Digital pen experiences ineveryday life scenes ​Wacom envisions the future where people can reap the benefits ofdigital pen in every aspect of our lives.​
This will become possible through both Wacom branded products andpen solutions delivered via OEM customers’ products. ​dai l y life

for

32

33

MATERIALITY 1

WINNING HEARTS & MINDS
Playing a key role in digital pen experience
How Wacom creates an ecosystem around its technologies
Wacom branded products are not the only things powerd by Wacom's
technology. It’s incorporated in a variety of products to support digital penbased experiences in the IT, stationery, and education industries, providing
added value to products manufactured by our partners and the companies that
we serve as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

Meeting expectations
The Technology Solution Business isessentially a component manufacturer
for their customers, but their job is
not to simply sell the technology.
Rather they provide digital pen-based
experiences that employ Wacom's
technology. Their job is to make surethat the end product—the digital
device—incorporates the digital penbased experience that best suits that
product.
When developing relationships witha product manufacturer, Wacom's
assets—accumulated through thecompany’s Branded Business suchas technology base, experience,and reputation—will be a big help.
Many companies open their doors
to Wacom in hopes of providing theircustomers with drawing and writing

Delivering digital pen
experiences to the world
There are a large number of thedevices that are compatible with digitalpens. Digital pen and ink technologies
provide experiences that are both
intuitive and sophisticated. Generally,
manufacturers of stationery products
and electronics do not possess
such technology. This is where
the Technology Solution Businesscomes into play—embedding
Wacom technology into a customer’s
products so that more consumers
get to enjoy Wacom’s digital penbased experiences. In that sense,
the Technology Solution Businessputs Wacom in the role of an original
equipment manufacturer (OEM) for
their customers.
Kaelin Chang—Senior Director ofTechnical Marketing—is based in
San Francisco and travels constantly

34

to Japan, Taiwan, and China. She
is responsible for the US and Asianmarkets, where she primarily handles
customers who are computer andsmartphone makers while also
working to sign on new customers.
Chang coordinates with the sales
staff to ensure their customers are
getting the value they expect basedon user insight. Her team—diverse inboth race and gender—is composedof members from Taiwan, Japan,
and the United States. Members
are free to work when and where
they choose and are in continuous
contact with their customers. If there
is one word that best describes theteam, it is “persistent.” They will not
hesitate to employ the full brain powerof the company to develop the best
strategy for meeting their customers’
demands. In this article, we will betaking a closer look at the Technology
Solution Business.

experiences that cannot be foundanywhere else. Digital pens would
be customized according to thedevices they are packaged with, butwhat sets Wacom apart is its ability
to adapt their digital pens so thatthey perform just as well in different
digital environments. “Our clients do
not see us as just another digital pen
maker,” says Chang. “They know thatby incorporating Wacom technology,
they can make their products more
appealing to their customers.”
In some cases, Wacom branded
products may end up competing withthose of their customers. However, interms of speed and volume, Wacom
cannot, on their own, meet theworld’s expectations for digital pen
experiences. Wacom’s customers,on the other hand, can provide
products in greater volumes and canreach markets outside of the creative
fields that are Wacom’s specialty.
By working with these customers,
Wacom ensures that products
incorporating their technologies reacha much wider audience. This is why

their own products.

remaining attractive to customers even

While Wacom is forming

as Wacom’s competitors improve theirpartnerships with producttechnology is the element of surprise.

manufacturers, they also actively
search for development partners

This is often delivered by presenting
the technology in innovative ways thatthat are well versed in cutting-edge

stimulate their customers’ interest.

technology. They are particularly

Rita Chen of the Technology Solution

keen on discovering companies

Business, who is also responsible fordeveloping technologies that cangreatly expand the performance ofbringing in new customers, says that
it is important to help their customers

their digital pens—especially in relation

envision the world of digital pens—

to haptic technology and gyroscopes.

sometimes with the aid of Wacom’s“Technological partners are very

entire brain power. “We need to havedifficult to find; maybe one in ten
candidates qualifies if you’re lucky,”

our customers feel the depths of thesays Chang. “You need to meet andtalk with many companies until you

only we are able to develop as an
own-brand product manufacturer thatfind that one shining diamond.”is entirely focused on the digital pen
experience,” she says. “You won’t get
anywhere if your customer is bored.
Our strength is that we can work
closely with Wacom team members
in many different departments—sales,
technical marketing, engineering—
to explore different approaches todifferent customers.”

The element of surprise
Sometimes, a customer makesa request that initially appears
very demanding. Even then, theTechnology Solution Business will
doggedly attempt to meet thisdemand; for them, meeting theircustomers’ hopes and expectations
is more important than anything else.
Customer demands can be difficult,requiring multiple departments tocome together to explore a solution.
“Often, it requires a completely
different development process thanwhat we’re used to,” says Chang. “Butby being persistent in meeting ourcustomers’ demands, we as a team
become stronger. And sometimes, aproject proceeds by the informationand know-how that we provide ourcustomers. So you can say that theseprojects are learning opportunities forboth us and our customers.”
Chang says that the key toTechnology innovation and new creative experiences

Remarkable digital pen
experiences for all
Sayatake KOMINE
Executive Vice President
Technology Solution Businesstechnologies and experiences that

Future-based strategies
One important skill needed by atechnology company is the ability
to predict trends and visualize thedirection of technology. Members of
the Technology Solution Businessmeet periodically with their clients aswell as top manufacturers in various
industries to exchange opinions on
the subject. These discussions help
the team optimize their technology
development strategies for each clientand industry. Demand often takes
time to catch up with cutting-edge
technology; the Technology Solution
Business is focused on acting now so

Our purpose is to provide remarkable digital pen experiences to a varietyof end users. This requires defining the experiences that our users seekin our products and refining our technologies so we can bring thoseexperiences to life. Our organization is highly adaptable due to our focus
on hiring and nurturing engineers in a variety of hardware and software
fields, as well as our commitment towards developing communal
relationships with our partners. There is a theory that digital pens canprovide certain types of data related to the way we act and think that
other mediums cannot. We are only beginning to explore the businesspossibilities that such a theory suggests.

they can provide these needs when
demand arises in the future.
One example of this is the Universal
Pen Framework (UPF). In the past
few years, Wacom has been busy
approaching a variety of companies
to build a common ecosystem basedon their active electrostatic (ActiveES®) technology. Their goal is tocreate a cooperative framework thateven includes Wacom’s competitors.
The continuous innovation occurringin display development has madesomething like the UPF moredesirable. Interest is already increasing
in touch display driver integration(TDDI), in which touch sensor anddisplay driver chips are integrated
into a single chip to reduce the costof producing touch displays while
increasing touch sensitivity. Suchadvances are making digital pen
technologies more attractive to display
makers.
Instead of limiting their high-quality
technologies to their own products,
Wacom wants to create an industry
standard that will spread theirtechnology all across the world.
Perhaps we will soon see a day
where Wacom’s digital pens can beused with every digital device—adream come true for the company.

Far Left:

Left:

Kaelin CHANG

Rita CHEN

Senior Director
Technology Solution Business

Senior Manager
Technology Solution Business

After earning her master’s degree in industrial
engineering and technology licensing at a state
university in Taiwan, Chang in 2007 joined
Taiwanese display maker giant AUO. In 2013,
she began working at Wacom as a businessdevelopment manager. After playing a key rolein strengthening the technical marketing teamat Technology Solution Business, she is now
working as team leader.

Chen joined Wacom in 2014. Her duties
are varied and include planning technology
solutions, developing new business models,and managing strategic partnerships.

Wacom is not stuck on providing
digital pen experiences based in
Wacom technology solely through35

TECHNOLOGY
shinesthrough

Wacom’s long-time partners include two of the world’s
leading device makers: Lenovo and Samsung. The twocompanies have often joined Wacom in developing new
products. We talked to representatives from each company
about their joint projects with Wacom.

case_2SAMSUNG
Working together to provide
unique mobile experiences

case_1LENOVO

Catarina CHO
Senior Professional
Technology Strategy Group
Samsung Electronics

Cho is responsible for partnership management at
the Technology Strategy Team in Samsung’s Mobile
Experience Business. Her current areas of focus include
strengthening technology partnerships for the S Pen (adigital pen for the Galaxy series which Wacom has beendeveloping with Samsung) and in other related areas.

Adding greater value
to digital solutions

Q: Could you tell us why you chose Wacom as your digital pen solutions partner?

Q: What is the added value that a digital
pen brings to a device?

A: Wacom is a leader in the digital pen solutions field. They
are a one-stop provider of high-quality solutions that cover
touch-screen controller chips, firmware fixes, test reports,
pen module design and manufacturing, verification, device
drivers, and centralized purchasing.
For consumer products, Wacom provides high-quality
designs and responds rapidly to problems with a highlevel of technical expertise. As a result, we can ensure astable supply of products without any concerns aboutparts availability. Wacom even helps us brainstorm
and prototype ideas that are indirectly related to theseproducts, such as digital pen experiences for our users or
solutions for improving customer productivity. Their robust
support has greatly contributed to the kinds of high-quality
solutions we at Lenovo aim to produce—like the ThinkPad.
When we launched the world’s first foldable laptop in
2020, we were able to provide a digital pen-supporting
display thanks to Wacom’s involvement from the earlystages of development. We could not have incorporated
this feature without Wacom’s technological expertise.

A: Workplace reforms, hybrid work, and digital education
have accelerated digital transformation in the last few
years. As a result, consumer expectations for computers
have changed, and the way we use computers has
evolved. The digital pen is increasingly playing a key role in
improving the user experience and customer productivity,
whether it relates to videoconferencing, e-learning, or
creative work. That means a digital pen can provide muchgreater added value to Lenovo computing solutions. We
and Wacom share a common goal: to create a digital penthat can be used on a variety of devices and that can
provide fantastic user experiences on a wide range ofapps.
We at Lenovo hope to continue working with Wacom
towards improving pen protocols and other aspects ofthe digital pen ecosystem through the knowledge andinfluence that Wacom possesses as an industry leader. We
also hope we can together develop high-quality, accessible
pen solutions backed by a high level of technology.

Q: Could you tell us why you chose Wacom as your digital pen solutions partner?

Q: What is the added value that a digital
pen brings to a device?

A: When we first launched the Galaxy Note back in 2011,
we pioneered a new category in the mobile market—thephablet. Combining the characteristics of a smartphone
and a tablet, the phablet needed a key differentiator thatdefined the identity of the Note series. When we decided
to pack a small pen within the phone, we needed to find apartner who had the technology for digital pens. This was
our first step towards forging our 12-year-long partnershipwith Wacom. In fact, we at Samsung immediately agreed
that Wacom was the only partner who could provide
the kind of writing solutions we wanted to implement.
To begin with, Wacom’s digital pen technology was aproven factor—not just in the patents they registered but
also in the many real-life cases of renowned multinational
corporations utilizing Wacom products since the ’90s. But
most importantly, Wacom delivers quality. Quality is oneof the core values of our company, which we take very
seriously. Wacom understood this, because as the industry

A: It provides an unrivaled, unique mobile experience.
Wacom’s digital pen technology is compact enough to fit ina smartphone and provides a seamless writing experiencethat feels just like writing on paper. The pen needs nocharging, allowing anyone to unleash their creativity
anywhere and anytime. When developing the Galaxy Z
Fold, our foldable smartphone, it was quite challenging tohave the screen properly detect the pen signals along thefold. But we managed to solve the problem by using a bitof “magic”: we divided the sensor in two. We hope we cancontinue to expand the world of digital ink with Wacomand that our relationship remains strong ten years fromnow.

leader for digital pen technology, they, too, shared thesame values.

Yasumichi TSUKAMOTO
Executive Director
Lenovo Japan

Tsukamoto joined IBM Japan in 2002 before moving to
Lenovo Japan in 2005. Since then, he has been involved
exclusively in the development of the ThinkPad. In April
2017, Tsukamoto was appointed director of systeminnovation for the ThinkPad, a position that involved leading
development on all ThinkPad products. In 2020, Tsukamotolaunched the world’s first foldable laptop, the ThinkPad X1
Fold, after five years of development.

36

37

Projects to
Look out for

Wacom has collaborated with numerous partners on
projects that expand the possibility of digital ink throughthe development of revolutionary technological products.
Here, we will look at a few examples respectively involving
Z-kai, Pilot, and mui Lab.

Z-kai

Pilot has long been considered a leader in its field, often being the first
to incorporate the latest technologies in its products. By being forward-

Using digital ink to visualize
question-answering: A newchallenge for Z-kai and Wacom

System Development Director
Information Systems
Z-kai Inc.

Jun Watanabe joined Z-kai in 2001.
After working in the company’s
Educators Department, Education
Support Department and Business
Strategy Department, he was posted
to the New Business Development
Department, where he was involvedin the planning and release of Z-kai
Asteria.

With over 90 years of experience as a leader incorrespondence education, Z-kai has always understoodthe importance of writing in learning. While holding fast
to its founding philosophy—“a single practice is worth ahundred lectures”—the company has also shown flexibility
in adapting to the evolution of learning environments andtechnological innovations. Its member students range fromtoddlers to teenagers preparing for university entrance
exams.
When Z-kai began looking for partners for a planned
expansion into the digital world, Wacom was an obvious
choice, as the two companies share a deep respect for
handwriting. “Our initial impression was correct,” says
Z-kai’s Jun Watanabe on the benefits of this collaboration.
“Ever since Wacom introduced us to their digital ink
technology, WILLTM, our joint research team has branchedout into new fields. We have also made use of the abilityof Wacom’s tablets to replicate the low-tech experienceof writing on paper—and the technology that underpins
this ability—to come up with new ideas using tablets. Our
research in the field of semantics is a prime example.”
The first concrete outcome of this collaboration is the
Tablet Course. Z-kai’s decades of expertise in designinghigh-quality problems and providing useful corrections
is incorporated into an AI program, which is then usedin conjunction with personal instruction. The tabletbased learning service, launched in 2021, offers students
a streamlined path to mastering course material in the
comfort of their own homes.
In the course of their joint research, Z-kai and Wacom
have been guided by the two questions of what students
write on their answer sheet, and how they write it. The
answers to these two questions are indispensable inproviding personalized, optimized teaching to each andevery student. For now, the research and development
team is focusing on the second question: how students fillin their answer sheets. Specifically, the aim is to visualize
human thought processes, as this serves as the basis for
Z-kai’s curriculum design. When a student works througha problem, which part makes him think hard before arriving
at the answer? Which part perplexed him or made him
hesitate, and in which parts did he proceed confidently?
Each student’s learning trajectory is recorded in digital ink,

38

PILOT
The writing tools of tomorrow:
Pushing the boundaries
of drawing & writing

case_1Jun WATANABE

case_2thinking without sacrificing tradition, the stationery giant has been able tocase_3

constantly update Japan’s writing culture.

mui LabToday, the company is making the transition from analog to digital via
a collaboration with Wacom that began with the Connected Ink 2020

giving researchers insight into these questions.
When marking a student’s answer sheet, the instructor
not only judges the accuracy of the responses but
also deciphers the thought processes so as to provide
individualized and constructive guidance. Tracing thestudent’s thought processes allows the instructor to
uncover errors in understanding and ascertain why thestudent may have misunderstood the intent of a question.
Finally, the instructor provides feedback in his or her own
words before returning the corrected answer sheet. Since
Wacom’s digital ink technology records not only the lines
written by the student, but also the timing, placement, andpressure of the digital pen, the instructor can see exactly
how much time was spent on each specific section.
Z-kai and Wacom are attempting to transform thisunderstanding of students’ thought processes—that is,
the knowledge gained through experience—into collective
knowledge accessible to all through digital technology.
This digital ink technology also bridges the time gap
between when the student writes the answers and when
the instructor provides the corrections. The first applicationof these research results is in a new service named Replay& Heat Map, launched in March 2023. Although the service
is being provided as a studying aid, the information that isrevealed through the service is also expected to push theteaching skills of Z-kai’s accomplished instructors to newheights.
As a company, Z-kai cherishes the values of fueki ryuko ,or the balance between transience and immutability. This is
one of the quintessential aspects of the poetry of Matsuo
Basho, who asserted that transience and immutability
are not opposing forces.
Indeed, some have argued
that ever-changing trends—perpetually evolving in theendless pursuit of novelty—are in fact the true essence of
immutability. So, what does fueki ryuko mean to Z-kai?
Watanabe believes that it is a verifiable rule of humankind
that true academic ability comes from the repeated actof writing. And in order to uphold this immutable rule, thecompany must constantly adopt new insights, including
cutting-edge technologies, to help children learn. The
collaboration with Wacom will surely play an important rolein this effort.

event. The two companies are exploring the impact of writing sounds on
the writing experience as part of a larger project to determine the ideal
qualities of a digital pen that can be used for over 8 hours per day (on thebasis that this is the average time creators spend on their work every day).
“The idea originated from our discussions during Connected Ink,” says
Junichi Iwami, a sales director at Pilot. “We at Pilot are always exploring
ways to provide the ultimate writing experience, which is something thatis constantly changing based on the era and social mores. This idea is an
example of how we’re trying to fuse the analog sensibilities of our past
products with the digital sensibilities of today.”
The current project involves combining writing tools and writing sounds
in many different ways via digital technology to study the impact thatwriting sounds have on the way we write. For example, fountain pens andpencils each produce distinctive writing sounds that differ depending on
what they are being used to write on (e.g., a notebook or a canvas). It isn’tdifficult to imagine that these sounds can have an emotional impact on
us when we indulge in creative work. Using software, it could be possible
to have a single writing tool produce a wide variety of writing sounds.
Users would be able to enjoy faithful replicas of analog writing sounds with
their digital devices—and perhaps even discover an unlikely tool/soundcombination that unexpectedly inspires them.
Future goals include developing a writing tool that can produce the ideal
writing sound based on factors such as the user’s physical condition,
emotional state, level of motivation, and stage in the creative process.

Junichi IWAMI
General Manager of Industrial Materials Sales
PILOT CORPORATION

Iwami joined Pilot in 1991. As director ofindustrial materials sales, he is responsible forleading collaborations with Wacom in the field ofdigital pens.

Natural-feeling technologythat can deepen family history
One company attracting a lot of attention in the world of smart-home is
mui Lab. The company’s goal is to provide digital technology that blends
naturally into living environments. mui Lab’s approach involves exploring
the relationship between technology and the way humans evolve as apart of nature—drawing inspiration from Calm Technology Design andtraditional Japanese aesthetic principles.
Working with Wacom, mui Lab produced Hashira no Kioku (“memories
on a pillar”). In many cultures around the world, the marking of a child’s
growth is recorded on pillars or walls around the home. This universal
method of recording family memories via height-marking served as
inspiration for Hashira no Kioku . By digitalizing a familiar tradition, mui Lab
wanted to “develop a new form of family communication,” says Nobuyasu
Hirobe, one of the company’s founders.
Designed to look like an ordinary wooden pillar, Hashira no Kioku blends
right into the home. Anything written on the pillar is recorded and saved asdigital ink data—an experience enabled by Wacom’s knowledge of digitalpens, digital ink, and touch sensors Furthermore, Wacom’s semantic
ink technology allows for an analysis of the underlying meanings andreferences in the handwritten words to be saved along with the digitalink data. This technology will help define the relationship between theseemingly disparate words written on the pillar over the years, as users
will be able to revisit the words for years to come, wherever they may be.
Over time, new connections or unexpected contexts can be unearthedand cherished by users.
By going beyond searchability and accuracy in relation to dataprocessing, Hirobe explains, one can still discover “new experiencesthat are hiding in plain sight.” There is something heartwarming about
rediscovering a forgotten piece of one’s family history—like a long-lost
memo lying at the back of a drawer or a faded color photograph in an old
album. Hashira no Kioku is designed to provide a digital version of thisexperience by adding human context and contextualizing hard data.

Nobuyasu HIROBE
Cofounder, Creative director
Mui LabAfter serving as in-house designer, Hirobe
proposed the mui board: a wood plank that
displays digital information that can make life
more comfortable. In his work, he is focusedon exploring how information technology canintersect with familiar tactile sensations.

39

EVERYWHERE in D aily Life

CASE STUDIES
Wacom around the World

Wacom supports digitalization, whenever and wherever“We at Wacom are committed to having our products incorporated into all aspects of daily lifeand revolutionizing the digital pen experience.” Here are just a few examples of how organizations
around the world have implemented our business solutions.

Control tower

City hall

wacom
BUSINESSSOLUTION
MAP

AirportCourtroom

Policestation

Soccer stadium& ParkWacom Tokyo Office

Healthcare Facilities

HotelsThe medical field is one of many industries
that are adopting digital administrative
tools at an accelerating pace. Wacom pen
displays serve many purposes in hospitals
and other medical facilities in relation topatient information, medical records, andtreatment consent forms. To date, morethan 1,000 healthcare facilities are using
Wacom pen displays.

In the hospitality industry, Wacom pen
displays have helped streamline the processof checking into a hotel, allowing guests to
input their information digitally instead ofneeding to write down the information on
paper forms. In Japan alone, more than 800
hotels are now using Wacom products.

Supreme Court of India (India)

Museum

All these industries
have adopted Wacom
technology!

Municipal
offices

India’s e-Courts system was launched in 2016 with the objective offacilitating the implementation of justice and reducing cumbersome
paperwork in courtrooms. Wacom pen displays make it possible forjudges, plaintiffs, defendants, and court personnel to digitally share
documents, materials, and records necessary for court proceedings.
Judges can also use their devices to note important information
during the course of a trial or hearing. These advanced digitalization
efforts have greatly improved efficiency in courtrooms across India.

Hotel
Onlineeducation
providersBank
RailwaystationRetailstoresHospitals

Fire
departments

Hotels

Policedepartments

Courthouses

Shopping
streetCallcenters

Municipal Offices

Tutoring
centers

Fire station
And if Wacom successfully facilitates the incorporation of its products into all
aspects of daily life and revolutionizes the digital pen experience, the Japanesecompany can expect to see even more customers turn to Wacom in the future.

Wacom Head Office
Hospital

40

OrisLine Dental, an IT and software firm based in Milan, provides
digitalization solutions for managing dental clinics. OrisLine has
streamlined administrative procedures and boosted patientsatisfaction by using Wacom DTU-1141B tablets and Wacom Ink
SDK multi-display software to digitalize workflows for registering
patient information, inputting medical records, and signing treatment
consent forms. The company’s Italian and Portuguese offices haveover 20 years of experience in providing digital solutions to clinics
around the world.

We live in an era in which digital technologies are evolving rapidly and becoming
increasingly widespread. A growing number of services, in both our work andprivate lives, are going paperless. Driving this shift is the understanding thatpen displays and digital pens confer many benefits, including increased work
efficiency, simplified procedures, reduced costs, and enhanced security. This
global trend also represents an expansion opportunity for Wacom. Its products
can be used in myriad applications and industries, from the processing of
paperwork at government offices and banks to the facilitation of signing for
credit card payments, checking into hotels, and even entering information
into patients’ medical records. Take a look at some of the industries that havealready implemented Wacom products.

Financial
institutions

Every day, municipal offices support the
lives of their residents for the sake of publicwelfare. More than 60 municipal offices
are using Wacom pen displays to serve
residents’ needs, contributing to greater
efficiency and higher resident satisfaction.

OrisLine Dental (Italy)

Yamanashi Chuo Bank (Japan)
The Yamanashi Chuo Bank was founded in 1941 and is based in
Kofu City, Japan. Under its long-term corporate vision as a “value
creation bank,” Yamanashi Chuo aims to grow into a financialgroup that satisfies the expectations of all stakeholders by bringing
prosperity to local communities, smiles to customers, job satisfaction
to employees, and fulfillment to shareholders. As part of its digitaltransformation, the bank introduced Wacom One 13 pen displays toreduce reliance on paper forms. By going paperless and streamlining
teller workflows through digitalization, the bank reduced administrative
workloads related to processing paper forms by 65% and significantly
improved productivity at branch locations.

41

MATERIALITY 1

SOLUTION
ENABLER

Leveraging “EXP” to Solve
Problems
prides itself on being a “Solution
Enabler.” Their purpose is supporting
their customers, the decision makers.
This is for the sake of taking on
the mantle of support to create anenvironment that customers—the

The World is Full of Potential
Honing the Powers of
Imagination & Social Foresight.
Our daily lives are punctuated with countless moments of drawing

and writing . Wacom’s Business Solution team wants their digitalpens and tablets to line up alongside those options. Boasting
unique ideas and innovative prowess in addition to a keen insightfor the future, the team has been hard at work in the name ofmaterializing a world straight out of a science-fiction story througha process of trial and error.

decision makers who choose to adopt
Wacom products—find conducive

Always on the Lookout:
Wacom’s Next Nook
How many times in a day does

Senior Director
Business Solutions JapanFor around 20 years in the Business Solution, Nakatsuji brings
Wacom’s core technology into a variety of business environments
to offer innovative value and experiences to his clients. He iscurrently pressing ahead with the development of new market
demands in the public and medical sectors and focusing his efforts
on increasing the value added for customers through state-of-theart software.

42

systems. As the end users who will
actually operate these products exist
beyond the decision makers, the two
are not one and the same. This is howeach of us draw or write something?

the team is different

Scribbling down a memo forsomething that casually popped into
your head, arranging your schedulefrom the Creative Solution despite
being a part of the same Branded
Business.
What the decision makers anticipate
from Wacom is none other than acontribution to the business. They
expect the Business Solution tocontribute not just to the convenienceof the end users, but to the decision
maker’s business as a whole. How
can such improvements be made? For
that, the Business Solution sketchesa hypothesis of how the adoptionof Wacom products will improvebusiness efficiency, reduce costs,
and simplify business processes;
only after that proof of concept has
demonstrated its effectiveness willproduct adoption be secured.
“We have a deep understandingof the businesses who are deciding
whether to adopt our products. This
understanding is what we value
highest. We place the highest priority
on quickly grasping the landscape of
the industry in which the company
belongs and the business processes

in your calendar or planner, entering
patients’ information into medical
records, checking into hotels, or fillingout government documents. Whenyou sit down and think about it, thesheer number of times we draw or

Takashi NAKATSUJI

to producing results through theirwrite may be surprising. The Business
Solution sees each of these moments
as an opportunity, and they’ve
mobilized themselves with the aim of
introducing pen displays, signaturepads, and more.
Their mission? The proliferationof Wacom products into any
situation possible to add the new“pen experience” to the everyday
landscape. “We’re always looking forthe next ‘nook’ for Wacom to fit into,”
says Takashi Nakatsuji, the Business
Solution’s head of sales and marketingin Japan. He leads a team of sixteen
people, including sales, marketing,solutions consultants, and internalsales staff, and is constantly imagining
up new ideas to bring Wacom
products into society.
The Business Solution began its
journey as a pioneer for electronic
medical records in Japan. Today, themedical field accounts for around halfof its domestic sales, and Wacom’s
pen displays have spread to regularuse in over 1,000 medical institutions(hospitals, university hospitals, etc.),
over 800 accommodation facilities(hotels, inns, etc.), and over 60
municipal offices. The Business
Solution’s job is to secure the adoptionof Wacom products to fulfill all kinds ofbusiness needs.
When it comes to developing thefield of Business Solutions, Wacom

unique to that industry in order to fullycomprehend the value-add requiredof our products in the workplace.
For that, a thorough consultationis crucial, and we hear from many
voices on the front lines of businessto figure out what we really need tosolve. The best part of working at
the Business Solution is the way wecan leverage our ‘EXP’ to identify acompany’s concerns. Although it’s
not easy, it’s the most interesting parthow much we improve businessinfluential individuals, companies, andefficiency, it means nothing if the usersorganizations within the industry. Thisis another kind of approach madethemselves can’t accommodate it. If
all of the applications processes andpossible by the power of imagination.

other procedures that had previously

In fact, medical professionals with

been done by hand on paper werean interest in and understanding of

suddenly flipped over into PC-based

progressive advancements werealready using Wacom products even

input, you can imagine how muchchaos that would sow among those
not accustomed to using electronic
devices. In that respect, Wacom
is well-acquainted with the worldof drawing and writing by hand,
and I would say has a significant
advantage.”
The project continues even after

before the legalization of electronic
medical records.”
In addition to the power ofimagination, another key aspect istheir ability to adapt to changes in thesocial environment, especially whenit comes to legal reforms. Even in
Japan with its culture bound in paper

product adoption. Wacom places

and physical stamps, the shift toa lot of value on the delivery of an

paperless documentation is gradually“experience.” Nakatsuji refers to the
feedback received from companies
who have adopted their products as“a treasure trove of insights.” In orderto keep the experience up to date,
feedback on both the positives andthe areas that need improvement
must be shared with the development
team. Additionally, their track recordof achievements becomes a tool forsales within the same industry as
well as grounds to promote productadoption. Those precious voices of
feedback can only be earned fromperformance in the field, and as theybuild up, they raise the persuasive
power of the company when it comesproliferating through various fields,
and things like regional elections andreal estate contracts are already being
digitalized, including the proof ofconcept cases.
“We are always keeping a close
eye on the trajectory of legal reform.
Especially in Japan where changes
in governance have a huge impact
on the private sector, we see theacceleration of digitization in public
institutions as a great opportunity. Try
to imagine replacing everything you
see with a pen display; those are thekinds of opportunities we’re imagining.
Of course, not everything is about
opportunities. For example, let’s takethe issue of determining an individual’s
will. You might argue that a written
signature shouldn’t be necessary
to indicate a person’s will, but wewould find such a claim extremely
concerning. Why signatures?
Continuing to advocate for the valueof a signature while considering bothto establishing new clients.

Competitive Imagination:
Anticipating Social
Trajectories to Seize
Opportunities.
When establishing new clients, theBusiness Solution considers thesethree points of focus: “industry /industry type,” “business uses,” and“uses of the standalone digital pen or
digital pen and touch function.” Theyof the job. The value of the Business
Solution can be found in the way wemake full use of our skills to take on
our work. Of course, we also need tokeep the burden we impose on theremain ever cognizant of their search
for an undiscovered frontier where all
three of these focuses meet.
“The Business Solution’s strongest
weapon that we take pride in is
our power of imagination. A good
example would be when we take anidea and change it so it can apply
to a completely different area. Even
if it doesn’t translate into business
immediately, we’re able to imagine
the world a few years from now

actual users to a minimum. No matterand start building relationships withTechnology innovation and new creative experiences

its convenience and cultural aspects is
an important job of ours.”
This trajectory is common across
many countries around the world.
Although things like culture andbusiness practices may differ
depending on the country or region,
the Business Solution as a wholeshares the idea that every place thatuses paper is a potential opportunity.
They draw inspiration from examples
in other countries and regions anduse them as the “seeds” of future
development.

The 3 Segments of Focus& Envisioning the Potential
in Education
The segments that the Business
Solution focuses its efforts on are
healthcare, finance, and public
institutions. Education is the newest
to be added to the list. The Business
Solution is giving their all in the fieldof education, but they don’t brave it
alone—they work in collaboration with
the Technology Solution Business and
Ink Division. Wacom’s primary focus
is on the “experience” before the“product.” Rather than the adoptionof pen displays and signature pads,
Wacom sets its sights on the provisionof new experiences that centeraround digital ink technology, suchas Semantic Ink (a kind of digital ink
that utilizes semantic technology toenable computers to understand themeaning and relevance of information
based on its context and background,and to use that understanding
to process it autonomously). The
Business Solution’s sales amount
to approximately 4.4 billion yen(for the fiscal year ending in March
2023), which makes up roughly
4% of Wacom’s total sales figures(consolidated at 108.8 billion yen).
Considering the limitless potential for
Wacom products to be adopted allover the world, this leaves plenty ofhigher in the future.
When asked what kind of society
he wants to create through the use of
Wacom products, Nakatsuji raised thefuture of signatures as an extensionof reality. “It would be exciting if we
could integrate handwritten signatureswith personal authentication systems.
In a world of closed systems, it’seasy to verify individuals using IDs
and passwords. However, eachworld requires its own authentication
system. I’m sure you are all well awareof how much of a hassle that is. I
dream of a future where all personalauthentication—an individual’s
declaration of intent—could beindicated using written signatures. A
society where a single signature canverify a person’s identity no matter
where in the world they are. Thismight be the ideal form of perfection
as envisioned by us.
(All figures are as of December 2022
unless stated otherwise)room for that amount to grow even43