We decided to use HENNGE One because it has the top share of the IDaaS market in Japan and has an extensive track record.
— Please give us an overview of JR Freight.
Freight rail transportation has supported Japan’s logistics for many years since the days of Japan National Railways. Today, the JR Freight Group, with more than 10,000 employees, operates a nationwide network of rail networks, real estate networks, information networks, and human networks in all of these areas.
We are currently promoting a new brand message, “Challenge & Change,” in which we aim to become a comprehensive logistics group based on railroad transportation by leveraging our infrastructure assets, such as our railroad network, and accumulated know-how. JR Freight is also developing a new corporate advertisement, “The Iron Road.
— JR Freight has been promoting the development of next-generation IT infrastructure.
In 2016, we launched the “Business Creation Promotion Project” in order to respond to the rapid changes in the business environment in recent years and achieve sustainable growth. As one of the measures, we decided to actively utilize the latest IT technologies to review and standardize internal business processes and promote the digitization and centralized management of content.
In 2018, we launched an initiative to introduce a “next-generation IT infrastructure that connects anytime, anywhere, with anyone. In order to realize an environment where employees can work effectively regardless of location and make the most of their time, we distributed mobile terminals to employees and improved our network.
Specifically, in October 2018, mobile PCs and smartphones were distributed to the head office and non-current departments in the Kanto and Tohoku branches, and Microsoft 365 by Microsoft was also introduced. Having achieved a certain level of success with this, mobile PCs and smartphones will be distributed to all offices nationwide starting in December 2019. In addition, the content management platform Box was also introduced, and the deployment process was completed by March 2020.
— What was the purpose of implementing HENNGE One?
One of the challenges we faced in using cloud services such as Microsoft365 and Box was how to enable secure and comfortable use of these services from both inside and outside the company. We considered it essential to have an authentication infrastructure that allows secure single sign-on access to multiple cloud services. Therefore, we started considering this in July 2017, and decided to implement HENNGE One in time for the launch of Microsoft365 in October 2018.
— Did you consider other authentication infrastructures?
We initially considered an on-premise product. However, an on-premise system requires the construction of a dedicated server and security measures for the server. This would complicate system configuration and management, and it would be too much of a burden for us to operate in-house. In addition, our network environment is such that we use cloud services directly from our terminals, so on-premise authentication could cause bottlenecks in our Internet environment.
We decided to introduce a SaaS-type authentication infrastructure, and we chose HENNGE One because it meets our requirements, has the top market share in Japan, and has a proven track record.
— How has the introduction of HENNGE One been effective?
We have installed HENNGE Access Control for the number of employees we need, and HENNGE Device Certificate for mobile PCs and smartphones. HENNGE Email DLP (Email DLP) was also deployed to complement the Exchange Online functionality of Microsoft365, further increasing the level of security.
One of the objectives of distributing mobile PCs and smartphones as a set was to eliminate the wired LAN network and fixed phones in the company by using smartphones for both tethering and phone functions. We feel that the introduction of the new system has made it more convenient, as it eliminates the need for wired LAN network and phone installation when there are transfers, and only requires a change in the smartphone settings.
With this introduction and the distribution of various devices, I believe we are one step closer to realizing a “next-generation IT infrastructure that connects anytime, anywhere, with anyone. In fact, we have started a free-address system in a part of the head office and the Tokai branch office. I am sure that the shape of the office will continue to evolve further in the future.
— Did the Corona disaster occur after the introduction of the new system, and did it affect or change the way you work?
Since the Corona disaster began in earnest just after the completion of the nationwide expansion, we were able to smoothly accommodate teleworking. On the other hand, I believe that new ways of working, such as teleworking, will continue even after the end of the Corona disaster. In fact, more and more companies are using online meetings instead of face-to-face meetings. Communication methods are also changing. In the past, one-on-one communication by telephone was the main method of communication, but with the addition of the Microsoft365 collaboration platform “Teams” as a communication tool, there are much more opportunities for dialogue and information sharing, such as showing each other documents in online meetings. The information sharing has improved.
The progress in information sharing has also led to a paperless work environment. In the past, supervisors often made handwritten corrections on printed-out paper, but now they share information on screen and communicate directly with each other to complete the process. This speeds up operations and leads to quicker decision-making. The president and chairman of the management team also take the initiative in holding meetings via Teams.
— How do you plan to use HENNGE One in the future?
We would like to make better use of features such as HENNGE Email DLP’s email error prevention. We would also like to expand the use of secure cloud computing by linking HENNGE One with HENNGE Access Control and HENNGE Device Certificate when we introduce cloud computing services in the future. I hope HENNGE will continue to support us in terms of support.