Toray Group
Challenge to Innovate Work style by Using Smart Devices at work
Mr. Jouji Igarashi
- Director of Group System
- Promoting Department Director
Mr. Norihisa Kamada
- Department Director of NSI Group
Ms. Mayuko Tsumura
- Department NSI Group
TORAY INDUSTRIES, Inc. is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It specialises in chemical products, mainly fiber, resin and composite materials, and IT related materials. Its corporate slogan 'Innovation by Chemistry' expresses Torayʼs belief in creating new markets and contributing to the global environment advancing our life by inventive materials and technologies. Toray is therefore highly motivated in innovating its work style, too.
Torayʼs business efficiency has been accelerated dramatically after October, 2002 by introducing 'CACHATTO Server System*1' to its workplace, through which their staff would be able to send and receive corporate emails on feature cellphones. By installing CACHATTO on their cellphones, they could briefly read mails on mobiles before going out or during break time between meetings in the firm.
In recent days, the idea of innovating work style by an active implementation of smart devices at workplace has therefore emerged.
The following contents are Toray staffsʼ opinions and thoughts on this new idea.
1,200 staff have registered themselves as CACHATTO users ever since CACHATTO was first introduced back in October, 2002. A significant number of users switched from classic mobile phones to smart phones from April 2011. There were around 500 out of 1,200 CACHATTO users who switched to smartphones within the year. We are convinced that the other 700 users would become smartphone users sooner or later. More people are encouraged to use CACHATTO because of the removal. An order of another 200 CACHATTO licenses was consequently placed from Toray.
The increase of CACHATTO users along with smartphone owners among Toray staff explicitly reveals their evaluation and satisfaction for using CACHATTO on smart phones, which is highly appreciated by us.
- No business information shall be saved locally on the end devices, a process of encryption is required when business information has to be preserved on smartphones.
- When a smartphone tries to access the corporate internal networks, an application or system with a process of authentication where a personal ID and password are required shall be preferred.
- Actions to prevent shoulder surfing.
At Toray, all devices used at work are distributed from the firm. Choices are quite limited. 'We realised there was a growing need among staff to be able to use their own devices at work. However, we made this decision in order to maintain the Office at TR Solution Department of Toray System Center INC, which is responsible finformation security for the firm, and considering our management cost while implementing new rules for using smart devices at the workplace.'
All end devices used in business at Toray are installed with a kit by the IT Support or ensuring all rules mentioned above would be carefully followed. Certain limitation on selection of end devices would be unavoidable for advancing the efficiency of kitting. The IT Support Office would examine all devices of all carriers every half a year, to test whether those devices are compatible with CACHATTO, hence a list of approved devices could be made.
| Business affairs | Contents of application | Working environment | Network/security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales presentation | Save & present catalogs, manuals and business proposals | External | - use cloud - prohibit internal access - MDM |
| Factory | Surveillance & barcode reader | Internal | - authentication on a device - limitations on accessible network resource |
| Business management on mobiles | Access corporate internal networks system remotely | External | - thin client - MDM |
Tablets were introduced for business use following the smartphone case. Currently, three scenarios are regarded as situations where characteristics of smart devices can be better utilized at our firm. Different policies on network infrastructure and security protection are applied to these circumstances depending on their distinguished working environments from each other. Using tablets for work purposes has already been on its trial run at Toray (May, 2012), and we believe it will be a tool to actualize the innovation of enterprise work style.
To adhere to Torayʼs rigid regulations on information security protection, together with an aim to bring the effects of smart devices on accelerating business efficiency to its fullest, different settings on network infrastructure and information security protection are set even on same types of smart devices when it serves for distinct purposes. There is a tendency among many enterprises and companies to operate a smart device according to how it will be used as well as the job content.
'We have received lots of inquiries and requests after the removal of banning smartphones at the workplace.' (By Jouji Igarashi) The following three points are the most common.
- Desire to use smartphones as an external storage equipment
- Desire to use smartphones of their preference
- Desire to use smartphones overseas
'Based on our firmʼs information security protection policy, the first and the second one cannot be allowed at the moment. However, when referring to the third one, as an enterprise that has several offices and branches all over the world, we are surely willing and motivated to promote and facilitate systems and services that support staff to use smart devices for business abroad. We believe we should fully discuss and resolve some problems, such as developing a budget-saved business plan as well as setting principles and regulations on dealing with smart devices being lost and stolen when using overseas.' (By Igarashi)
Aiming to utilize CACHATTO not only during business trips, but also in branches overseas, the verification process has been started.
In August, 2012, with the cooperation of Toray Industries (Thailand) Co., Ltd., verification was run to see if the operating condition built up by a CACHATTO server set in Thailand and the access point set in Japan was practical. The result was satisfactory, and we could confirm responses almost the same as in Japan. 'CACHATTO is perfectly practical in business', is the comment that we have received from the person in charge of information system operation in Toray Industries.
Furthermore, another valuable comment on CACHATTO system was addressed by Toray staff that 'In the aftermath of the floods that occurred in Thailand last year (2011), there was a certain period of time where we were unable to keep in contact with our staff there. CACHATTO is valuable for our Business Continuity Plan, and is worth considering.'
Smartphones continue to spread not only in Thailand, but all over the world. A lot is expected from e-Jan Networks on the usage of CACHATTO overseas, but such expectations from our users is natural since CACAHTTO has been selected and preferred by so many big firms that have branches and business across the globe.
We have forwarded our steps further on expanding CACHATTO service and business globally with the release of a multi-language service in CACHATTO system (UTF-8) in August, 2012.
