will not only be a news site, but we are also considering creating special landing pages and mini-games within the site, so we will be able to develop it as a web service with various functions. No matter what we do, when it comes to actually implementing it, I'm sure there will be parts that we will ask Beyond to do, so I hope we can continue to work together.

--Thank you very much for your valuable talk today!