In today’s rapidly digitalizing world, the ability to anticipate and propose solutions ahead of customer needs is critical. At Uniadex’s Solution Marketing Division, the team is undergoing a shift toward proactive value delivery through digital innovation.
At the heart of this transformation is a commitment to thorough information gathering—an area where SPEEDA Edge has played a pivotal role.
We sat down with Mr. Katazawa, Manager of the Solution Marketing Division, and Mr. Sato, who leads marketing efforts in the cybersecurity space, to discuss how the team is leveraging SPEEDA Edge, building a culture of proactive research, and driving organizational change.
"Our mission is to deliver real value to our clients by combining multiple assets into comprehensive, forward-looking solutions.
Uniadex has long supported clients with IT integration services—networks, servers, cloud infrastructure, and more. But we began to question whether providing individual components truly addressed our clients’ core challenges. That’s when we decided to shift from a reactive model ("we need this specific product") to a proactive approach—offering holistic solutions before the client even realizes their needs.
Planning and designing these solutions, including managed services, is our primary role."
"Our team consists of around 40 members. Roughly half focus on solution planning, while the other half work on managed service development. I oversee the division, coordinating efforts across our specialized professionals."
"I mainly handle marketing in the security domain. Until last year, I focused on discovering emerging solutions and developing our corporate security strategy. This year, I’m also involved in planning managed services—adding value through the integration of services and products to create unique, high-quality solutions for our clients."
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"We currently focus on six domains: network infrastructure, cloud and IT platforms, cybersecurity, digital workplace (including devices and communication tools), AI, and OT (Operational Technology).
Each team researches the latest technologies within their field, plans advanced solutions, and collaborates with internal engineers and sales to design managed services that deliver value to clients.
For example, in the manufacturing sector, we’ve worked on infrastructure projects that seamlessly integrate IT and OT, and used AI to optimize production lines. In the digital workplace domain, we’ve implemented solutions that both enhance remote work efficiency and strengthen security."
"I previously worked in Silicon Valley, where I used SPEEDA Edge. Upon returning to Japan, I realized that we lacked a culture of independently gathering and leveraging startup or emerging technology insights.
Traditionally, when we introduced new offerings, it was often based on what Japanese distributors were already handling. There was little need to seek out information ourselves. I felt a sense of urgency about this.
When I returned in 2023, I established a new team to drive active information gathering within the company. However, keeping up with multiple media sources, tracking startup trends, and identifying key investment patterns proved incredibly time-consuming. That’s when we turned to SPEEDA Edge as a trusted source of intelligence."
"In my role in cybersecurity, I use SPEEDA Edge to monitor areas like "next-gen cybersecurity," getting a broad overview of the trends. It's essential to quickly identify startups that are pioneering new technologies, compile lists of promising companies, and test their offerings internally.
When workloads pile up, information gathering tends to get deprioritized. But with SPEEDA Edge, I receive daily email updates and can easily dive into specific keywords to explore further. The platform makes it simple to stay informed efficiently, even with a packed schedule."
"We initially started with three user IDs, but as our focus on six domains became more defined, we expanded the number of users. Now, each domain has a dedicated lead responsible for gathering insights.
We also find the analyst service and custom research functionality extremely useful. For example, when we want to benchmark a startup’s technology or assess its competitive landscape, we request custom reports. These give us long lists of similar companies and deep insight, helping us craft better strategies."
"To put it simply, SPEEDA Edge helped us go from zero to one. Before 2023, we didn’t have any structured system for startup intelligence. That changed when I returned in April and we implemented SPEEDA in July—our transformation started with SPEEDA Edge."
"As an IT company, we took pride in responding to customer needs and delivering products and services. But we lacked the ability to proactively identify issues or insights that customers hadn’t yet realized themselves.
Now, with SPEEDA Edge, we actively collect insights and provide information to our sales teams before customers even ask. We’ve seen an increase in clients asking for more details, which signals to us that our proposals are hitting the mark.
That’s also led to greater internal recognition. Teams now come to us expecting cutting-edge information, and we’re starting to be seen as a strategic resource across the company.
We still value the information we get from our long-time manufacturer and distributor partners. But we now complement that with our own global research to uncover new value and drive innovation."
"We want to make a real difference in society through the solutions we provide. Whether directly or by supporting our customers’ efforts, we aim to contribute to positive societal change.
To do that, we can’t just be selling "things." We must deliver real value that addresses customer challenges. Our core is still in infrastructure, but we also need to keep pace with evolving technologies and bring transformative solutions to market faster—especially in areas like AI and OT, which are more tightly connected to customer operations.
By addressing issues like labor shortages and cybersecurity, we can help our clients operate with greater peace of mind, and in doing so, continue to contribute meaningfully to society."
"AI is now essential across all sectors. In security, we must address both "AI for Security" and "Security for AI." But it’s not enough to just secure AI. We need to build an environment where our clients can fully leverage all their data assets.
Our strength lies in being able to offer diverse, tailored proposals. Moving forward, we want to merge multiple services and products to tackle clients’ core challenges. That requires a proactive mindset—anticipating needs and offering solutions before being asked. If our sales teams develop this capability, I believe we can drive real, company-wide transformation."
Head of Solution Marketing
Solution Marketing Department, Managed Services Group Manager
