[Web System Development | AWS Deployment and Operation Maintenance] Tokyo Shoseki

This time, we asked Tokyo Shoseki Co., Ltd., a company that uses Beyond's web system development, cloud construction, and operation and maintenance services, about their actual usage situation and impressions

The guests are Mr. Shimada from Tokyo Shoseki Co., Ltd., who oversees the service, as well as Mr. Akiba, Mr. Hino, and Mr. Miyashita, who are in charge of the services [total ID], [Tabudori Live!], and [More NIMOT for Everyone! (hereinafter referred to as NIMOT!)]

Tokyo Shoseki Co., Ltd. (from right to left):
Mr. Masato Shimada, General Manager, Educational Systems Development Department, DX
Development Headquarters, Educational DX Division; Ms. Ayaka Hino, Section Chief, Second Team, Educational Systems
Development Department, DX Development Headquarters, Educational DX Division; Mr. Koji Miyashita, Educational Systems Development Department, DX Development Headquarters,
Educational DX Division; Mr. Takeaki Akiba, Team Manager, System Development Management Team, Educational Systems Development Department, DX Development Headquarters, Educational DX Division　

--Please tell us about your company's business

Mr. Shimada: Tokyo Shoseki was founded in 1909 (Meiji 42), and its corporate philosophy is "Developing people through education and culture," aiming to cultivate unique and creative individuals who can take on the challenges of the new era. It is the largest publisher in the textbook industry, with the highest number of textbooks published for elementary, junior high, and high schools. In recent years, it has also focused on the development and sale of educational digital content, such as digital textbooks. In addition, it is engaged in a wide range of business activities related to education and culture, including the operation of a comprehensive educational portal site, various evaluation projects such as academic and physical fitness tests, and the publication of general books.

――Please tell us the background to your decision to introduce our services

Akiba-san:At the time, various educational materials services were being developed by each department, and each had its own unique login function. As a result, users using the services at schools had to register for individual accounts for each system, which was cumbersome. In this situation, every time a new product was added, we had to develop a separate login function, which was a great burden for both our company and our users. Against this backdrop, there was a growing need to integrate the login functions.

This led to the launch of an internal project, and we came to know Beyond through a company we had previously worked with

Initially, we started off by discussing "Once development was complete, we would only ask them to operate the infrastructure," but when we heard that they were also involved in development, Beyond emerged as a potential candidate. At the time, several development companies had been considered, but some of them were unfamiliar with the cloud

Although we were still in the planning stage of a full-scale cloud implementation, we decided that cloud compatibility was essential, given the changing times and the expected increase in the number of users in the future. In that regard, Beyond's extensive track record and high level of cloud technology make them extremely trustworthy and we felt we could entrust them with the project with confidence, so we decided to ask them to handle the development

What made the biggest impression on our company was that they had a track record with major gaming companies. During our initial meetings, we learned that they specified the service's response speed down to the decimal point, and we were confident that we could entrust them with processing a large number of users

First, they established a track record with "total ID," so we introduced them to Beyond when planning other in-house projects such as "Tabudori Live!" and "NIMOT!"

--Specifically, what are some areas where Beyond has been useful?

Akiba-sama:'total ID' is a system for managing accounts, and only a small part of it is visible externally. Although not visible on the surface, various processes are executed in the backend to link various services. We appreciate that you are handling all of these processes smoothly. In particular, we receive a large number of inquiries from users when the fiscal year changes, and the engineers respond quickly to those inquiries as well.

They also help us with operational aspects, and we appreciate their quick response time and the feedback they provide after carefully determining whether they can handle our requests. In the development field, new projects arise one after another, and there are times when we are unsure about the specifications or when we make vague requests, but even in those cases, they always accurately organize the issues and compile easy-to-understand materials, which is very helpful. Sometimes we make unreasonable requests and they work late into the night to help us, but we are truly grateful for their efforts

While many companies handle maintenance separately during development, Beyond's flexible approach of thoroughly handling maintenance and support throughout the development period is very helpful. What's particularly helpful is that theyhandle both development and infrastructure, so we can completely entrust them with any problems that arise.

When the company in charge of infrastructure and the development company in charge of the application are different, it's not easy to isolate the problem. For example, when a user complains that they can't open a screen, we need to determine whether it's a problem on the server side or the application side. However, in our current situation, we can simply inform Beyond of the problem and they immediately begin various investigations. Even though we outsource the work, they are able to properly isolate whether it's an infrastructure problem or an application problem, which is extremely helpful. This kind of response is possible because we are responsible for both development and infrastructure in one company, and I don't think other companies would be able to match this, including the speed of our response

Mr. Hino:The service that preceded "Tabudori Live!" had various issues. Even the response time wasn't fast; for example, the data displayed in the graphs was only collected after it was requested, resulting in long loading times and poor usability. To improve these issues, in "Tabudori Live!", we implemented methods such as separating the learning history into a real-time display and a learning history that is processed overnight and can be viewed the next day, as well as optimizing the processing for further speed improvements. Beyond made various efforts to ensure that it runs smoothly even on GIGA terminals, which don't have high specifications like school terminals.

When it comes to drill materials, people tend to focus on the front end, which is the overall visual aspect, but when actually using it, I feel that the back-end processing is actually the key. Starting with data management and processing, performance and security, they are responsible for the important parts that form the core of "Tabdori Live!", and we are really grateful for their stable operation and management

--Was there any particular reason behind the decision to make such a major change to the system from the original tablet drill?

Mr. Hino:The GIGA School Initiative aimed to provide every student with a learning device and a high-speed, high-capacity communication network. Initially, the plan was to complete the infrastructure development by fiscal year 2023, but due to the spread of COVID-19, the goal became to complete the deployment of devices and the development of the network environment by the end of fiscal year 2020, and the response was accelerated. As a result, the predecessor digital drill teaching materials attracted attention, and the number of schools adopting them increased. Furthermore, schools that had adopted them but had not used them frequently suddenly began to use them, so the number of users far exceeded what was initially projected in the design.

We decided to develop "Tabudori Live!" in response to these changes in the environment. Since we launched "Tabudori Live!", we've been hearing a lot of positive feedback and opinions from schools. We're really grateful to everyone who helped develop it!

Miyashita-san:I was originally in sales, and I became involved with the 'NIMOT!' service when I transferred departments. The period from when I transferred until the release was only six months, so I started from scratch knowing nothing, and there were many things I was struggling with. However, the engineers at Beyond kindly and repeatedly explained various aspects of the system to me, and I was able to gradually deepen my understanding.

Even when I receive inquiries from other companies involved in "NIMOT!" and there is something I don't understand, when I consult Beyond, their engineers are able to accurately interpret the information and respond smoothly. Furthermore, they are able to explain the content to me in a digestible way, which helps me to deepen my own understanding

As for "NIMOT!", there was a previous service that was quite outdated, so I am very pleased that they have made it into such a good product with this renewal

――Please tell us your impressions of using the service

Akiba-sama:Thanks to your efforts, 'total ID' is currently operating very stably. With the launch of numerous services approaching in fiscal year 2024, we consulted with Beyond, asking, "We will have over 1 million users; will it be okay if we handle simultaneous access?" At that time, you conducted load tests to ensure that we could properly handle a large number of logins at the same time, and although the specifications are now more than sufficient, we were quite nervous at the time. In fact, when the new fiscal year began, we received a considerable amount of access, but there were no major problems, which was a relief. We now have over 2 million users, but there are no problems with logins.

They also respond quickly and are very trustworthy. Of course, there are still bugs, but when a problem does occur, they take it seriously, which is particularly impressive. In fact, they sometimes report problems that we haven't noticed beforehand, saying, "This is what happened," and they respond quickly to those reports

The specifications for "total ID" involve linking with other systems, and we need to coordinate the development of the functions required for linking with "Tabdori Live!" and "NIMOT!" However, in this regard, Beyond first sorts out the key points internally and then formulates the specifications, which is extremely helpful and makes us feel that they are a reliable company

Mr. Hino:Regarding "TabDori Live!", the front-end team took the lead in developing the specifications, so I think it must have been quite challenging for everyone. There were some ideas that made me wonder if they could be realized, but I feel that they were implemented very well, and I don't think other companies could have done it this way.

We are extremely grateful for their support not only in development but also in maintenance and operations. Currently, they constantly monitor our infrastructure 24/7, 365 days a year, andif an alert occurs, they quickly check it and proceed with the root cause investigation non-stop, which gives us a great sense of security.They also respond immediately to inquiries from users, so they are truly indispensable.

Miyashita-san:In a good way, you don't feel like someone from an external company. It may seem like a small thing, but even the little details like your choice of words and the exclamation marks at the end of emails and chats give me the feeling that you're part of our team, which makes working with you very easy.

Furthermore, even when I contact someone and receive a reply from someone other than the one I originally contacted, the conversation always flows smoothly, demonstrating that information is effectively shared within the company. In my previous experience, information was often tied entirely to individuals, and asking someone else would yield no results. However, here, I receive the exact same answer no matter who I ask, andeven when interacting with multiple people, it feels as if I'm continuously speaking with the same person, which Ifind wonderful.

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

Mr. Miyashita: Regarding 'NIMOT!', our initial goal is to increase the number of users even further. We would like you to manage the system so that even if the number of users increases and there is a surge in access in the future, users can always use it stably.

Mr. Hino:It's been about a year since the service release of "Tabudori Live!". Thanks to your support, the annual update of the large amount of accumulated learning history that took place in April has been completed without incident, and the system is now stable. On the other hand, we would like to proceed with new development in response to the challenges and requests that have come up from schools, so we would appreciate your continued cooperation!

Mr. Akiba:'total ID' has implemented all the basic functions and is operating stably, so we hope you will continue to maintain that stable operation going forward.

-Please tell us about your future business development plans

Akiba-san:We are currently actively working on integrating with other companies' account management services for 'total ID'. This approach stems from the fact that the need to "integrate account management that is scattered across various systems," which was the impetus for the creation of 'total ID', has become a common challenge for many companies. Development for integration with other companies' account management systems is already underway, and we expect the number of accounts to increase dramatically as a result.

Mr. Hino: We develop "TabDori Live!" and "NIMOT!" separately, but we also sell them as a set. Therefore, we would like to explore ways to integrate "TabDori Live!" and "NIMOT!", as well as other services, to create collaborations between services.

--Thank you for your valuable insights today!