PositiveWare launches in Japan!
We have partnered with Tokyo-based Kozo Keikaku Engineering (KKE), Inc., to distribute our software in Japan.
“The Japanese market is as yet untapped for performance management software,” stated Charles Von Thun, the president and founder of PositiveWare. “The KKE partnership represents significant potential for both parties.”
Von Thun estimates demand that the total market for performance management software will grow to $900 million in 2010. KKE , which began using PositiveWare internally this summer was sufficiently impressed to want to distribute the Japanese language version to companies throughout the country.
Founded in November, 2003, PositiveWare was named the 2005 Colorado Software and Internet Association’s Rookie of the Year. Clients include Avaya, DDRC, Touchdown Technologies and Decisioneering, Inc. Using the software to align employee behavior to strategic goals , the companies have realized an increase in productivity of up to 30 percent in the first few months.
PositiveWare principals have a long history in the Japanese market. Karen Kruse, CTO of PositiveWare, worked in Tokyo for nearly a year developing and implementing financial trading systems for the Tokyo stock exchange. Von Thun, the president and founder of PositiveWare, partnered with KKE previously to release several packaged software applications.
Today’s announcement is the result of months of discussion between KKE - Japanese distributor of AutoCad, Minitab, and Crystal Ball - and the development team of PositiveWare. The team began its work in April, 2005 to develop a Japanese language translation of the application that also reflected cultural norms.
Von Thun credits Microsoft’s .NET framework technology and PositiveWare’s internet-based design for the ease in which the partnership has developed. While creating, translating and testing the application was a laborious process, five years ago it may have been impossible, he notes.
Similarly demand in Japan has grown tremendously over the past 2-3 years.
“Our firm places a high value on accountability and communication, as do most other Japanese firms,” said Shota Hattori, CEO of KKE. “The PositiveWare application is not only a significant tool allowing companies to increase productivity and improve communication throughout the organization, it is also completely unique to the Japanese marketplace.
About PositiveWare
PositiveWare, LLC, provides web-based, performance management solutions. PositiveWare is used by managers and employees to establish and evaluate employee goals, leading to increased employee motivation and morale, reduced managerial workloads, and improved strategy execution.
PositiveWare emerged from its beta release with its v1.0 release in March 2005 and has numerous customers including a Fortune 500 technology company and an international software engineering company in Japan. For more information about the company and its products visit www.positiveware.com.
About Kozo Keikaku Engineering, Inc.
Kozo Keikaku Engineering, Inc., is a Tokyo-based company that evolved from one of Japan’s premier structural engineering firms to be a leading provider of information technology solutions. The firm is the Japanese distributor for AutoDesk, Minitab, and Crystal Ball, and is also a developer of custom software solutions for telecommunication companies including NTT-Docomo and KDDI, and major real estate developers and construction firms. For more information visit www.kke.co.jp/positiveware.
