iManifest Powers On in Japan
October 25, 2010 Kimitaki Usui
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People are curious about the iManifest Japan effort, and so I would like to give you an update. After the advertisement titled “IBM i Manifest” in the Nihon Keizai Shinbun published on January 13, 2009, which strongly promoted IBM i, the Japanese iManifest community decided to gear up to take iManifest to the next level. First, we set up an advisory board consisting of 15 members from 15 companies (which has grown to 21 members from 21 companies), and formed five task forces. The iManifest board has met once per month since March 2009 to discuss what IBM i users need and what we can do to help give those users a voice. In January, the board decided on its action plan for 2010:
On April 26, we launched the iManifest 2 campaign to recruit new members from the IBM partner community for a new round of message advertisements. When the campaign concluded on August 6, 111 companies endorsed it, including financial commitments. Since only 71 companies endorsed the previous campaign, 40 companies are newcomers and iManifest Japan has experienced 60 percent growth in membership. The new message advertisements for the iManifest 2 campaign were placed in the October 13 issue of Nihon Keizai Shinbun. Ads will be placed in the October 22 issue of iMagazine, a quarterly publication dedicated to the IBM i user platform, and in the October 26 issue of Nikkei Computer, a leading platform-independent Japanese magazine for the corporate IT world published monthly. The IBM i Case Database site (www.ibmidb.org) went live on March 29, displaying over 60 separate case studies in the Japanese language. Now, nearly 100 case studies are available online. We have a plan to increase this to around 300 cases by the end of March 2011. At the coming Intermediate System User Conference event, which is similar in format and positioning to COMMON in the United States and which will be held from October 20 to 22 in Niigata prefecture (located about 300 kilometers to the north of Tokyo), we will have three user sessions presented by iManifest and will also present the iManifest message to the wider IBM i user community via a booth in the exhibition mall. iManifest Japan continues to pursue an energetic and innovative program of activities. You can get some idea of the scope and reach from the attached organization and task force explanation. A chronicle then details the achievements and activities of iManifest Japan to date. Stand by for more fireworks from iManifest Japan in the future! Following is an overview of the structure of the Japan iManifest organization and a chronicle of our accomplishments. iManifest Japan Organization Directors’ Committee: Note: The representative director is similar to the role of a chairman, but with some subtle differences that downplay the element of board control. Advisory Board–representatives from the following 21 companies: Secretary: International Advisor: Task force–five groups as re-formed in January 2010: iManifest Japan Chronicle 2008 2009 2010 Kimitaki Usui is the secretary of iManifest Japan; he is also the owner of iMagazine and was editor in chief of Computerworld Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. RELATED STORIES iManifest U.S. Looking for a New Spearhead United States, Japan, and EMEA Combine iManifest Efforts iManifest Regroups, Plans to Meet at COMMON Linoma Joins iManifest U.S. to Help Spread the i Word iManifest U.S. Adds BCD to List of ISV Supporters Soltis Says iManifest Needed to Promote IBM i Early Views on iManifest: ISV Expectations, Public Misconceptions iManifest Begins i Marketing Fundraising in the States What We Can Learn from iManifest IBM i Manifest Takes Root in Japan
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