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“Raising product value through software testing”

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Interview - October 29, 2020

VALTES CO., LTD. aims at maximizing added value through Software Testing Services, QA Process Consulting, Software Testing & QA Training, Vulnerability Diagnosis, Other Quality Assurance and enhancement of Software Quality Services.

We offer test services both for products and processes, to enable companies to provide the best possible product to the end-user. On the most fundamental level, this means that we make the process of ensuring credibility and reliability more consistent and accurate. We work on the ever-evolving fabric of the ICT society, to make it both more rewarding and more secure.

MR. SHINJI TANAKA, PRESIDENT OF VALTES CO. LTD.
MR. SHINJI TANAKA | PRESIDENT VALTES CO. LTD.

Can you give us a brief explanation of our business model?

This company was founded in 2004 to test the embedded software since it was previously the digital product selected par excellence. Subsequently, due to digitalization, we shifted to other emerging industries that represented a market opportunity for us, such as digital service systems, web systems, and, above all, mobile devices. Always bearing in mind the customers' needs and future concerns. Presently, our business is mainly focused on Industry Business Systems, Web, Smartphones and IoT.

Our company has an added value, we pridefully say, that we are among the 8 companies declared to be ISTQB Certified Global Partner. As a curious fact, we have published books on the art of testing, which are acquired by our competitors. In one year, we have approximately 1,800 projects, carried out by our more than 500 employees.

Our major advantage is the fact that the service we provide meets the pre-established quality standards and we also add an innovative service that other companies do not offer. Thus, our clients acquire even more added value.

 

Could you please run us through the key milestones of VALTES? What are your competitive advantages?

We began by performing Embedded Software Testing, until the collapse of Lehman Brothers which made us conduct a shift in our portfolio, which led us to centralize our market strength in Web and Smartphone App testing. We provide services to companies from different sectors, such as enterprise systems, streaming, financial, etc.

 

Could you give us an overview of your different business segments? Which ones are more important for you here in Japan and overseas?

The biggest sector is Enterprises, which implies the core systems for the business; logistics, financial institutions, insurance. From the FY 2018 to FY2019, we have managed to duplicate (2.5 times) our presence in this sector.

 

Why would you say VALTES should be the go-to company when it comes to software testing?

We are entering our 17th year of specialization in Software Testing and we have accumulated rich know how in this field. Throughout all these years we have been acquiring and accumulating knowhow and techniques which are an asset in the field.

Furthermore, we have developed a greater standard in alignment with the global standards which offers greater quality to our clients.

 

With more than 600 customers. Can you tell us a success story for any of your clients? How does it work, how is the process, tell us about a successful business story you are proud of?

From the first years of our business, we had the opportunity to partner with major consumer electronics manufacturer, we will be forever grateful for the trust and confidence they showed us. From the beginning, they perceived the value of our business model.

We started to do black box testing for their digital TVs, digital cameras, video recorders, and VCRs. Due to these partnerships we were able to branch out into doing the testing for Multifunction Printers of companies, devices for which Japan stands out.

Right before the collapse of the Lehman Brothers we were slowly but steadily increasing our client portfolio, our value and specialization in this sector started to be widely recognized.

 

What is the role that technical tie-up plays within your company? Are you actively looking to find partners for collaboration and co-creation?

Strategically, we have co-creation partnerships with big companies here in Japan. These partnerships allow us to achieve new technological opportunities.

 

The testing market is expected to reach $60 billion by 2026. Could you tell us about the trends this business is following? How do you plan to take advantage of this growth globally? (Taking into account the factory you have in the Philippines)              

We are looking to transform the Philippines into the hub of our offshore operations and be able to support all the work done there from Japan.

In India there exist several pre-established standards that guide quality engineering, while countries such as China, Vietnam, and the Philippines lack such methodology. By providing our services of such standards in our Philippine subsidiary we are adding value. This transforms the subsidiary into a higher rival as they are more advanced compared to India.

 

What strategy would you like to follow to continue your corporate growth?

To give you an idea, we have only been able to penetrate 2% of this market, the future of this company is long and bright because we have a long journey ahead of us.

One of our initiatives is to produce new services that flexibly address the social situation. For instance, we will encounter an economic issue called the “cliff of 2025” in Japan. Large number of existing systems will become deteriorated, complicated, and black-boxed in 2025. If no measures are taken, the Japanese economy will be facing the delay in international competition, and due to this, it is said that the economic loss will be up to 12 trillion yen per year. To avoid the unexpected economic disadvantage, the government is taking the lead in solving this problem. VALTES have strengthened our service framework to deliver our services to the client’s demand of DX by reforming the internal organization. We announced a new consulting service which analyzes issues in IT organizations and proposes measures in just one month by leveraging our accumulated knowledge.

IT engineer shortage in Japan has reached a critical stage. VALTES is focusing on human resource development under our company philosophy – “Developing human resources who contribute to the ICT society.” Those who have not experienced the quality assurance project will first participate in class training for two months after joining VALTES, while experienced testers for a month. In addition to those class training, we have more than 140 hours of courses per year so that quality engineers can acquire professional quality assurance skills. As a result, more than 90% of our employees have obtained international software testing certification. As a software testing professional, we are continuously improving our technical capability in order to earn the trust of our customers. A software testing course is launched for free in this September, 2020. We are confident that our well designed and matured testing method can improve the quality assurance engineering capability throughout Japan as an IT industry standard.

 

Which markets holds the future of VALTES? Which region are you planning to tackle?

When it comes to the Japanese Software Testing Market the companies decide not to outsource their testing and instead perform it in-house as the development and testing is a set that comes together in Japan.

However, in terms of the global market that is not the case, development and testing are separated what becomes a big opportunity for us.

 

Japanese companies when going overseas have strategies, M&As, joint ventures, global partners… which one fits VALTES the best?

We are actively looking to do M&A.

 

What would you like the brand VALTES to stand for? What would you say is the impact of your product on the daily life of a consumer?

Our highest value is our commitment to quality, we contribute to the realization of a secure and safe ICT Society. To our clients, we propose and implement efficient and optimal Testing with the use of the VALTES method established based on the latest Testing Theories and our combined practical experience.

To our end users, we provide support through the delivery of high-quality products. To today's ICT Society, which is drastically advancing with Technological Innovations such as AI, IoT, automated driving, Fintech, and blockchain, we contribute to the realization of a secure and safe ICT Society through Testing based on our policy on the responsibility for the quality of clients' software and proactive involvement in having high-quality objectives.

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