Fujitsu continues on path of transformation despite macroeconomic challenges

2020 will be a critical year for Fujitsu as the firm executes on its plan to become a digital transformation (DT) company, emphasizing key areas of emerging technologies and superior client experience. The company’s pace of portfolio investments and expansion outside Japan will support Fujitsu’s goal of driving top-line revenue growth and transitioning to a DT provider. Additionally, Fujitsu’s ability to retain its client base despite COVID-19 challenges will showcase whether the company can quickly adapt to dynamic economic conditions and address client needs; if the firm is unable to evolve its portfolio in a timely manner while protecting its existing market, Fujitsu could face greater challenges in creating new avenues of growth around emerging areas.

Fujitsu focuses on growth areas to drive its top-line revenue

AI is a top-of-mind concern for clients when considering digital transformation (DT) strategies as they look to automate certain processes as well as adopt other emerging technology solutions such as analytics, which enhance and increase efficiencies of human tasks. IT services vendors develop their portfolios around AI to help maintain client engagement as well as to capture demand around AI and analytics. Cloud is also an area vendors have sought to build services around to support migration, integration and management services as clients seek to leverage more responsive and insightful operations.

The cloud market has been growing more rapidly than the IT services space — the cloud professional services market grew 16.3% year-to-year, according to TBR’s 4Q19 Cloud Professional Services Benchmark, versus IT services growth of 2.2% year-to-year, according to TBR’s 4Q19 IT Services Vendor Benchmark — as clients shift to remote work environments that require greater capacity and workload support to ensure stable operations and client delivery and prepare for the post-pandemic era.

Changing client initiatives coupled with increased demand for AI guided Fujitsu’s September decision to transition from a traditional IT vendor to a DT company that will infuse digital throughout operations and engagements as well as work more closely with partners and clients using its network of transformation centers to improve delivery and execution. Fujitsu identified AI, IoT and data utilization as key areas that will enhance and uphold its transformation engagements and has invested in filling gaps around AI and data tools in 2020 to deliver on its clients’ DT initiatives. For example, in collaboration with Inria, a France-based research institute that focuses on emerging technologies, Fujitsu developed a technology that identifies patterns and outliers within IoT environments through devices and sensors that use AI. Capabilities of the technology include sorting methods and AI deployment models that guide business decisions and drive operational efficiencies, improving clients’ data analytics.