“We think of Microsoft as an extremely important partner in terms of our IT environment, and we trust Microsoft. We are looking forward to having Microsoft provide us with amazing services and to working together with Microsoft to bring about innovation.”

Mr. Akihiko Nagai, General Manager, Process & IT Division, Corporate Planning & Finance Center, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

In 2013, Yamaha Motor began implementing a new medium-term management plan with the goals of expanding the scale of its business and improving profitability. Improved information-sharing through e-mail and portal sites will play a major role in Yamaha motor’s transformation. In addition, the 2011 earthquake in Japan and flooding in Thailand made business continuity in the face of natural disasters a high priority. The company is using cloud services to build an environment with advanced functions, high availability, and operational resiliency.

Business NeedsAccording to Mr. Akihiko Nagai, General Manager, Process & IT Division, Corporate Planning & Finance Center. “For Yamaha motor, it is not enough to manufacture in Japan and export overseas. For many years, our business model has been to manufacture locally and sell locally. We have operations in Asia, China, North and

South America, Europe, as well as in many regions in Japan, and in each location, our operations function independently. However, in order to meet the targets in our new medium-term management plan, we need to further strengthen the links between regions. To do that, we need to build a flat environ-ment in which regions can provide information to each other. We

Customer: Yahama Motor Co., Ltd.Website: http://global.yamaha-motor.com/jp/Customer Size: 5,000+Country or Region: JapanIndustry: Manufacturing

Customer ProfileSince it was founded in 1955, Yamaha Motor’s goal has been to provide people around the world with compelling new experiences and richer lives. Worldwide, Yamaha Motor products stand for high-quality manufacturing based on human values. With the world as its stage, Yamaha motor will continue taking on the challenge of creating excitement that surpasses its customers’ expectations.

Software and Services■ Microsoft Office 365■ Cloud Vantage ServicesMicrosoft ServicesMicrosoft Services is a global team of professionals who are dedicated to helping customers maximize the value of their investment in Microsoft software. Microsoft Services touches customers more than 715 million times a year, helping them plan, deploy, support and optimize our technologies. They also work closely with Microsoft Partners by sharing their technological expertise and product knowledge on a regular basis. For more information about Microsoft Services, go to: www.microsoft.com/services

Building Reliable and Resilient Global Information-sharing Using the CloudMicrosoft ServicesConsulting

feel that we can achieve more dynamic reforms more quickly than we can now by making it possible for regions to directly send information out to the Yamaha Motor Group worldwide, instead of using Japan as our information hub to send out information.”

Yamaha motor and Microsoft are working on a project to integrate Yamaha motor’s information-sharing infrastructure worldwide to create a more dynamic, flat communications system. The new communications system needs to meet a variety of considerations, including efficient global information-sharing and business continuity.

According to Mr. Hideaki Wada, Group Leader in the IT Technology Strategy Group, “In 2011, the Great East Japan earthquake hit and there was massive flooding in Thailand that resulted in communication interruptions, which deeply impressed upon us the importance of business continuity planning. There are limits to on-site systems when setting up infrastructure that can maintain communications even when there is a disaster.”

SolutionIn 2012, Yamaha Motor evaluated three cloud services: Lotus Notes Cloud, Google Apps, and Microsoft Office 365. In January 2013, after comparing features and making overall assessments of security, cost, and data center reliability, the company decided to go with Office 365 and prioritize the use of Exchange Online.

The project leader, Ms. Kayoko Tsutaki, Senior Supervisor of the IT Technology Strategy Group, explained the company’s rationale for choosing Office 365. “Actually, Yamaha Motor’s offices in Japan have always used [Lotus] Notes. But there were major changes in specifications every time Notes came out with a new version, and this resulted in huge costs associated with migrating databases and other assets. A general breakdown of the costs for an upgrade was roughly one-third for system modifications, one-third for server hardware, and one-third for licenses. We took a look at successor versions that support cloud services, but we concluded that those do not meet our company’s

requirements. Google Apps is a consumer-originated technology, and we could not set aside our concerns about their stance on security and information disclosure. For example, we were not allowed to visit their cloud data center. In contrast, Microsoft let us tour their local data center in Asia. Another issue was that we were told, ‘We would like you to use our recommended browser, Chrome.’

Ms. Tsutaki summarized, “The biggest points ended up being security, cost, and whether or not the system could be used in China. We put all of these things together and did a final cost comparison, and came to the conclusion that there wasn’t anything else for us but Office 365.”

Yamaha motor uses Cloud Vantage Services in planning and support. According to Ms. Tsutaki, “The final decision about the project was made in February, and we had a very tight schedule, with plans calling for the installation in India and Singapore to be completed in July. To tell you the truth, with a new factory suddenly coming on line in India, the entire project was pushed up by six months. On top of that, this was an unusual situation in that the project started in India, and we here in Japan were put on the back burner. The software seems really fast, and the Cloud Vantage Services always provide us with up-to-the-minute information and know-how, so we had no significant problems, and the project was completed right on schedule. I am really grateful for that.”

Initial installations were completed India and Singapore in July 2013, while work was underway in the Philippines, Australia, Pakistan, and Dubai.

BenefitsMs. Tsutaki says that Office 365 quickly got high marks from Yamaha motor locations in India, Singapore, and elsewhere. “The installation of the email environment through Exchange Online was completed smoothly. People did not have many questions after the installation, and that is probably because this is a Microsoft product, and people are already used to things like Microsoft Office.”

As people got used to using the service, the locations began asking for SharePoint Online and Lync Online. Mr. Nagai noted the advantages Office 365 in terms of “the scale of the possibilities because of the multiple services. Even though we are only using Exchange Online in our current stage, it is now possible to have smooth communication between regions, with such features as integrated address books for all of our locations. We expect that the quality of our communications will change. And when we install Lync Online, our employees will be able to see whether other people are in the office that day. Using SharePoint Online will probably make it even easier to share documents between regions. I think we were drawn to Office 365 because it easily makes this kind of coordination possible. We are looking into implementing this system both in Japan and overseas locations in the future.”

Ms. Tsutaki said, “The decision to use Microsoft technology to integrate infrastructure on a global scale is what you’d call a no-brainer. We don’t think that the choice we’re making is in any way out of the ordinary. Support is also enhanced, and with a speed this fast, I think the major advantage is that we can put together an information-sharing infrastructure to meet our business needs quickly. And if we use Office 365 ProPlus, which is available with Office 365, we can always get and administer the latest versions of Microsoft Office throughout the entire company. Although we are not yet using this service, I think it is definitely worth considering.”

Mr. Nagai also explained that the use of tablet computers and other devices will have a major impact on work styles at Yamaha motor. “I think that the use of tablets will become totally natural in the future. There is a wide range of possibilities that emerge when tablets are used in this way, from ensuring that people at the management level can always coordinate with others during the decision-making process, to using dedicated [tablet] terminals to manage production lines. Naturally, we are also considering introducing Microsoft Surface.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published January 2014

Finally, Mr. Nagai wrapped things up, saying “Our company only just started using some of the features of Office 365. In other words, there are many future possibilities that have yet to be achieved in terms of implementing a major reform like globally integrating our information-sharing infrastructure. We have great expectations for this. And we do need to learn more to achieve these possibilities. We will also get recommendations and advice from Microsoft. When we consider our IT environment, we think of Microsoft as a very important partner, and we trust Microsoft. We are looking forward to having Microsoft provide us with amazing services and to working together with Microsoft to bring about innovations.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published January 2014