Business System Consultation Center - Our Business System Column Library

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Table of Contents

■ Articles from 2026

Vol.173 Eliminating individual dependency = lowering the barrier to entry for competitors 2026.03.01NEW

Vol.172 The secret to being the sole person in charge 2026.02.01

Vol.171 Over-customizing and over-depending on your system makes you an easy mark for vendors 2026.01.01

■ Articles from 2025

Vol.170 Build in-house or outsource your system? 2025.12.01

Vol.169 Operation manuals are money pits — all effort, no reward 2025.11.01

Vol.168 PPAP is comfort for the Japanese soul 2025.10.01

Vol.167 Everyone hopes that 'good people' will survive 2025.09.01

Vol.166 Cloud is also an effective way to lock your system company into your service 2025.08.01

Vol.165 Maintenance contracts are for binding the system company, not your company 2025.07.01

Vol.164 Do you really need ESU? 2025.06.01

Vol.163 The no-code sales pitch 'build systems easily' is a bait-and-switch argument 2025.05.01

Vol.162 The case for email communication 2025.04.01

Vol.161 Once called 'teacher,' recently called 'partner,' in ten years we'll be called a 'convenient tool' 2025.03.01

Vol.160 When should an in-house system be renewed? 2025.02.01

Vol.159 The best remedy for system aging: don't change the person in charge 2025.01.01

■ Articles from 2024

Vol.158 Systems are still very much a human world 2024.12.01

Vol.157 The key figure in system design is the SE at the system company 2024.11.01

Vol.156 Complex Excel spreadsheets are natural and not inherently bad 2024.10.01

Vol.155 Whether a trial version is available matters 2024.09.01

Vol.154 You should never assign underperforming employees as in-house SEs 2024.08.01

Vol.153 Evaluating the quality of maintenance 2024.07.01

Vol.152 Contracts protect the IT vendor, not the client 2024.06.01

Vol.151 Intuition and experience — individual-dependent work is what holds companies together 2024.05.01

Vol.150 The ultimate goal of any system is load distribution 2024.04.01

Vol.149 In a system, master data is just as important as functionality 2024.03.01

Vol.148 Beware of IT vendors that frequently change your account manager 2024.02.01

Vol.147 The reward for work is more work 2024.01.01

■ Articles from 2023

Vol.146 Breaking free from single-vendor dependency 2023.12.01

Vol.145 The dilemma of over-customizing: unique specs shorten your system's lifespan 2023.11.01

Vol.144 Fully managing operations in Excel is not necessarily a bad thing 2023.10.01

Vol.143 'Implementing a system increased our workload' — that's also true 2023.09.01

Vol.142 What qualities are required in a system developer? 2023.08.01

Vol.141 An excellent in-house SE creates a culture where in-house SEs are no longer needed 2023.07.01

Vol.140 The natural human urge to fill empty spaces 2023.06.01

Vol.139 Tips for ordering a system effectively 2023.05.01

Vol.138 Accepting inefficiency, accepting irrationality, continuing to rely on individuals 2023.04.01

Vol.137 AI is in the spotlight — but can your company actually use it well? 2023.03.01

Vol.136 Every software company that couldn't honestly say 'it costs what it costs' has gone under 2023.02.01

Vol.135 For your company's future, find the employee quietly tinkering with Excel behind their boss's back 2023.01.01

■ Articles from 2022

Vol.134 You don't need to worry too much about the IT talent shortage 2022.12.01

Vol.133 Improving business processes requires an understanding of reproducibility 2022.11.01

Vol.132 An overview of the invoice system and its implications 2022.10.01

Vol.131 The pros and cons of having employees handle IT vendor communication 2022.09.01

Vol.130 At the very least, use your own domain for email — even if nothing else 2022.08.01

Vol.129 Beware of IT companies where sales and development don't communicate 2022.07.01

Vol.128 To reduce the number of companies suffering because of OCR 2022.06.01

Vol.127 Why does UTM interfere with your system? 2022.05.01

Vol.126 The advantages of in-house systems 2022.04.01

Vol.125 Why does MS Access have a bad reputation? 2022.03.01

Vol.124 A system is a game of telephone, inside and outside the company 2022.02.01

Vol.123 We are veteran professionals, but we give our all to every single project 2022.01.01

■ Articles from 2021

Vol.122 Trends don't matter to us — big corporations, cloud, security, big data, AI and so on 2021.12.01

Vol.121 The government demands IT investment of 0.1% or more of revenue 2021.11.01

Vol.120 Give your office staff dual monitors 2021.11.01

Vol.119 There are several types of 'purpose' when implementing a system 2021.10.01

Vol.118 The annoying Windows Update and its misdeeds 2021.09.01

Vol.117 Honestly, you don't need Office 365 or similar 2021.09.01

Vol.116 Smooth contracts come from accumulated human effort, not stamps 2021.08.01

Vol.115 Perspectives on digitization 2021.07.01

Vol.114 Eradicate internal fraud with this system? It's not that simple 2021.06.01

Vol.113 Do you really need a website? 2021.05.01

Vol.112 It's fine to take a cautious approach to remote work 2021.04.01

Vol.111 Why is IT adoption being pushed? The big picture: 'Because other countries are doing it' 2021.03.01

Vol.110 We don't sell UTM devices, even if asked 2021.02.01

Vol.109 Using PC software to monitor employee work behavior is not recommended 2021.01.01

■ Articles from 2020

Vol.108 It's not 'work style reform' — it's 'how we make people work reform' 2020.12.01

Vol.107 Even with monthly 7-hour outages, you can still claim 99% uptime 2020.11.01

Vol.106 Make a mistake on a video call and the salesperson will lose respect for you 2020.11.01

Vol.105 What to think about before considering a system implementation 2020.10.01

Vol.104 Is it still okay to use Windows 7? 2020.08.01

Vol.103 Don't cut corners on PC costs 2020.06.01

Vol.102 The employees least suited for remote work are the ones who want it most 2020.06.01

Vol.101 If you need to customize a package that much, just go with custom software 2020.05.01

Vol.100 Working on a PC is obviously better than working on a smartphone 2020.05.01

Vol.99 HDD or SSD? The difference, in one word, is speed 2020.04.01

Vol.98 Did you know PC monitors have a spec called 'resolution'? 2020.04.01

Vol.97 Nothing is less useful in hiring an in-house SE than IT certifications 2020.03.01

Vol.96 System sovereignty belongs to the user company 2020.02.01

Vol.95 Are you familiar with the concept of non-functional requirements? 2020.01.01

■ Articles from 2019

Vol.94 Small businesses that end up buying RPA — a useless tool 2019.09.01

Vol.93 The useless in-house SE who works hard at 'work for the sake of working' 2019.08.01

Vol.92 In the end, whether a system is good or bad depends on the people 2019.07.01

Vol.91 'I'll buy it if there's a subsidy' just makes you an easy target 2019.06.01

Vol.90 Avoid doing business with IT vendors that frequently change staff or account managers 2019.05.01

Vol.89 Inventory is a management weapon 2019.04.01

Vol.88 Exposing your own server to the public is, as expected, an outdated approach 2019.03.01

■ Articles from 2018

Vol.87 Many companies can't fully systematize analog work — and that's okay 2018.10.01

Vol.86 The strategy of incorporating talented employees as part of the system 2018.08.01

Vol.85 Making your clients do the work is the true essence of a system 2018.07.01

Vol.84 The tragicomic story of BCP preparations so excessive they disrupt business 2018.05.01

Vol.83 What is an appropriate budget for a business system? 2018.04.01

Vol.82 Are you using pirated software? 2018.03.01

Vol.81 There are dishonest salespeople selling cloud services without understanding what cloud is 2018.02.01

Vol.80 System troubles are and always have been a fact of life 2018.01.01

Vol.79 The qualities of an in-house SE 2018.01.01

■ Articles from 2017

Vol.78 It's fine to take the position that eliminating fax is unrealistic 2017.10.01

Vol.77 Salespeople who use SNS, exhibitions, and networking events as excuses to slack off 2017.10.01

Vol.76 Are you spending too much on PC asset management? 2017.09.01

Vol.75 Managers who are co-opted by frontline staff and lose effectiveness 2017.09.01

Vol.74 A bad system keeps bleeding like a wound that never heals 2017.08.01

Vol.73 Is there a future for companies that never stop complaining about system costs? 2017.07.01

Vol.72 Your business system is your company itself 2017.07.01

Vol.71 You should never assign underperforming employees to the IT department 2017.04.01

Vol.70 The best place to store files in Windows Explorer is right under the drive 2017.04.01

Vol.69 Business owners who attend IT seminars and buy useless things 2017.02.01

■ Articles from 2016

Vol.68 What's wrong with old technology and old design? 2016.10.01

Vol.67 [Cloud Talk] It's not the in-house server that's the burden — it's the employee who monopolizes it 2016.10.01

Vol.66 Gathering too many internal opinions will sink your system project 2016.10.01

Vol.65 An employee unsuited to system management will remain so for life 2016.06.01

Vol.64 A system should educate your company not just today, but into the future 2016.05.01

Vol.63 Business owners who buy systems without knowledge and get deceived 2016.03.01

Vol.62 The trap of feature-rich package systems 2016.02.01

Vol.61 It's no surprise when systematizing an Excel-based workflow fails 2016.01.01

■ Articles from 2015

Vol.60 System resellers who take the profit but dodge the responsibility 2015.12.01

Vol.59 Sub-systems are the essence of any system and the source of competitive advantage 2015.11.01

Vol.58 Some clients will leave when you implement a new system 2015.09.01

Vol.57 You're actually already using cloud services quite well 2015.09.01

Vol.56 The era in which employees can easily walk off with your data 2015.08.01

Vol.55 Should you have a website and email on your own domain? 2015.07.01

Vol.54 In-house business systems are better if possible — the best case is the president builds it 2015.06.01

Vol.53 You can tell at a glance which companies are behind on IT 2015.05.01

Vol.52 To extend the life of your system, even a little 2015.04.01

Vol.51 Slow PC (or system)! The causes are almost always the same few things 2015.03.01

Vol.50 Why do companies fail when implementing standard package software? 2015.02.01

Vol.49 Password-protected email attachments? You don't need that 2015.01.01

■ Articles from 2014

Vol.48 What to think about before considering a system implementation 2014.10.01

Vol.47 If you're torn between Windows Home and Pro, choose Pro 2014.09.01

Vol.46 There are reasons why you shouldn't over-visualize data 2014.08.01

Vol.45 System investment for regulatory compliance is not investment — it's just spending 2014.08.01

Vol.44 Should you buy antivirus software or not? 2014.07.01

Vol.43 The era when PC-obsessed employees out-argue their bosses 2014.06.01

Vol.42 Never tell a system salesperson you don't know market pricing 2014.05.01

Vol.41 The difference between systems that lose value, hold value, and gain value 2014.05.01

Vol.40 When systematizing, it pays to reconsider the work itself 2014.04.01

Vol.39 You don't need to attend IT seminars 2014.02.01

Vol.38 Business owners who can't buy systems — it's not about buying a PC 2014.02.01

■ Articles from 2013

Vol.37 How long do PCs last? What to consider to extend their life? 2013.11.01

Vol.36 A company's IT adoption has nothing to do with employees' IT certifications 2013.10.01

Vol.35 What happens when you demand discounts on a system quote 2013.09.01

Vol.34 Don't skimp on internet connectivity, but you don't need WiFi 2013.08.01

Vol.33 IT salespeople who skillfully offer escapism to business owners sell like hotcakes 2013.08.01

Vol.32 Cases where it's correct to accept that a system implementation increases employee workload 2013.07.01

Vol.31 PCs that need preventive replacement, and those that don't 2013.07.01

Vol.30 The variance in quality among IT vendors exceeds that among doctors 2013.06.01

Vol.29 Cautions when sharing files internally via NAS or file servers 2013.04.01

Vol.28 Focusing on your core business while delegating IT to staff is getting it backwards 2013.04.01

Vol.27 Attendance systems should be standard — adapt your workflow to the database 2013.03.01

Vol.26 If the person in charge doesn't understand the work, it's too early to systematize it 2013.03.01

Vol.25 The importance of having employees keep daily work logs 2013.01.01

■ Articles from 2012

Vol.24 The illusion (or delusion) called paperless 2012.12.01

Vol.23 Presidents dismissed by staff with 'The boss doesn't understand PCs' 2012.11.01

Vol.22 The hidden lies behind 'Yes, we can do that' in system proposals 2012.07.01

Vol.21 Loss-making companies don't need system investment 2012.06.01

Vol.20 How to deal with accounting staff who insist on manual processes 2012.04.01

Vol.19 Yes-men should be limited to employees only 2012.02.01

Vol.18 A system should be the voice of the company president 2012.01.01

Vol.17 Presenting a proposal or estimate is not simply about getting an order 2012.01.01

■ Articles from 2011

Vol.16 Employees who complain about IT vendors to protect their own position 2011.11.01

Vol.15 The world's best-selling business system is Excel 2011.10.01

Vol.14 When a good system is introduced, some employees may leave 2011.09.01

Vol.13 IT salespeople who sell bad packages and run before the market catches on 2011.06.01

Vol.12 If a proposal uses simplified diagrams, demand details and reasoning — even if it feels awkward 2011.06.01

Vol.11 Hired an external consultant, the company improved — happy ending? 2011.06.01

Vol.10 Adoption rates and statistics aren't much help when evaluating systems 2011.04.01

Vol.9 The smaller the system, the greater the chance of success 2011.03.01

Vol.8 Bundling hardware with your system order means you'll overpay 2011.03.01

Vol.7 An FB page you never update is better off deleted 2011.03.01

■ Articles from 2010

Vol.6 System delays lead to hiring delays and training delays 2010.12.01

Vol.5 A system is not a magic wand 2010.11.01

Vol.4 Have you heard of a company called Kongogumi? 2010.09.01

Vol.3 Ordering a system from an acquaintance leads to trouble 2010.08.01

Vol.2 The longer the schedule, the less anyone follows it 2010.07.01

Vol.1 Too busy to think about your system? 2010.06.01

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