Looking Back on 2024

How time flies; 2024 is drawing to a close and over six months has passed since I shared my first Column as Vice-President. At this time, on behalf of all employees at Mitsue-Links, I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to both our valued clients and technical partners for the continued support throughout the year.

This year marked a significant turning point for our company. After nearly 35 years of independent growth, under the leadership of founder Masashi Takahashi, Mitsue-Links began a new chapter when it joined the Dentsu Soken group - an IT-related services firm situated within a major advertising agency.

Before discussing the future of Mitsue-Links, let's first take a moment to reflect on our development. The company was founded in 1990 to provide FAX image processing services and fully digital audio recording services. Inspired by a book that emphasized an approaching era where consumer diversity would demand more personalized information, our founder, Masashi Takahashi, was inspired to establish the business. Then by the mid-1990s, as internet technology began to emerge, we launched our web development-related services - a business that continues to this day. As the internet evolved into an essential social infrastructure, Mitsue-Links embraced a commitment to delivering clear and accessible information to all. This commitment drove us to become the first company in the web industry to obtain ISO certification and, as a member of W3C, to actively promote web standards. Our focus on quality has always been a defining principle of our development approach. In recent years, with the April 2024 enforcement of the Japan's revised Act for Eliminating Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities, which mandated the adoption of reasonable accommodation by private companies, we have been proactive in addressing web accessibility. By standardizing the integration of accessibility measures within project work, we continue to serve as a bridge between those who create and those who consume information.

Our philosophy of promoting customized information distribution aligned well with the major trends of the times. However, above all, it is thanks to our clients who acknowledged our business policies and utilized our services that Mitsue-Links has been able to grow continuously to this point. We are deeply grateful for their support. Our commitment to delivering "high quality" and "excellent communication design" through the efforts of our employees has earned us recognition, particularly in the development and management of corporate websites and other static frontend domains. These areas now constitute a significant portion of our business portfolio, however, due to strict adherence to our principles, we may have become overly focused on such business domains. Furthermore, our emphasis on maintaining high quality may have also inadvertently created a corporate culture less conducive to taking bold challenges.

Since joining the Dentsu Soken group this spring, we have conducted countless capability awareness-raising presentations for various companies within the Dentsu Group. These discussions have centered on how we can leverage and apply our core values - quality and clear communication design - to the broader business domains of the Dentsu Group, ultimately contributing to better services for clients and the consumers they serve. Through these discussions, we discovered new opportunities where our expertise is valued, as well as areas where we need to improve our know-how. This has been a valuable process of reflection and growth as we look to expand into new domains.

Mitsue-Links has grown significantly over the past 35 years, now employing over 400 people. To survive, we must continuously adapt to the evolving needs of society.

To remain a company that is indispensable to society and a place where employees can grow with confidence, we are currently developing our first-ever medium-term management plan. This plan is being informed by the changing nature of client inquiries and the new growth opportunities identified through our collaborations with the Dentsu Group. The primary objectives of this plan are outlined as follows:

• Contributing to the Advancement of the Web Development Industry
  To actively participate in initiatives necessary for the healthy growth of the industry and play a key role in promoting their widespread adoption.

• Customer-Centric Approach and Promotion of a Let's Challenge Spirit
  To embrace a willingness to transform the company when necessary, both the sales and technical teams will continually consider how to best meet client needs. Additionally, to foster a corporate culture where taking on challenges is valued and recognized.

• Enhancing Development Capabilities
  To strengthen expertise in areas such as headless systems, large-scale CMS development, and operational innovation through AI. Furthermore, to collaborate with Dentsu Soken group companies to establish a development framework capable of meeting increasingly sophisticated and complex client demands.

• Human Capital Management
  To create an environment where employees can work securely and grow over the long term, ultimately contributing to clients' success. To commit to enhancing and revising education and evaluation systems to support employee growth.

Ryoichi Nawa, the first president of Dentsu Soken, often spoke of the concept of "Transformation and Core." Mitsue-Links, too, is a company with many important "core" values that should be preserved. While cherishing the cultural aspects that our clients have long appreciated, we will embrace change without fear and continue to grow alongside our employees, striving to become a company that exceeds expectations more than ever before.

Finally, please note that our offices will be closed for the New Year holiday from December 28, 2024, to January 5, 2025. We will resume operations on January 6. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.