i. One reason for the fact that strategic computerization investment is not always easy is the difficulty in assessing the merit of the investment objectively.

ii. A useful solution is to provide objective information to IT users (such as an objective comparison of services offered by IT venders from the viewpoint of users).

The availability of such information among users is expected to lead to the activation of competition between venders.

iii. As a result, venders will have to make investment efforts to attract and foster human resources in order to satisfy the needs of companies. From the viewpoint of IT venders, the most important investment is in human resource development.

i. In regard to the infrastructure of human resource development, such as qualification tests and institutions of special education, appropriate steps have to be taken to meet the needs of the time, since technological innovation is rapidly advancing in the field of IT.

ii. In order to attract excellent human resources to the field of IT, it is necessary to clearly present the ideal type of human resource for that field.

iii. It is important to raise the level of information literacy nationwide through computer education at schools.

iv. Human resource development is important not only in the private sector but also in the public sector, since computerization in the public sector greatly affects the progress of computerization of the whole society.

(1) Categorization of computer users

(2) Categorization of IT venders

(3) Utilization of system monitoring in strategic computerization investment

i. In regard to the qualification test of data processing specialists, several criticisms are given, such as:

ii. Establishment of an organization to plan and manage flexible and stable qualification tests.

iii. The date of passing the test should be noted along with the qualification registration number to cope with rapid technological innovation.

iv. Qualifications will be issued in the form of IC cards. At the same time, retrieval of information about qualified experts will be facilitated through the Internet.

v. In regard to the qualification system of "IT coordinator" and "IT system monitors", who are expected to have considerable practical experience in the field, qualifications should be issued after a fixed period of work experience and after passing relevant tests.

　

For the purpose of encouraging efforts of technical colleges to train necessary human resources and meeting the needs of the industrial world for various kinds of human resource development, the present curriculum system should be replaced by a more up-to-date system.

(2) Plans for creating a new system to support high-quality human resource development organizations concerning the following institutions.

(3) Promotion of local human resource development projects in the technological field

i. At the local level, the spread of technology, which is rapidly advancing in the cities, is relatively slow.　　At the same time, local companies are required to participate in global competition involving international companies. In this context, human resource development in the technological field is an urgent task.

ii. Based on the Law to Promote the Creation of New Businesses, which was enforced in February 1999, local software centers are expected to play the following roles.

i. As many companies as possible should make a contribution, even if each company's contribution is small, just like the web sites on which companies provide information about their fields of speciality.

ii. Incentives for contributors are needed such as the display of names of companies that contributed.

iii. The most important contribution by the industrial world is to provide high- quality products and services to the educational market at the lowest possible price, and to invest in the best human resources in the field.

　

i. One idea is to introduce the concept of CSO into the public sector, such as medium-size private companies, and to prepare an information network of public sector CSOs.

ii. To provide public administration officers with opportunities to experience the effects of computerization.

(1) Method of making use of the skills of middle-aged workers. For instance, even though their experiences so far have nothing to do with IT, there is still the possibility that such experiences, combined organically with IT, could produce good results.

(2) Problems of education at universities. Information technology-related university education in Japan overemphasizes computer science and tends to neglect information technology. At the same time, there has not been effective cooperation between industry and academia in the IT field.

(3) The actualization of proposals mentioned so far requires enormous energy. It is expected that this report will activate relevant discussions in various fields.

i. A forum for CSOs to assemble, exchange opinions, and encourage each other - based on the word's meaning as "an open space."

ii. Multiplier effect expected to be made by technological exchanges between first-class venders and CSOs and the rapid spread of the concept of the project - a meaning based on the word's meaning as "multiplication of a number."

(1) Environmental arrangements to support corporate managers in charge of business strategy in the process of decision-making in order to restore the competitive edge of Japanese companies (especially small and medium-size companies).

(2) Fostering of capable engineers who can design and develop IT systems that contribute to the restoration of Japanese companies' competitive edge.

(2) The restoration of competitiveness should be achieved by the reform of business operation processes of companies and their affiliated companies, structural reorganization, reform of ways of utilizing information, and development of new businesses. Information technology (IT) is expected to facilitate the actualization of these steps.

(3) Successful companies are using IT strategically. On the other hand, there are many companies that cannot make large investments in IT even though they are vaguely aware of the importance of IT.

(4) From the viewpoint of corporate managers in charge of business strategy, there are the following problems.

(1) Fostering of "IT coordinators," who - unlike those doing only consultative activities - should take charge of the entire process of proposing IT-based business strategy, ranging from the design to the operation of IT systems, including the reform of business operations.

(2) Establishment of a new qualification system to evaluate practical IT-related work experience in addition to reform of the present qualification tests of data processing specialists.

(3) Industry groups of IT venders are expected to promote the fostering of the above-mentioned first-rate human resources, with the support of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.