Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, April 22, 2022 - Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. (MRI) announced today that it and France-based OVH Groupe SA (OVHcloud) signed an agreement on April 20 forming an alliance in data analytics in the Japanese market.
The new partnership is effectively a continuation of an existing one between MRI and Paris-based ForePaaS. The impetus came when OVHcloud offered to acquire ForePaaS, which prompted the three companies to launch negotiations in early March to work out arrangements that would be optimum for their customers in Japan, particularly those already using ForePaaS services. They have agreed that OVHcloud will take over and continue the MRI–ForePaaS tie-up, extend its scope by providing new services built on existing ForePaaS technology, and begin exploring future collaborative endeavors leveraging OVHcloud's many services.
With OVHcloud assuming all ForePaaS obligations without change, existing ForePaaS customers can rest assured that they will not be inconvenienced by any sudden changes. OVHcloud will maintain ForePaaS’s convenient features exemplified by an all-inclusive range of processes enabling big-data analysis —— a traditional ForePaaS forte. Then, when new services are ready to go live, OVHcloud will give them prompt access to cutting edge technology for speeding up their decision-making and, by extension, accelerating their digital transformations. Meanwhile, MRI will provide the services as OVHcloud’s exclusive agent in Japan, with MRI and OVHcloud jointly supporting existing ForePaaS-service customers’ transition to the new services.
The new partnership is effectively a continuation of an existing one between MRI and Paris-based ForePaaS. The impetus came when OVHcloud offered to acquire ForePaaS, which prompted the three companies to launch negotiations in early March to work out arrangements that would be optimum for their customers in Japan, particularly those already using ForePaaS services. They have agreed that OVHcloud will take over and continue the MRI–ForePaaS tie-up, extend its scope by providing new services built on existing ForePaaS technology, and begin exploring future collaborative endeavors leveraging OVHcloud's many services.
With OVHcloud assuming all ForePaaS obligations without change, existing ForePaaS customers can rest assured that they will not be inconvenienced by any sudden changes. OVHcloud will maintain ForePaaS’s convenient features exemplified by an all-inclusive range of processes enabling big-data analysis —— a traditional ForePaaS forte. Then, when new services are ready to go live, OVHcloud will give them prompt access to cutting edge technology for speeding up their decision-making and, by extension, accelerating their digital transformations. Meanwhile, MRI will provide the services as OVHcloud’s exclusive agent in Japan, with MRI and OVHcloud jointly supporting existing ForePaaS-service customers’ transition to the new services.
"Our new alliance will allow MRI and OVHcloud to together help Japanese customers move their adoption of data-driven business models forward and implement the internal reforms needed to make their digital transformations happen," said MRI President Kenji Yabuta. "The pace of change in the landscape businesses and governments must work in is accelerating, increasingly encumbering their ability to make appropriate policy and business decisions. Organically combining OVHcloud's extensive experience in rolling out digital services and MRI's experience in helping governments and companies find practical solutions to the societal and business issues they face, we are fully committed to helping customers expedite the needed innovation."
OVH Groupe CEO Michel Paulin said, "OVHcloud, Europe's leading cloud player, provides a complete suite of cloud services to some 1.6 million customers in 140 countries, thanks to its strong global presence of 33 data centers on four continents. The acquisition of ForePaaS will be a key asset to further cover the entire data value-chain and increase our portfolio of Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions to accommodate the widest possible range of user cases. Our latest partnership with MRI demonstrates the depth of our commitment to APAC markets where we aim to accelerate growth, and by extension, our presence in the Japanese market. We hope to marry our technical expertise of an open, trusted, reversible, and transparent cloud offering and MRI's deep understanding of the complex market and customers in Japan to deliver distinctive services of a broad range of customers there."
OVH Groupe CEO Michel Paulin said, "OVHcloud, Europe's leading cloud player, provides a complete suite of cloud services to some 1.6 million customers in 140 countries, thanks to its strong global presence of 33 data centers on four continents. The acquisition of ForePaaS will be a key asset to further cover the entire data value-chain and increase our portfolio of Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions to accommodate the widest possible range of user cases. Our latest partnership with MRI demonstrates the depth of our commitment to APAC markets where we aim to accelerate growth, and by extension, our presence in the Japanese market. We hope to marry our technical expertise of an open, trusted, reversible, and transparent cloud offering and MRI's deep understanding of the complex market and customers in Japan to deliver distinctive services of a broad range of customers there."
Looking ahead, MRI and OVHcloud hope to broaden the scope of cooperation. They have agreed to begin exploring the potential for more cooperative ventures in addition to those included in the new alliance. Combing MRI’s extensive experience as a comprehensive think-tank involved in all manner of consulting, data analysis-support, and AI modeling services with OVHcloud’s cutting-edge cloud technologies to provide vertically integrated services covering the gamut from developing digital transformation strategy to implementation of big data analysis platforms, they are committed to contributing to accelerating the further digital transformation of Japanese society.