As organizations throughout Asia accelerate AI adoption, Avanade Japan is pioneering a pragmatic, high‑impact approach—one built on deep process understanding, responsible AI, and a commitment to empowering people through technology. We’re sharing what success in this space can look like with the Frontier Forward: Asia Edition series, which spotlights impactful stories through interviews with executives at key Microsoft partner organizations.
Episode 3: Avanade’s approach to AI transformation in Japanese enterprises
In the third episode of Frontier Forward: Asia Edition, we sit down with Junichi Suzuki, President and Representative Director of Avanade Japan, to explore how AI is reshaping frontline operations, enterprise systems, and business culture across Japan. This episode uncovers how Avanade and Microsoft are co‑innovating to turn AI from a promising concept into a trusted, day‑to‑day operational partner.
Key takeaways from the conversation
- AI agents are becoming operational partners: Avanade Japan is deploying large-scale AI agent networks across maintenance, customer service, reservations, and back-office functions, helping teams automate repetitive tasks and improve decision-making.
- Start small––Minimum Viable Product (MVP) first, then scale: Successful AI adoption requires beginning with clearly scoped use cases, validating impact with frontline teams, and expanding iteratively through continuous feedback.
- Deep process understanding drives real return on investment (ROI): AI projects succeed when organizations thoroughly map their business workflows, define measurable key performance indicators (KPIs), and align AI to real operational needs.
- Responsible AI and governance must be built in: Avanade Japan emphasizes fairness, transparency, privacy, security, and accountability from the design phase, ensuring AI systems earn long-term trust across the organization.
- Change management is essential: Workshops, communication, and on-site engagement help teams view AI as a partner rather than a threat, reducing resistance and improving adoption.
- A future of democratized AI agents: Avanade envisions a workplace where frontline employees, not just IT, can build and customize their own AI agents using Microsoft Cloud, Azure OpenAI Service, and Microsoft Copilot technologies.
Access the video or the full transcript below to learn more about how Avanade Japan is shaping the AI frontier for their organization and their customers.
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Full transcript:
Disclaimer: This AI-generated transcript may contain errors. Please verify with the original audio or script for accuracy.
Hiromi Oka:
Thank you very much for joining us today, Mr. Suzuki, and thank you to our partner team for sharing the latest information and the latest trends. Mr. Suzuki of Avanade, thank you very much for joining us today.
First of all, it is the 20th anniversary of Avanade Japan. Mr. Suzuki, could you please give us a brief self-introduction?
Junichi Suzuki:
Once again, thank you very much for this opportunity.
I am Mr. Suzuki, the President and Representative Director of Avanade Japan, a global IT consulting company. We, Avanade Japan, support AI and digital transformation for our customers. So far, we have been working with customers from various industries, including AI, cloud, and data utilization, and we have been working on new business values, such as improving the productivity of our local businesses.
Our mission is to enhance the competitiveness of our customers with the power of technology and to evolve the way we work and the corporate culture. We are a global company, so we are trying to maximize productivity, quality, safety, and customer experience by combining global knowledge and experience in the Japanese market. Today, based on our experience so far, we hope to provide you with useful information based on the latest AI utilization examples. Thank you.
Hiromi Oka:
Thank you, Suzuki-san. Suzuki-san, you have been with Avanade Japan for a long time, right?
Junichi Suzuki:
It's been 18 years.
Hiromi Oka:
That's amazing. So, you have been working with them since the on-premises era, and now you are working with AI, right?
Junichi Suzuki:
That's right. I took on the role of President and Representative Director three years ago, and it was the perfect timing for AI to be introduced to the world. I think the changes and evolutions in technology have been very active over the past 17 years.
Hiromi Oka:
Thank you. So, you have been in business with organizations across the globe, including Japan's industry. In the past 17 years, what were the most impressive examples of cloud and AI utilization? Could you tell us about them?
Junichi Suzuki:
As a recent example, I would like to introduce the AI Agent Network developed for a major corporate group, which we are supporting. In this project, AI agents were introduced to all areas of corporate activity, making it much more efficient than before. For example, in the maintenance department, AI automatically generates an optimal maintenance plan based on past maintenance records and inventory data, and generates shift plans automatically. Voice guides for work procedures and part order alerts have reduced the burden on workers and reduced customer errors.
In the counter business, AI chatbots detect dangerous objects, offer multilingual guidance, and check qualifications for entering and exiting lounges—all automatically. In the past, staff had to deal with complex inquiries and irregular responses; AI has significantly reduced response time and improved customer satisfaction. In sales, reservations, and the back office, AI helps with inquiries, automatic application checks, contract audit, and product automation. AI agents are active across a wide range of business processes.
Hiromi Oka:
That's a great example. Thank you. When I hear your story, I think it's about manufacturing, but you introduced tens of thousands of AI agents. That's a great example. Thank you for sharing. For example, from the start, how long has the project been until they realized improvement at the site?
Junichi Suzuki:
Originally, we started this project at the beginning of the year. Among them, there were several challenges. We've been doing this for about a year now.
Hiromi Oka:
That's great. Thank you. Let's move on to the next question. It's been 17 years, and you've been the president for three years. How did you overcome challenges with Microsoft? If you have an example, please tell us.
Junichi Suzuki:
Last year, this year, and next year, many customers focused on how to introduce AI and AI agents into their companies. One big challenge was how to create a user experience that was useful to customers. Especially early on, introducing AI easily becomes the goal. Many cases stop at the proof-of-concept stage. This happens when the real onsite work process is not fully understood. Without that understanding, you can't convince frontline staff, and implementation fails.
To overcome these challenges, you need to listen to frontline employees and analyze business flows thoroughly. This helps identify which business areas will have the highest ROI and whether KPIs are clear. Based on this, use cases can be selected. To gain frontline cooperation, you must clearly share the purpose of AI adoption with site leaders, define challenges, and build requirements.
The introduction of AI agents should not be one time—it should start as an MVP, expanding functionality step by step based on feedback. Technically, integration with existing systems and re-recorded data is difficult. Using Azure OpenAI Service, retrieval‑augmented generation, or RAG, and other systems allows us to move forward progressively.
Data governance and security also need to be designed from the start, with principles such as transparency, fairness, responsibility, and safety. At the site, resistance to change and anxiety about AI replacing jobs can be a challenge. Workshops and explanation sessions are important so staff understands that AI is a partner enabling more valuable work. A solid feedback loop helps create a culture where AI agents are accepted.
Hiromi Oka:
Thank you. As I was listening to you, I felt you were fully leveraging the Microsoft solution stack while focusing on human-in-the-loop elements essential in the AI era, such as change management, workshops, and psychological support. Thank you very much.
Next, best practices. Especially when collaborating with Microsoft, what is the best example? If you have advice, please share.
Junichi Suzuki:
The best practice for a successful AI journey goes back to fundamentals. At Avanade, we select use cases based on ROI and KPI clarity. We develop MVPs in stages using Microsoft technology—not aiming for perfect AI from the start but building step by step through a small site pilot and improving with feedback.
We advance AI utilization in the real world with customers, Avanade, and Microsoft.
Data quality, accuracy, and safety are essential to gain trust. Responsible AI principles—fairness, security, transparency, privacy, accountability—must be firmly upheld. In the future, AI agents will be democratized so frontline staff can create and use their own agents. This is important for all companies moving forward.
Hiromi Oka:
Thank you, Mr. Suzuki. It was about AI best practices. I have been working with Mr. Suzuki for 17 years. I would like to thank Avanade for their experience, Microsoft specialists, and their suggestions for customers. I would also like to thank the AI teams in charge of data governance and security.
We have changed a lot. Last month, we announced Agent 365 at Ignite. I am working with Avanade to make changes at the site in the future. Thank you. Mr. Suzuki, can you give a message to our viewers?
Junichi Suzuki:
AI is not just a tool for business efficiency. AI agents work together to optimize business independently. We need to aim for new business models so processes can be seamless and innovation can be promoted. It is not just about cost reduction and efficiency—we must improve customer and employee experiences and create new business models.
We at Avanade want to strengthen our partnership and integrate global technology, local experience, and leading AI capabilities to create a new way of working and customer experience. I hope you can take a step with us, Avanade, to create new value using AI.
Hiromi Oka:
Thank you for the great message from Mr. Suzuki. I would like to deliver it to everyone. Thank you for your time today. I would like to continue to promote AI transformations with Japanese customers. Thank you for your time today. Please continue to support us. Thank you.