I’d love to start off by telling you about how I’m an avid business traveller, fascinated by how digital is changing global markets. However, only the second part of that sentence is true. While I am deeply interested in how technology is impacting different regions, I’m rather new to world travel. After what could best be described as a “third of life” crisis, I decided to go on a solo adventure to Japan earlier this year. The abridged version of that journey: I loved it so much that I returned six months later. Super typhoons and language barriers be damned.
Part of what has always drawn me to Japan is how culturally different it is from the U.S. and what a unique and interesting country it is. But while I’m pretty knowledgeable about Japanese food and pop culture, I used part of my latest trip to understand more about digital business in Japan. Lucky for me, one of Acquia’s amazing partners, CI&T, has an office in Tokyo and we met to discuss the market, our partnership and what we can do together to grow our business opportunities. Early in the week, along with Acquia’s own Tom Cochran, Chief Digital Strategist and VP of Public Sector, speaking at adtech: Tokyo, Acquia and CI&T hosted the Drupal Community Summit, which saw a great turnout from Drupalists and enterprises alike. Our partnerships are critical. Strategic relationships with agencies are a fundamental part of bringing Acquia and Drupal to the Japanese market.
I met with CI&T’s Yoshiyuki Ueda, business director, Japan, Hiroaki “bucci” Kawabuchi, scrum master, and Felipe Rubim, general manager, Asia-Pacific. They (along with Acquia’s Darren Watkins, Channels and Partnerships Director, Asia Pacific and Japan) were kind enough to share their insights with me. Here’s what I learned.