Fujitsu: Co-Creation for Success

This year, Fujitsu World Tour 2018, which stopped in Brussels on June 7, highlighted the “Co-Creation for Success“.

6 start-ups from the Hive Brussels network presented their innovations to more than 300 of Fujitsu’s most important customers and partners. As part of the “Labs Battle”, each start-up had 5 minutes to convince the public and the jury of the potential of their innovation. The laureate was n-Auth specialized on security of sensitive data.

We interviewed Mr. Yves de Beauregard, Managing Director Fujitsu Benelux who explained: “Today, digital co-creation is moving to a new phase, from concept to the creation of new opportunities. Our unique capabilities in advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things, combined with know-how, achieve this goal, delivering true innovation and business value.

The complexity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is more then a usage.  As example we have used AI in Order to develop a non destructive testing that’s the example of Siemens Gamesa using AI to analyse images and data in order to ensure that the wings of the windmills are produced with the highest quality possible because it is very expensive for those companies that have the necessity to dismantled in order to change the wings. For so far this is done by human beings that they are really checking and also using the experience in order to look after the quality of those wings . This is a typical example where the AI has actually got to learn what humans are looking after and ones the AI has learned, it can apply very easily to a massive data informations, in order to really detect what is not in line with the expectations.”

 What are the other applications of AI?

“Another example AI applications is in the medical industry. We have been using AI together with San Carlo hospital in Madrid, supporting doctors in case of psychiatric treatment and at first when they go to analysing which sickness has the patient. In the psychiatric treatment there is a number of interviews that are needed to really understand what is the behaviour and what are the symptoms to define the actual sickness. For this reason, psychiatry is not that digital. We developed together with S. Carlo Hospital a system based on AI that really try to measure the behaviour, the comportment, the answers of the questions submitted to the patients and therefore that are able to support doctors in making a diagnosis on what is the actual sickness that the patient is suffering . Therefore, this application help patient to get treated quicker and helps doctors, who have to do less interviews in order to define the proper sickness and, of course, it also helps public money because it really support the entire chain to do better, quicker and less expensive.”

The second topic is Cyber security.   

“Fujitsu has been recently nominated as one of the top leader in cybersecurity. We see the recent attack from malware. I am proud to say that none of the Fujitsu customer, have been drastically impacted. We are effecting protecting our customer proactively and reactively. The business of Fujitsu in cyber security significantly improving and growing. Number of new customers, new logos and new companies come and ask us to support them with regard to cyber security.”

With the Blockchain centre recently inaugurated in Brussels which development you can see?

“We are actually very amazed by the number of projects and request coming after the inauguration of the Blockchain centre in Brussels. We were definitely too shy in our plans. We are very intrigue by the number of companies that are actually embracing Blockchain technologies, in order to help them because is not easy to understand what is the value that such technologies could bring to your business. We have developed a kind of support that really help those companies to understand what means Blockchain for their business model, for their customers. In the same time we are moving  ahead with our research for Blockchain for smart cities and new projects keep on having a leading position on that market.”

Why do you think is an asset choose Brussels for the Blockchain centre?

“Three most important reason. The first reason is that in Belgium there is a culture of settlement. There is a number of company working on functional settlement located in Brussels. So the culture of working as a chain or being in the middle of a chain, support people from the business to stream line, the processes, they are able to work better together is something that is strongly in Belgium. The second reason is obviously, because Brussels is located in the centre of Europe. The proximity with European institutions and finally also the language skills that is present in Belgium.”

How do you collaborate with Japan?

“On Artificial Intelligence, cyber security and Blockchain there is a very strong collaboration with Japan. There is actually a very strong relationship. We can benefit in Europe also from the technology advancement that our colleagues have in Japan. Fujitsu is indeed a market leader in Japan and the biggest part of R&D done by Fujitsu is still predominantly in Japan. If we want to benefit from those R&D as quick as we can, we need to have those strong relationships with Japan.”

How was important for you to collaborate for 0 Plastic Rivers initiative?

“I truly believe that a company in whatever the business is operating is a social body. That means we also have the responsibility to the society, to the next generation and to the environment. One of the stakeholders we need to be very careful is our environment and we believe that this initiative is very interesting. In 0 Plastic Rivers initiative I believe that sensor technologies and Artificial intelligence technologies, could really help in managing plastic waste issue by detecting plastics in the water. It is an important topic that matter to us and on which we believe. We can have an added value.”

Henry Borzi

Technology embedded in every aspect of working life

Dr Joseph Reger Fujitsu’s EMEA CTO

Technology already surrounds us in the workplace, but we are about to enter an age where it will become embedded in every aspect of working life.

In the vison of Fujitsu’s Work place by 2025,artificial intelligence will deliver a huge leap forwards in enhancing the employee experience, by generating new levels of insight into employee behavior, preferences and context. AI will also play a key role in defending against an escalating cyber security threat, which will increase in sophistication as more areas of the business – from the office entry system to the coffee machine – become connected to the Internet of Things.

As Dr Joseph Reger Fujitsu’s EMEA CTO  explained:  “The security strategy for larger corporations makes it difficult for them to engage with smaller organisations and they are not willing to open up their critical systems to a level that makes it more vulnerable. Instead they will look to work with partners that have trusted systems that enable this collaboration”.

Fujitsu Forum 2017

 

At Fujitsu forum 2017 in Munich we asked to Dr. Reger the human aspects of technology:

• How IT today is closer to human being?

Fujitsu is a company where responsible business conduct is very important, it is in the company values, and the company rules on how we behave and conduct business. The responsible business require thinking about the consequences of the technologies that we developed and the way we use it or the customer use it. In the early development when we discovered a particular development can cause certain ethical issues we feel obliged to look at the problem that can arise and what can be done to control or at least discuss them. AI is in a development stage today, for this reason we need to discuss and have a societal debate on the consequences, not only because such a powerful technology can be used as a weapon but also for other ethical consequences such as the job market aspects.

• Could you explain the concept of Human Centric intelligent Society?

Fujitsu arrive at an important pillars in the technology strategy that needs to be human centric. The humans are in the centre of our interest. Our technology development is intended to help people to have better life, more comfortable life but also is addressing the big issue that human society has in terms of complexity we created in urban areas and so on. We clearly recognise that there is a need to use information technology to improve that situation. The humankind built an infrastructure that is not serving only our needs but also putting the human actor in the centre.

Watch the full interview:

Henry Borzi

Fujitsu Cyber Threat Intelligence Service

 

Cyber security has become one of the leading boardroom issues. According to a recent report1by global insurer Lloyds of London, attacks on computer operating systems run by a large number of businesses around the world could cause losses of $28.7 billion in terms of their financial, economic and insurance impact.

Fujitsu announced the availability of its Cyber Threat Intelligence(CTI) service in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) region. Fujitsu’sCyber Threat Intelligence teams perform thorough, ongoing monitoring and assessment of the threat landscape, bringing together threat intelligence data from a broad range of sources.

Rob Norris, Head of Enterprise and Cyber Security at Fujitsu in EMEIA, said :“Being online is the lifeblood for all organizations today and it is critical to remain online, and protect the integrity of your systems and your data even when you’re under attack from cyber criminals. Nobody should underestimate the catastrophic damage that a cyberattack can cause starting with a simple slip, such as opening an infected email. The nature and scale of cyber threats is changing so fast that traditional security solutions on their own are no longer enough to provide adequate protection. What we give our customers with the CTI service is a comprehensive view of their security posture, thorough analysis of security risks and actionable information because today, being unprepared for a cyber attack can easily put a company out of business.”

• What challenges customers are facing in cyber security?

Today we have more target attacks in terms of specific individuals certainly, the more sophisticated attackers would identify key people and they would go after them. What the hackers do is doing a lot of research before attacking specific people. This situation probably account for 3-4% of the attacks, but the majority of attacks are still random. Therefore, cyber-attacks are normally done via official emails or by scanning the network structure and looking for defence entry. What we see in terms of attacks are the small businesses because of the easiness of launching a cyber-attack. It is as easy going on the web and purchase procurement target organization. Attacking small businesses and individuals and more they are after their financial information and personal information they can actually sell on the the dark web. You can pay as little as 5$ for some financial information up to 30-40$ for personal information.

• What about cyber security and cloud services?

There are the same risk using cloud services. With cloud services, I need to know where the data reside and if the data are encrypted. Certainly, these are the principal questions we have to ask to our self in terms of how secure are the data and we need to ask the same questions to the cloud host provider.

• Recently Fujitsu won a European projects on the framework of Horizon 2020 on the theme of Industrial IT and cyber security.

We have a factory in Augsburg where we are working specifically on IoT security and we have our own Iot competencies centre settled in Germany. With the European Parliament, we are looking in terms on what we are able to do on Cyber security. We are leading a European project with a number of organisations where we are looking on IoT security. One of the Key things would be weather there is a legislation or not and we need to settle certain security standard with IoT devices apply to everybody. For example, when you buy a device and you go on internet you need from the first day to change a password. Simple standards would help in terms of security of IoT devices.

• How important is the education on data protection?

I think that is very important. If you look on data protection and the work you need to do in terms of protecting data, I think it is only now that people start to understand the importance of data protection. It is like an insurance policy. Many organisations think cyber-attack could happen to somebody else while it could happen to them. The organizations need to understand and carefully manage the risk of threat exposure and constantly test and make sure their defences are continually up to date. Preparation is the key. In the event of a cyber-attack, a response and recovery plan makes all the difference in minimizing the impact of the attack. What personal data they hold on individuals? Where is that data be stored? In the Cloud, in the country that operate? Can I easily access to that information? Is that information encrypted? These are the principles of data protection that need to be enforced.

 Henry Borzi

Fujitsu unveil the digital co-creation

This year at the annual Fujitsu Forum in Munich 8/9 November 2017, the theme was the digital co-creation and the latest digital technology to create new possibilities for business and society.

Duncan Tait Senior Executive Vice President and Head of EMEA and Americas at Fujitsu, gave an update on some significant changes we are seeing in the market. “Today in order to succeed It’s vital not to be held back by a culture of fear, and to have the right partners in place.” This was also echoed by, Jo De Vliegher, Chief Information Officer, Norsk Hydro and Olivier Onclin, Chief Operating Officer, Belfius. “There was broad agreement that a successful execution of a digital strategy is a cultural change; it means collaborating in a new way by going beyond traditional vendor-client relationships; it needs co-creation. You also need to equip people with the new skills. You must be digital on the inside and on the outside.”

Co-creation is based on the concept that customized solutions are no longer more expensive than mass production. “Customized solutions are increasingly essential to a business remaining competitive, because it is possible and expected to tailor outputs to individual needs.” Explained Tait: “We are seeing the emergence of new ways of generating and analysing data. This is especially the case with advances we are making in the Internet of Things and new ways of leveraging all this data are emerging, in the form of Artificial Intelligence. This leads to the development of new, connected ecosystems, centred around delivering genuine value.”

Duncan Tait, Corporate Executive Officer, SEVP and Head of Americas and EMEIA at Fujitsu explains Fujitsu has 3 main challenges #FujitsuForum @Fujitsu_Global pic.twitter.com/4ysQwSzxRC

— Sarah Yahiaoui (@Sarahyahiaoui13) November 8, 2017

For Fujitsu to realize a digital vision, it is crucial that businesses have the right skills, processes, partnerships and technology in place. With digital disruption rapidly changing the business landscape, businesses cannot afford to fail in their transformation.

Future workplace 2025

The Fujitsu vison for the workplace in 2025, will be a space for collaboration, creativity and engagement where Artificial Intelligence will be a key driver. As that shift occurs over the next eight years, it will mean that many of today’s working practices, productivity tools and physical environments become obsolete.  The office of today will quickly look and feel out of date and companies that do not modernize will be unattractive to employees. These factors will lead to a new war for talent.

What can companies do? Fujitsu, defined four strategic elements needed for successful digital transformation called PACT or People, Actions, Collaboration and Technology.

Duncan Tait talking about how @Fujitsu_Global will grow in & disrupt the US & EMEA markets. Entering a new digital PACT w/their clients pic.twitter.com/89fc9eUrXH

— Jan Erik Aase (@janerikaase) November 8, 2017

While 90% of business are trying to broaden their digital expertise, it is alarming that almost three-quarters (70%) of organizations say that there is still a clear lack of digital skills across their organization. Actions and Behaviours are perceived to be the most significant part of digital transformation, but the fear of failure is marring the success of digital.

Building the digital workplace of the future is not just about technology it is about creating working environments to continue to attract employees with the right skills.

A co-operation ecosystem is key. Duncan Tait announced that Fujitsu will open two digital transformation centers in Munich and New York so that customers and partners can benefit from a single co-creation approach with Fujitsu. Both of these will be key in achieving Fujitsu’s vision of a more prosperous society as outlined by Tatsuya Tanaka, Representative Director and President, Fujitsu. Following this vision Fujitsu is stepping out of the boundaries of a traditional ICT company, by bringing innovation to agriculture, manufacturing and financial services through co-creation.

“For Fujitsu and our customers, digital co-creation proposes a unique approach utilizing digital technologies. It brings together innovative Fujitsu technology and expertise with unique customer know-how and it enables customers to master digital transformation by creating new solutions to business challenges. Every organization has its own unique challenges and therefore every journey is different. “Concluded Mr Tait.

Henry Borzi

Fujitsu to invest over 50 Million Euros to support Digital Transformation in France

Fujitsu announced that it is making a five-year investment of over 50 million euros (about 6 billion yen) to support digital innovation in France. The goal of the initiative, which is based on collaboration with the French government, is the development of new services and the acquisition of novel technologies.

Bernard Cazeneuve, Prime Minister in France, says: “I welcome the engagement of Fujitsu, a world-class actor, which is further proof of France’s economic attractiveness, the excellence of French research and the dynamism of French Tech.”

Tatsuya Tanaka, President of Fujitsu Limited, says: “Fujitsu’s vision is to create a Human Centric Intelligent Society by co-creating solutions with customers and partners. To achieve this, Fujitsu aims to grow the number of its partnerships with leading technology companies, research institutions and startups in France, to strengthen its digital business, to significantly increase the scale of its business and to expand its presence in the country.”

François Fleutiaux, Senior Vice President and Head of Sales at Fujitsu in EMEIA, says: “France is a strategically important market for Fujitsu. This is not just because of the high percentage of businesses that see digitalization as a priority, but also for its extensive pool of highly talented mathematicians, digital engineers and its vibrant community of startup companies. We look forward to continuing to advance Artificial Intelligence, by co-creating technologies that will help enterprises embrace the benefits of digital transformation.”

France is Europe’s second largest economy and home to its greatest number of Fortune Global 500 companies, many of which have placed a priority on digital transformation. For this reason Fujitsu views France as a strategically important market as it expands its “connected services” globally. The company will apply its extensive knowledge in solutions, systems integration, and infrastructure services, to a wide variety of software that includes cloud and middleware. Fujitsu will then provide its customers with an integrated, end-to-end service. France also has a robust AI ecosystem including skills such as with machine learning and deep learning. Therefore Fujitsu plans for the country to be a key location to develop and expand its digital business.

Objective

Fujitsu and the French government, including Business France, the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy, have since July 2016 been in talks aimed at combining Japanese know-how and local French expertise, and to contribute to accelerating innovation in France.

Toward Continual Development of Japanese-French Innovation

Fujitsu is keen to further strengthen the links between France and Japanese businesses and innovation, and is planning to join some of those events for innovation in France and Japan initiatively.

Fujitsu plans to maintain its ongoing collaboration with the French government. The company will invite the French government to the Fujitsu World Tour 2017, planned for the summer of 2017, where it will explain the progress of the plans.

 

Fujitsu Leader in Magic Quadrant for Data Center Outsourcing and Infrastructure Utility

For Fourth Year in Succession, Fujitsu Named by Gartner as a Leader in Magic Quadrant for Data Center Outsourcing and Infrastructure Utility Services in Europe

Fujitsu has been recognized as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Center Outsourcing (DCO) and Infrastructure Utility Services (IUS), Europe for the fourth successive year.

To attain the coveted leadership status in a Magic Quadrant, according to Gartner, a vendor must “execute well against its current vision and be well positioned for tomorrow.” Fujitsu’s vision is one of a Human Centric Intelligent Society, where social and business innovation is driven by the intelligent use of information and communication technology. Fujitsu’s Managed Infrastructure Services, including Cloud and Data Center technologies, form the foundation of making this vision a reality.

Conway Kosi, Head of Managed Infrastructure Services EMEIA at Fujitsu, says: “We appreciate Gartner’s confirmation of Fujitsu’s leadership position for the fourth successive year which reflects our focus on enabling digital transformation and Hybrid IT management. Our Data Center and Infrastructure Services not only support critical business operations for our customers but they also play a key role in enabling growth through balancing the benefits of robust and fast IT. We believe that Gartner also recognizes Fujitsu’s ongoing investment in enhancing our Digital Business Platform MetaArc as one of the factors that helped secure our position as a Leader in the new Magic Quadrant.”

Fujitsu’s MetaArc is designed to enable enterprises to digitalize with confidence by taking advantage of key digital capabilities such as Big Data, enterprise mobility and the Internet of Things. It also helps businesses achieve the critical balance of embracing a Hybrid IT environment; leveraging the possibilities offered by cloud-based digital solutions to drive innovation while maintaining and modernizing traditional, robust systems that underpin their business operations.

Fujitsu Cloud Service K5, which is a key component of MetaArc, was also evaluated by Gartner. The K5 cloud platform enables customers to extract the maximum possible value out existing investment in IT infrastructure while transitioning to digital solutions. K5 combines Fujitsu’s extensive knowledge of developing cloud solutions and services with open source technologies – resulting in the most open, compatible and agile enterprise cloud platform available in the market today.

Fujitsu PalmSecure

As organizations search for more secure authentication methods for data access, physical access and general security, many are turning to biometrics. Biometrics is gaining attention as a reliable, highly accurate and efficient method of confirming a person’s identity.

Organizations have experimented with various biometrics solutions for human identification such as recognition of eyes, faces, fingerprints, voice and signatures. But tests show that even these solutions are vulnerable to counterfeit and theft.

PalmSecure

PalmSecure™ is a leading-edge authentication system using biometric technology that authenticates users on based on vein pattern recognition rather than iris scanners or fingerprint readers. As veins are internal and have a wealth of differentiating features, attempts to forge an identity are extremely difficult, thereby enabling a high level of security.

Henry Borzi

Fujitsu Head Mounted Display to Help Enterprises Innovate On-Site Operations

Wearable device supports safer and more accurate work

The Head Mounted Display product consists of a 0.4-inch⁽¹⁾ display (854 x 480 dots), a camera, two microphones, and various sensors, with a non-see-through extension positioned in front of one eye. It can be operated with the included wearable keyboard or by voice. Constructed to be tough and for use with confidence in challenging environments such as precarious heights, the product is water-resistant (IPX5/7) and dust-resistant (IP5X)⁽²⁾ for outdoor use.

For infrastructure inspections or factory assembly work, the display allows for safe and accurate hands-free task support in the form of images, video, and audio. In addition, this product will help make it possible to have fewer on-site staff as it allows for remote support from skilled operators, enabling higher work quality regardless of experience.

Background

When conducting infrastructure inspections at precarious heights or performing a complex assembly with both hands in manufacturing, less-experienced operators may either need to stop what they are doing to look up the procedure in a manual or confer with a more skilled counterpart, making it difficult to work efficiently. But with experienced workers getting older and the time needed for training considerable, securing well-trained staff is becoming a problem. This has created a demand for an ICT-based form of task support that can be used in a variety of environments and that allows for safe, efficient work.

To meet that need, Fujitsu combined the high level of expertise in head mounted display (HMD) development of US-based Kopin Corporation with its own human-centric technologies cultivated through PC and mobile device development to create an HMD designed to support a wide range of field work.

Usage Scenarios for the Head Mounted Display

Combining an HMD with middleware such as FUJITSU Software Interstage AR Processing Server, an augmented-reality platform product, and operational-support services such as FUJITSU Business Application AZCLOUD SaaS teraSpection allows for task support using still pictures, video, and audio. The operator wears the Head Mounted Display and views the display for information pertaining to the tasks being performed, such as inspection check lists or work procedures, while using both hands for the task. This dramatically improves operational efficiency and avoids problems of overlooking steps or doing them out of order. The unit can be used with the attached wearable keyboard or the audio command function to carry out a variety of operations, including turning pages in a work manual, entering numbers or taking images with a camera.

Henry Borzi