NTT to Trial SaaS

TOKYO -- The Made In Japan Software Consortium (MIJS) of major Japanese software vendors and NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) announced today a joint project that will verify the operability of new user-friendly, high-quality software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications in Japan from January to June 2009.

Software applications developed by MIJS members will be tested on NTT Com’s SaaS platform— BizCITY for SaaS Provider—for operability in server environments connected to virtual private networks (VPN) via network gateways and operability of multiple applications on single sign-on basis. The server environments will include the AGILIT-brand Hosting server-hosting service and the Green Hosting virtual server-hosting service, both managed by NTT Com.

SaaS services, which enable corporate customers to use software applications stored in a remote network rather than in their own servers, are finding increased demand due to improved corporate broadband environments, companies’ growing use of outsourcing to meet their IT equipment needs, and rising concerns for security risks.

MIJS and NTT Com have teamed up to generate synergies for the development of wide-ranging SaaS services. MIJS ultimately intends to package highly-quality manufacturing software developed in Japan for the global market, which NTT Com aims to support with its SaaS platform and global VPN offering world-class quality, security and reliability.

MIJS member companies currently scheduled to participate in the project are APPRESSO K.K., AXISSOFT Corporation, AZIA CO., LTD., GAIA INC., Infoteria Corporation, JB Advanced Technology Corporation, NTT DATA INTRAMART CORPORATION, SoftBrain Co., Ltd., SSJ K.K., System Integrator Corp., Toyo Business Engineering Corporation, Vinculum Japan Corporation and WingArc Technologies, Inc., with more expected to join.

NTT Communications Corp. (NYSE: NTT)