FOSTER CITY, CA and TOKYO, JAPAN — (Marketwired) — 09/28/15 — ®, the subscription commerce, billing and finance leader, today announced another vital step in the company–s international expansion designed to ignite the emerging Subscription Economy® in Japan. The new Zuora office in Japan will be led by Country Manager , a veteran of Kyriba and Oracle. , a Special Advisor to Salesforce.com and a member of the advisory board of DocuSign, will also join as an executive advisor for the Japan team. Zuora also announced today that (MKI), a Mitsui Group Company, has become Zuora–s first customer in Japan.
Businesses across the globe are continuing to adapt to the changing needs of consumers, who increasingly prefer the freedom of subscribing to services over purchasing one-off products. More than 20 percent of Zuora–s business now comes from outside the U.S., and Japan, which accounts for 6.8 percent of global GDP and has , represents a significant opportunity for Zuora to help businesses take optimal advantage of this trend.
The Internet of Things (IoT) market, a vertical that historically has benefited from the subscription business model, is exploding in Japan as companies such as Fujitsu, Toshiba, NEC, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, and Sony are all launching initiatives. IDC Japan puts the at USD $78 billion and expects it to top USD $136 billion by 2019. In addition, with deregulation coming to the Japan electric power industry in 2016, many companies are looking to become distributors and will need a platform to run their subscription businesses. According to IDC Japan, is also expected to grow from USD $3 billion in 2014 to nearly USD $10 billion by 2019.
The subscription model is gaining strength in Japan–s entertainment market. Several domestic music producers have launched subscription-based services this year, and Apple recently launched Apple Music in Japan. Netflix is also launching in the Japan market in the fall.
“Consumers in Japan are following the same trends as those in the U.S., Europe and Australia,” said Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo. “Subscription services offer a more personalized experience based on a trusted, ongoing relationship, providing consumers with more of what they truly want. Businesses like Amazon, Bonobos and Netflix understand this and are thriving, but most companies don–t have the culture or operational infrastructure to establish and nurture subscriber relationships and scale a subscription service. Zuora offers forward-thinking companies in Japan the opportunity to establish themselves as leaders of the Subscription Economy®.”
was most recently managing director of Kyriba Japan. Prior to that, he was senior director of Oracle Japan following Oracle–s acquisition of SaaS software leader RightNow Technologies, where he was Country Manager. is currently Special Advisor of Salesforce.com Japan, a member of the advisory board of DocuSign, and a member of the board of Transcosmos, Inc. He was president and CEO of Salesforce.com Japan for 10 years and president and CEO of Softbank Commerce for more than three years. Prior to that, he worked in various roles at IBM for 20 years, including executive assistant to the CEO of IBM Japan, director of product business, and director of information service industry business.
“I am extremely honored to spearhead the launch of Zuora in Japan,” said Mr. Kuwano. “We are at the beginning of a monumental shift in the way Japanese businesses will deliver their products and services to the Japanese people, and companies that want to be successful at creating lasting relationships with their subscribers will likely have only one chance to get it right. Otherwise, their subscribers will go to the competition. Zuora is the most complete and mature solution for delivering products and services on a subscription basis.”
Founded in 1991, MKI provides a wide range of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services, including system and network construction and data center and cloud services. MKI will use the Zuora Z-Business® platform to help run is subscription operations.
“ERP and CRM solutions don–t manage subscription contract management, billing and commerce,” said Masaki Saito, President and CEO of Mitsui Knowledge Industry. “Zuora provides the software technology companies need to manage all aspects of subscriber relationships, including helping them maintain a complete subscriber identity record and package and price services to deliver the greatest value to their subscribers.”
Andrew Dailey, Managing Director of , an independent research and strategic advisory firm focused on the needs of technology vendors, buyers and investors, views Zuora–s opening in Japan as an emerging business opportunity, “The Digital Revolution is truly global, and companies everywhere seek new tools to strengthen customer relationships and monetize those connections in new and innovative ways. Zuora–s entry into Japan underscores the size of this opportunity.”
“” by Tien Tzuo, CEO of Zuora
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Zuora–s Relationship Business Management (RBM) solution helps enable businesses in any industry to launch or shift products to subscription, implement new pay-as-you-go pricing and packaging models, gain new insights into subscriber behavior, open new revenue streams, and disrupt market segments to gain competitive advantage. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Zuora also operates offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Paris, Munich, Beijing, Sydney, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Vienna, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Zuora clients come from a wide range of industries, including media, travel services, consumer packaged goods, cloud services, and telecommunications. Clients include Financial Times, Schneider Electric, Box, Honeywell, NCR, RTL, lynda.com, The Guardian, YP.com, BlueJeans, Shutterfly, TripAdvisor, Vivint and Trulia. (The above-referenced trademarks are owned by their respective companies. Nothing in this press release should be construed to the contrary, or as an approval, endorsement or sponsorship of Zuora or any aspect of this presentation by any of those companies.) To learn more about Zuora, please visit .
© 2015 Zuora, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Zuora, Z-Business, Relationship Business Management (RBM), and Subscription Economy are trademarks of Zuora, Inc.
Karen Clyne
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