Microsoft Innovation Center Report 2010-2011 vol.6
Sapporo Innovation Center Focuses on Cloud Computing
Published: November 26, 2010
Japanese >>
November 2nd, 2010, Sapporo Convention Center, Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation, Sapporo
At JavaFesta in Sapporo 2010, an event in its seventh year, a Microsoft lecturer introduced the company’s cloud computing strategy and various ways to utilize Java in the cloud computing environment. On the same day, representatives from Microsoft, including the lecturer, visited Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation and discussed future activities of the Sapporo Innovation Center, a facility established by the Foundation.
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Innovation Center: Hub for Developing Advanced ICT Human Resources and Improving Skills
 | The Sapporo Innovation Center is a facility without which improving skills in the current local IT industry would be impossible. |  | | Tomokatsu Fukui
(Senior Director, Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation)
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In collaboration with Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan, City of Sapporo
and Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation established the Sapporo Innovation Center in Sapporo Electronics Center (Atsubetsu, Sapporo, Hokkaido) in July 2007. As a Microsoft Innovation Center local alliance organization, Sapporo Electronics Center has been serving as a hub for ICT human resource development in the local area for four years, providing a variety of training sessions, technical information, verification environments with the latest platforms and support activities for IT ventures.
“The IT industry now ranks as high as food products among Sapporo’s core industries, noted Tomokatsu Fukui (Senior Director, Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation)," "But some local IT industries are not growing out of the subcontractor structure.” “With this in mind, we have conducted activities with advanced ICT human resource development as our top priority. In addition, facilities such as verification environments are necessary to further improve the skills of advanced ICT human resources. The Sapporo Innovation Center is a facility without which improving skills in the current local IT industry would be impossible.”
In the last four years, 1,000 IT engineers have received technology training at the Sapporo Innovation Center. To increase the value of IT engineers, the Center is also systematizing skills and promoting methods engineers can use to explain technical details to clients in an easy-to-understand manner.
“At the Sapporo Company Information Center, we established a Sapporo version of IT skill standards called the Sapporo Information Technology Skills Standard (STSS),” added Fukui, “This standard functions to provide visual measurement of each IT company’s skills. Currently over 1,000 engineers are registered to STSS.”
Providing Local IT Engineers Opportunities to Experience Latest Technology
| | Each company dispatched lecturers who work on the front lines, and who could provide the most valuable information for IT engineers interested in many sectors. | | | Tomokatsu Fukui
(Senior Director, Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation)
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The Sapporo Innovation Center actively provides training sessions and technical seminars for local IT engineers to experience the latest technologies.
Microsoft takes part in these seminars and events. From 2006 to 2009, Microsoft dispatched its evangelists to Sapporo Innovation Day. This year, the company dispatched a lecturer to JavaFesta in Sapporo.
“There are not many opportunities here in Hokkaido to learn the latest technical information directly from the industry’s leading figures,” noted Fukui, “Since this year’s seminar events were held together at the JavaFesta in Sapporo, each cooperating company could dispatch lecturers who work on the front lines and could provide the most valuable information for IT engineers with various interests.”
Motoaki Nishiwaki (Technical Solution Evangelist, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan) served as lecturer at JavaFesta in Sapporo 2010. Nishiwaki has participated in the event since its inception as a representative of Oracle Corporation Japan. Taking a position at Microsoft last year prompted Nishiwaki to discuss the company’s cloud computing strategy and ways to use Java this year.
“JavaFesta in Sapporo was started 7 years ago when Java became the focus of attention and people started to say that engineers familiar with the latest technology were needed in this local area of Sapporo,” explained Nishiwaki, “The approach was that companies competing globally would gather in Sapporo and spread the latest technologies to the engineers in Sapporo. One of the main themes this year was the cloud, and Microsoft decided to participate because cloud computing is one of its key areas of focus,” he continued, “Until now, when we spoke of Java and .NET, the focus of the issue was how to link these technologies. In Microsoft’s cloud computing environment, both can be used on the same platform, and we were able to be among the first to communicate this advantage to the people in Sapporo.”
Cloud Technology Research Hub for Sapporo's IT Industry
| | The City has used the skills it has honed to create an infrastructure for and shift to new technologies, and is maintaining this shift. I have great admiration for their work. | | | Motoaki Nishiwaki
(Technical Solution Evangelist, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan)
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The Sapporo Innovation Center also functions as an activity hub for technical research. Cloud study groups were formed here in 2008, and research activities are underway on application development that utilizes the latest technologies. The Center provides cooperative research opportunities as well as technical and other support in collaboration with Microsoft.
“We are now focusing all of our efforts on the cloud,” explained Fukui, “which is a technology crucial to eliminating geographical disparities. In addition to technical training, the Center is test demonstrating a private cloud (virtualization technology) and actually operating a system for City of Sapporo’s fire department through the cloud. We have some projects that no other local government has ever tried, and hope to grow Sapporo Electronics Center to have its own data center to provide public services in the future.”
Such changes are taking place at the Sapporo Innovation Center precisely because the local government is taking an active role. The mayor of City of Sapporo is focused on IT and content industry growth and showed great leadership in establishing the Sapporo Innovation Center.
“An organization with executives who have a solid master plan and the staff to support it will perform wonderfully when establishing a new business model,” commented Microsoft Evangelist Nishiwaki, “City of Sapporo has a master plan for the cloud operation, and their human resources have the essential technology as a result of ongoing advanced ICT human resource development activities. For the next step, it will be important to design what kind of standardization Sapporo would promote,” he continued, “The City has used the skills it has honed to create an infrastructure for and shift to new technologies, and is maintaining this shift. I have great admiration for their work.”
Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation and Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan reconfirmed that developing advanced ICT human resources capable of taking the role of the next generation of architects is important.
| • | Opening Remarks
(Sapporo Electronics and Industries Cultivation Foundation) | | • | An Outline of the Real World of Cloud Computing
Motoaki Nishiwaki (Technical Solution Evangelist, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan) | Seven other breakout sessions were held, and engineers from globally active IT companies gathered to introduce cutting edge technologies.   |