HENNGE One has enabled us to smoothly penetrate the cloud within the company and create the secure environment required by our business partners.
— Please tell us about the characteristics of Asahi Tekko.
Asahi Tekko mainly manufactures automotive parts as a subcontractor for Toyota Motor Corporation. We have a particularly large share of the engine valve guide parts market, with a monthly production of about 10 million units. The company has 439 employees as of fiscal 2019 and is headquartered in Hekinan City, Aichi Prefecture. Our domestic base includes a factory in the neighboring city of Nishio, and we also have group companies overseas. By 2018, we had utilized IoT and cloud services in as many as 100 manufacturing lines, which has allowed us to improve productivity by up to 280%.
— Why did you decide to adopt HENNGE One?
We were originally looking for a replacement for our existing email service, which was being terminated. We decided to select Google Workspace by Google, and we wanted to integrate all email, scheduling, and other functions in Google Workspace. In order to implement this service, an email archiving function was essential, and at first we were considering using Google Vault, one of the services of Google Workspace. However, we were looking for a service that could be integrated with a single function from the perspective of cost and security requirements other than email archiving. We consulted with a vendor with whom we had a relationship and were introduced to HENNGE One.
HENNGE One had not only mail archiving, but also single sign-on and access control functions, which we thought we would need in the future, and other functions that we wanted to use. In addition, the price was fairly inexpensive, which was a deciding factor in our decision to use the system.
— What other features of HENNGE One did you want to use?
HENNGE Secure Transfer, which can send and receive large files up to 2 GB at a time. We had been receiving requests from our engineering department to securely transfer large files such as drawings to and from outside the company, but until now we had not been able to find the best tool for this. Some of them wanted to use a free file transfer service that would display advertisements, but this was not good for business. The fact that a secure file transfer service is also included in the feature lineup was another major reason for implementing HENNGE One.
We also find the function of automatic ZIP encryption of attachments when sending e-mails to be very useful. We need to encrypt attached files when communicating with our business partners, but until now, the method of sending attached files has been left to each individual, so we have often sent them without encrypting them.
Even though it was not mandatory to meet the security standards required by our business partners, but rather an obligation of effort, we are effectively using this function to meet their standards without placing a burden on users.
— Please tell us about your current use of HENNGE One.
The most important function we use is the email archiving with HENNGE Email Archive. We check the data on a regular basis and are able to respond immediately in the event of any business incidents. Next, we use the single sign-on functionality, which allows us to connect our internal portal on Google Workspace, our rakmo calendar for schedule management, Slack as an internal communication tool, and X-point for workflow. We have single sign-on integration with cloud services. Since authentication can be integrated, both users and administrators can utilize cloud services conveniently. We plan to increase the number of services to be linked in the future.
— What kind of effects have you seen after actually implementing HENNGE One?
We feel that the single sign-on has led to improved business efficiency because log-ins to various cloud services, which used to be scattered around, are now integrated into HENNGE One. Since the single sign-on allows us to access each cloud service as soon as we press this button, few employees may actually know that HENNGE One has been installed. I think the good thing about HENNGE One is that we can use it stress-free without any particular awareness.
I also thought it would take time for the newly introduced Google Workspace to spread because it was an unfamiliar tool to the employees, but now that a year has passed since its introduction, almost all employees are able to use it well. I feel that the single sign-on function of HENNGE One has made it easy to use, which has had a positive effect on us.
The encryption of attachments has been a great help in ensuring security for our business partners, and the automatic encryption of attachments has saved our users a lot of time and effort.
— Are there any features you would like to use in the future?
Currently, we do not uniformly distribute smartphone devices to employees, but we believe that we need to control access to cloud services used for business, such as limiting use to company or company-paid devices, and we expect to make more effective use of HENNGE One.
— Finally, do you have a message for companies that are not sure about introducing cloud services?
At first, we too were reluctant to use cloud services. However, once we actually implemented it, we found it to be really easy to use. Since we don’t own our own servers, we don’t have to deal with the hassle of management or make expensive capital investments.
Many services are subscription-based, so if you are not sure about introducing a company-wide service, I think it is a good idea to start small. Since we introduced cloud services, our employees have become more closely connected to each other and our business efficiency has increased. I recommend that you take the courageous step and give it a try.