CIO Spotlight

DeNA Speeds Up Decision-Making and Analysis By Integrating Global Financial and Business Data With NetSuite

DeNA is a global mobile internet services company, providing its customers with gaming, live streaming, sports, and healthcare services. Headquartered in Japan, it operates 10 offices across the world and is continuing to scale its business by diversi3fying into new sectors. Its entertainment division has become famous by building popular games, such as Pokémon Masters, establishing the company as a leader in mobile gaming.

As DeNA grew into new regions, its accounting software struggled to keep up. The finance department had to export financial data from each subsidiary into spreadsheets and consolidate it manually to close the books and generate monthly reports. This time-consuming process became unsustainable as the operation continued to expand, and DeNA recognised that it required a global business management solution that could scale with it and match the company’s ambition.

DeNA deployed NetSuite four years ago to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and speed up decision-making. We spoke to Tomohiro Owaki, General Manager of the IT Strategy Department, to understand how he uses technology to inspire creativity, how his role has changed, and what the future holds for CIOs.

Q&A

Describe your role at DeNA?

Owaki：I strive to provide an environment where DeNA employees can be more creative. I believe the role of IT is to promote automation so that employees don’t have to spend unnecessary time on complicated tasks and can focus on their core creative activities instead.

What are the most important skills for your role?

Owaki：Owaki: Hard skills such as IT and cloud knowledge are of course necessary. In addition, it’s becoming increasingly important to have soft skills, such as understanding business issues, communicating with stakeholders, and proposing the most suitable system while demonstrating leadership. In my own position, as a manager, I think it’s necessary to have the skills to unite the organisation.

How has the IT environment evolved at DeNA in recent years?

Owaki：Ten years ago, we started a project to move the infrastructure of our global operations from on-premises to the cloud. But we’d also invested heavily in our game development infrastructure, which had long been built on-premises, so it wasn’t until four years ago that we decided to move this to the cloud as well.

Has the role of the CIO changed in that time too?

Owaki：Because infrastructure has shifted to the cloud, the CIO is now required to make more use of IT to contribute to sales, whereas before it was mainly a matter of pursuing cost efficiency. I believe that in the future, the use of IT to contribute to sales will become even more necessary.

Has understanding how a business operates become more important for CIOs?

Owaki：Definitely. Ten years or more ago, we were simply an information systems department and we outsourced the development of systems for each business division. When the IT strategy department was established, we took the initiative and began developing the IT environment for the entire group, which required a comprehensive understanding of the business, especially finance.

Does today’s CIO needs to be a strong communicator in a way that wasn’t as important in the past?

Owaki：Yes. I think the ability to communicate with management departments across the business to discover what they need is an important skill for anyone involved in system architecting, regardless of whether they’re an IT engineer or a manager.

What three things are most important for a CIO to consider when choosing new technology?

Owaki：Firstly, we look for a good balance in terms of quality, cost, and delivery. Then, we ensure the tool can be operated by ourselves, as we’re moving towards in-house production of systems. Finally, we try to choose a product that is reliable and durable, which is why we decided to implement NetSuite.

How do you explore new technologies as CIO?

Owaki：I continuously research and trial what I'm interested in and it’s important to have a network outside the business to discover what new technologies other companies have introduced and benefited from. A good CIO is someone who is not tied down to their own systems, but who can also make use of external information and implement the best solution for the business.

How does NetSuite help you succeed as CIO?

Owaki：NetSuite helps me ensure that DeNA’s employees can work creatively and effectively, ultimately driving innovation and efficiency for the entire organisation. It’s an indispensable tool for business management and accounting for the group, and we now use it as a common management platform globally, including Japan and China.

What were the top reasons for your business choosing NetSuite?

Owaki：Our business in China was expanding rapidly, so it was important to choose a system that could be used globally. Another reason is that NetSuite is highly customisable, which has enabled us to add in-house developments such as the approval functionality.

Has NetSuite made your life as CIO easier?

Owaki：NetSuite has greatly improved the speed of decision-making and efficiency of operations, not only by integrating information across the entire group, but also by enabling analysis in conjunction with BI tools. Faster and more informed decision-making, in turn, helps me to propose and implement better technology solutions.

Are there any other benefits from the introduction of NetSuite?

Owaki：Beyond global business management, on-site operations have become more efficient through API integration between NetSuite and other cloud services, like Slack.

What advice would you give to aspiring CIOs?

Owaki：IT agility and scalability are essential for businesses to adapt to changing times, and the IT department is a rewarding career that contributes to the growth of the company. As you progress in your career in IT, you need to understand not only the business at hand but also the structure and strategy of the organisation as a whole. To this end, it’s important to have contact with the management department, and you should also expand your network internally and externally.