November 21, 2024,TOKYO, Japan : Global leading technology corporation FPT, through its subsidiary FPT Consulting Japan, and the Japanese tech giant SCSK Corporation (SCSK) recently announced plans to establish a joint venture named COBOL PARK. This initiative aims to address the growing challenges of maintaining and modernizing legacy systems, particularly mainframe technologies, to support business resilience and agility and contribute to Japan’s digital transformation agenda.
The venture is part of a shared commitment to addressing the “2025 Digital Cliff”—an impending risk highlighted by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), on outdated and complex legacy systems that once served as the backbone of Japan’s financial industry, among other sectors. Compounded by a scarcity of COBOL engineers and a rapidly ageing workforce, the modernization of these legacy technologies is crucial to business continuity and sustainability.
COBOL PARK, scheduled for establishment by March 2025, aims to secure a robust talent pipeline and offer solutions for legacy system maintenance, mainframe migration, and modernization across various sectors. It particularly targets the estimated 500-billion-yen Japanese financial industry.
This joint venture builds on a successful partnership between FPT and SCSK in IT services for the Asia Pacific region since 2018. It will leverage SCSK’s industry expertise and FPT’s technological capabilities, global presence, and substantial workforce. Additionally, FPT will utilize its strong focus on artificial intelligence and AI-driven models specifically designed for mainframe modernization to achieve optimal results and efficiency.