[Cloud deployment / operation maintenance] Corporate site | Niitaka -sama

This time, we spoke with Mr. Fujita of Niitaka Corporation's Information Systems Department about the background to their decision to introduce 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. Fujita: Niitaka is a manufacturer of commercial detergents and solid fuels, founded in 1963, and aims to be "a company that supports the 'cleanliness' of the world." Initially, we handled surfactant-related products, but we succeeded in developing solid fuels for inns and hotels, and gained the top market share in the industry. Since then, we have expanded our commercial detergent business and are providing environmentally friendly products such as "MySoft," a highly biodegradable dishwashing detergent, and non-hazardous dishwasher detergents.

Currently, our main business is the chemical business, which accounts for approximately 94% of our sales. We provide products to a wide range of customers, including the restaurant industry, hotels and inns, supermarkets, and food factories. In 2023, we acquired Biobank Co., Ltd., and entered the healthcare business

Our strength lies in being an independent company that handles everything from manufacturing to sales. We leverage this strength to respond quickly and flexibly to market needs and changes in society. We have also built a strong network with community-based dealers across the country, and instead of leaving it up to the dealers, we listen directly to customer needs and make thorough proposals to solve their problems

--Please tell us the background to the introduction of this service

Mr. Fujita: Up until now, we had the corporate website development company handle everything, including the infrastructure, but there were times when server management was outside their area of ​​expertise and they had difficulty responding. Furthermore, there had been talk of scaling back services in the infrastructure domain.

Additionally, since last year, we have been experiencing DDoS attacks from overseas, which have caused our corporate website server to frequently go down, and we were considering how to resolve this. This was around the time we were looking to expand overseas, but at the time the only solution we could offer was to block all access from overseas, and we felt that in order to respond appropriately, we needed to switch to a company that could provide specialized services, so we began to consider this

-How did you find out about Beyond?

Mr. Fujita: Our objectives this time were to strengthen security measures and server monitoring. After researching various companies, we came across several, but we felt that Beyond's services were the most suitable for our needs, so we proceeded with our consideration. We ourselves had previously outsourced some aspects of our operations, and we were not in a position to suddenly improve our skills, so one of our priorities was whether we could outsource everything to them.

--What was the deciding factor that ultimately led you to choose Beyond?

Mr. Fujita: While most operational services are generally based on a fixed-price system, what I found most appealing about your service was the wide range of services you could provide. As I mentioned earlier, we had a need to "outsource everything," so a service that allowed us to request a wide range of services, rather than having a detailed menu like other companies, suited our requirements. We didn't even know where to begin, so we got theyou were a company that could help us improve our security level while consulting with youand that's why we ultimately decided to entrust your services to you.

Furthermore, as access from overseas occurs during the nighttime hours, it is difficult to set up an internal system, so we felt that we needed a company that could monitor the situation 24 hours a day, and we also placed importance on the ability to respond in a timely manner

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

Mr. Fujita: We are requesting the construction, operation, and maintenance of a server from Sakura Internet for use on our corporate website.

--In what ways is Beyond being useful?

Mr. Fujita: I was impressed by their extremely flexible approach and quick response time. At first, I thought they might not have much knowledge about Sakura Internet's services, but they quickly gathered various information and made suggestions. Currently, thanks to various countermeasures, there are no attacks, but until the situation stabilized, the servers would sometimes go down at night, and they helped us out during those times. Previously, I would be scrambling to deal with issues after arriving at the office in the morning, but now, if anything happens, they contact me via chat and say, "This is what happened, and this is how we dealt with it, so there are no problems at the moment," which gives me peace of mind and is a great help.

Looking at the flow of chat messages,it seems that several people are taking turns handling the issue, but the process is handled smoothly, and it feels as if you're interacting with the same person until the incident is resolved. I really feel that the system is well-organized.

--Please tell us your impressions of using the service

Mr. Fujita: Along with the monitoring request, I also asked you to sequentially handle several tasks, such as migrating the server's OS version. Since I lacked detailed knowledge, I basically explained what I wanted to do, and we proceeded while receiving various suggestions. From our perspective, I feel that making these requests has made things much easier in many ways.

Even for the parts where other companies were involved, they created groups via chat and managed the project management side of things by communicating effectively, which was a great help to us

I'm very pleased that everything I hoped for and everything I wanted to request was accomplished within such a short period of time. I now feel confident that even if any new incidents arise in the future, we'll be able to handle.them

--What do you expect from us in the future?

Mr. Fujita: As long as you can maintain the current service level, there will be no problems with the things we have requested so far. We would like to think together about what else we could ask you to do, and how we can divide the responsibilities and proceed with handling the system aspects that we have.

As corporate websites become more interactive, it is expected that the number of targets for attack will increase. In that case, we would appreciate any information such as "This type of attack method is popular, so we should take measures against it," or advice or suggestions such as "This part should also be protected" when the site is updated and new content is added

-Please tell us about your future business development plans

Mr. Fujita: Up until now, we have mainly provided services to restaurants, but as a new business venture, we have started working to deliver our products to customers through different channels, such as providing cleaning agents to the agricultural and dental industries. In the process, we expect to increase sales of our products using web services, as well as direct sales. Therefore, we would like to proceed with the help of external parties, including Beyond, for parts that we cannot handle entirely in-house.

--Thank you for your valuable insights today!