JAPANCYBERSECURITY SERVICES INDUSTRYBest Practices Criteria for World-Class Performance
Frost & Sullivan applies a rigorous analytical process to evaluate multiple nominees for each award
category before determining the final award recipient. The process involves a detailed evaluation of bestpractices criteria across two dimensions for each nominated company. NRI Secure excels in many of thecriteria in the cybersecurity services space.

Addressing Unmet Needs
Japanese organizations and government agencies are prioritizing cybersecurity in response to thecountry’s rising number of cyberattacks. In 2021 alone, many prominent organizations in Japan reported
cybersecurity breaches, including a leading telecommunication company, a messaging applicationcompany, a government agency, an Osaka-based medical institution, and several manufacturing plants.
This list of cyberattack victims is in addition to the 450 million cyberattacks successfully thwarted by thecountry’s National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity. The cyberattack growth
and an unstable geopolitical situation in East Asia have prompted the Japanese government to expand
cybersecurity spending, allocating $248 million to cybersecurity-related projects as part of its 2022
defense budget, as reported by Bloomberg in December 2021. In August 2021, the government also
outlined the three-year Cabinet-approved Next Cyber Strategy guideline amid growing politicallymotivated cyberattacks and the increasing reliance of economic activities on technological applications.
The government’s increasing awareness and concern about cybersecurity have driven organizations inJapan to strengthen their cybersecurity posture in the information technology (IT) infrastructure. This
demand for more robust cybersecurity also aligns with the digital transformation of industries. Manyorganizations are adopting new technologies and shifting workloads to the cloud, leading to anincreasingly complex business environment and a widening threat landscape. Digital transformation
initiatives have made organizations more aware of protecting their assets.

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However, the lack of cybersecurity professionals in the market has made it difficult for organizations andgovernment agencies to acquire adequate resources to navigate the expanding threat landscape. They
have limited in-house security expertise that might not know how to deal with increasingly sophisticatedcyberattacks. The human resources scarcity pushes organizations to seek external support for security
operations by outsourcing some security responsibilities to managed security service providers (MSSPs),
which also help organizations and agencies improve their risk management and security response
capabilities.
NRI Secure was established in 2000 in Tokyo, Japan, to offer cybersecurity services. The
comprehensiveness of its cybersecurity services portfolio has differentiated NRI Secure from its
competitors in the country. Its portfolio includes security assets monitoring and management, security
consulting, advanced managed threat detection and response with endpoint detection and response(EDR), distributed denial of services mitigation, user and entity behavior analytics to detect abnormal user
behavior, and incident response and threat intelligence to help organizations manage detected threats intheir IT infrastructure. As part of its strategy to adapt to customers’ fast-changing environments, NRI
Secure also provides emerging cybersecurity services such as managed cloud security, operational
technology or industrial control systems security, and the internet of things security. Its robust
cybersecurity portfolio positions the company as an MSSP with broad and in-depth security expertise tohelp customers detect, manage, and address any cybersecurity issue; implement better risk management
policies; and improve IT security.
Frost & Sullivan lauds NRI Secure’s ability to adapt and expand its cybersecurity portfolio quickly to meetchanging business requirements. Being an ever-reliable MSSP has established NRI Secure’s leadership
position in Japan.

Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends
Many Japanese organizations embark on a digital transformation journey by implementing newtechnologies in their IT infrastructure. One of the most popular digital transformation initiatives ismigrating resources to the cloud. This approach allows organizations to save costs and reduce dependency
on human resources to manage data centers manually,
which can be challenging to scale, especially if an“NRI Secure was established in 2000
in Tokyo, Japan, to offer
organization is growing quickly.
cybersecurity services. TheSeeing how cloud migration has become a trend acrosscomprehensiveness of its
verticals in Japan, NRI Secure started offering cloud security
cybersecurity services portfolio has
services on top of traditional cybersecurity services. It has
differentiated NRI Secure from its
competitors in the country.”
emerged as a reliable MSSP specializing in multi-cloudsecurity control, such as cloud workload protection platform,– Daphne Dwiputriane,
cloud security posture management, and cloud web
Research Associateapplication firewall.
NRI Secure has announced several strategic partnerships to improve its cybersecurity offerings. As part ofits strategy to tap into the cloud adoption trend, the company introduces New Rigen, a joint investment
between its parent company, Nomura Research Institute, and LAC Corporation to provide managed© Frost & Sullivan 2022

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security tools for public cloud initiatives. NRI Secure offers managed security services through Palo Alto
Networks’s Prisma Cloud to strengthen its managed cloud security offerings and capitalize on the cloud
migration trend that sees many organizations shifting applications to the cloud as part of their digitaltransformation journey. Hosting applications on the cloud requires a different set of security knowledge
and skills that might be unavailable in an organization’s in-house security team. NRI Secure’s ability tomanage and monitor on-premises and cloud security and infrastructure cements its position as thepreferred MSSP in Japan.
With the work-from-home policy still in place for many employees, organizations seek services that canensure network security regardless of employees’ location. This demand has driven the need for cloudsecurity, endpoint security, and secure access service edge (SASE) to facilitate and secure work-fromhome processes. NRI Secure has partnered with Netskope and Zscaler to strengthen its SASE offerings andbe ready to manage internet access to distributed cloud environments. NRI Secure also collaborates withCrowdStrike to provide customers with managed EDR services to monitor and mitigate breaches inendpoints. Frost & Sullivan believes NRI Secure is well-poised to meet the increasing demand for better
endpoint device security as organizations in Japan shift from continuous asset security monitoring andmanagement to proactive security measures that can quickly detect and mitigate threats.

Financial Performance
Based on Frost & Sullivan’s estimates, NRI Secure retained its leading MSSP position in Japan in 2021,
accounting for 12.8% of the market share despite facing tight competition from local and regional MSSPs.
NRI Secure recorded a strong 13.3% year-on-year growth in 2021 by delivering comprehensive
cybersecurity offerings to the market on top of other security services such as consulting, managed
security services, and security products. The top three verticals that NRI Secure serves are banking andfinancial institutions, service providers, and government agencies.
Frost & Sullivan expects NRI Secure to remain the leading MSSP in Japan with continuous investments in
its cybersecurity services portfolio. NRI Secure’s decision to push for managed cloud security solutions isanticipated to influence its sales and marketing strategy as more organizations migrate to the cloud.

Customer Purchase and Service Experience“Based on Frost & Sullivan’s estimates, NRI
Secure retained its leading MSSP positionin Japan in 2021, accounting for 12.8% of
the market share despite facing tightcompetition from local and regional
MSSPs. NRI Secure recorded a strong
13.3% year-on-year growth in 2021 bydelivering comprehensive cybersecurity
offerings to the market on top of othersecurity services.”– Daphne Dwiputriane,Research Associate© Frost & Sullivan 2022

NRI Secure has consistently put in the effort to ensure
exceptional customer service as organizations
outsource their security operations to it. The company
employs 155 security operations center (SOC) analysts
across Japan, the United States, and India, with 140
based in Japan. These SOC analysts demonstrate indepth security experience, qualified credentials, and IT
security knowledge to provide customers with 24/7
support and security monitoring. The company also
has account executives with expertise in IT security tosupport clients. Its account executive team is reliable,
responsive, and quick to address clients’ needs.

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Brand Equity
NRI Secure was initially launched as Nomura Research Institute’s first internal venture project in 1995
before becoming a subsidiary that provides cybersecurity services to Japan-based organizations five years
later. Since then, the company has become known for creating customized solutions and services andoffering a diverse and robust cybersecurity services portfolio. With more than 20 years of experience, NRI
Secure is the MSSP with the longest market presence in Japan. It is difficult for foreign MSSPs to enter theJapanese market because customers prefer partnering with local MSSPs. This trend has given NRI Securea strong home advantage to increase its presence and later solidify its leading position in Japan’s
cybersecurity services market. NRI Secure also capitalizes on its ties with Nomura Research Institute toprovide end-to-end solutions to other subsidiaries.
Frost & Sullivan is impressed by NRI Secure’s commitment to improving and diversifying its cybersecurity
offerings to meet changing business needs. With a comprehensive solution portfolio supported bydedicated SOC analysts and account executives, NRI Secure is expected to retain its high market share andmarket leadership in Japan.

Conclusion
Many organizations in Japan find it difficult to secure their IT infrastructure amid the shortage of qualified
security professionals, the expanded threat landscape, and the requirement for digital transformation
initiatives. Organizations scramble to ensure the security of their IT infrastructure by engaging with MSSPs
to help them manage risks and cyberattacks.
Frost & Sullivan recognizes NRI Secure’s efforts in consistently developing advanced cybersecurityofferings to make its cybersecurity portfolio as comprehensive as possible. Because of its commitment
and innovation, NRI Secure has emerged as the preferred MSSP for organizations in Japan. Backed bymore than 20 years of in-depth experience, NRI Secure continues to lead the cybersecurity services spacein Japan. With its strong overall performance, NRI Secure earns Frost & Sullivan’s 2022 Japan Company ofthe Year Award in the cybersecurity services industry.

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What You Need to Know about the Company of the Year Recognition
Frost & Sullivan’s Company of the Year Award is its top honor and recognizes the market participant thatexemplifies visionary innovation, market-leading performance, and unmatched customer care.

Best Practices Award Analysis
For the Company of the Year Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently evaluated the criteria listedbelow.

Visionary Innovation & Performance

Customer Impact

Addressing Unmet Needs: Customers’ unmet orunder-served needs are unearthed andaddressed by a robust solution development
process

Price/Performance Value: Products or services
provide the best value for the price comparedto similar market offerings

Visionary Scenarios Through Mega Trends:
Long-range, macro-level scenarios areincorporated into the innovation strategy
through the use of Mega Trends, thereby
enabling first-to-market solutions and new
growth opportunities
Leadership Focus: Company focuses on building
a leadership position in core markets and on
creating stiff barriers to entry for newcompetitors
Best Practices Implementation: Best-in-classimplementation is characterized by processes,tools, or activities that generate a consistentand repeatable level of successCustomer Purchase Experience: Quality of thepurchase experience assures customers thatthey are buying the optimal solution foraddressing their unique needs and constraints
Customer Ownership Experience: Customers
proudly own the company’s product or service
and have a positive experience throughout thelife of the product or service
Customer Service Experience: Customer service
is accessible, fast, stress-free, and high quality
Brand Equity: Customers perceive the brandpositively and exhibit high brand loyalty

Financial Performance: Strong overall businessperformance is achieved in terms of revenue,
revenue growth, operating margin, and otherkey financial metrics© Frost & Sullivan 2022

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About Frost & Sullivan
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