Yoshidumi Information's DX partner for Google App Engine migration

Yoshidumi Information Co., Ltd. provides digital transformation (DX) consulting powered by Google Cloud and Google Workspace, along with app development. As a long-standing Google Cloud and Google Workspace partner, it helps clients transform their operations and drive business DX, running its own in-house services such as Cmosy on Google App Engine.

Partnership overview

Yoshidumi Information partnered with VNEXT to handle a system overhaul tied to the Google App Engine (GAE) upgrade from 1st to 2nd Generation, a task difficult to absorb in-house within a tight timeline. Working from loosely defined requirements and English documentation, VNEXT's lab-type offshore development team proactively devised its own verification methods, resolved every error, and completed the work faster than expected, going beyond the migration itself to improve the client's ongoing development efficiency. Supported by a Japanese-fluent communicator and a thorough backup structure standing behind the on-site engineers, the engagement reached roughly 80 percent of its planned scope at an early stage and has since grown into a trusted, expanding partnership.

Testimonial details 

Q: Please tell us the background behind entrusting the development to VNEXT.

Mr. Ito: For many years, as a partner of Google Cloud and Google Workspace, we've helped clients transform their operations and drive business DX using Google App Engine (GAE). This time, GAE was being updated from 1st Generation to 2nd Generation, and we had to start addressing that. But on top of our regular system development, taking on this modification, with little grace period before the version upgrade, made handling it entirely in-house difficult. So we began by considering external outsourcing.

We already had a connection with VNEXT, having previously co-hosted an AI-related seminar together. They had expertise in cutting-edge technology, shared our vision of improving the world through technology, and their attitude toward pursuing that vision gave us a sense of synergy. On top of that, we'd already signed a non-disclosure agreement when co-hosting the seminar. For all these reasons, VNEXT was the first company we reached out to. We also liked their engagement approach of actively giving on-site engineers challenges to take on, along with the speed of their sales response, and so we decided to work with them.

Q: This was your first time with offshore development. Did you have any concerns about it?

Mr. Ito: We didn't deliberately set out to do offshore development, but since we'd confirmed that communication in Japanese was possible, there were no voices of concern within the company.

Normally, when you're looking to bring in resources, there are mountains of candidates, both domestic and overseas. Among them, VNEXT was one whose vision and engagement approach we could relate to, with a strong track record. Add to that their appealing pricing, and being overseas was never a reason to drop them from consideration.

Q: How was VNEXT's development quality?

Mr. Ito: Honestly, our own preparation for the GAE version work wasn't ready in time, and we knew our request would end up vague, something like "changing this setting should produce various errors, so please handle them as they come up." Because of that, we wavered over whether to instead ask them to work on Cmosy, our own in-house service. But we went ahead with the original plan of the GAE version work. It really put VNEXT to a lot of trouble, we handed it over with nothing but the best explanatory documents we could prepare, planning to respond to inquiries and consultations as they arose. Yet they completed it faster than we'd expected. They proactively devised their own methods for verifying behavior and delivered it with all the errors resolved. Even though we hadn't properly explained the particulars unique to our own in-house-developed circumstances, they worked it out and cleared it up from a technical standpoint, which was a huge help.

Q: Did they deliver results beyond what you expected?

Mr. Ito: Yes, it was a really great experience. Since then, we've placed our complete trust in them. They handle requests so quickly that we couldn't keep up with our own (laughs). At a very early stage, about 80% of what we'd planned was already finished. The remaining 20% was simply because our own requests didn't come in time. In the end, they handled not only the move from 1st to 2nd Generation but also work to improve our development efficiency going forward, which was enormously helpful. So we plan to work with them on other projects too.

Q: What do you think is key to making offshore development succeed?

Mr. Ito: Communication, I'd say. We use Slack, hold a weekly regular meeting, and progress along a reporting format they prepared for us. They keep us properly informed, and even outside the regular meetings, we get quick responses to emails, so we've never had trouble. Even though it's online, we can turn on our cameras and talk face to face, which I think matters a lot too.

Also, during meetings I sometimes start speaking a little too fast, and they pointed that out clearly, so I became mindful and made an effort to speak slowly. They tell us what needs to be said, and that helps.

Q: This time you didn't bring in a bridge SE, but a communicator instead.

Mr. Ito: They provided a Vietnamese communicator fluent in Japanese. I feel they handle word choices that stem from cultural differences well, and although the regular meetings involved translation, we never felt inconvenienced. They even translate my small talk and respond to it, and lately the engineers on their side have started breaking the ice themselves. It's really delightful.

Q: Since this was offshore development, was there anything you specially prepared or were careful about?

Mr. Ito: We prepared the documents in English. That said, for the harder parts we just ran them through machine translation. I had some worry about whether this way of conveying things would be fine, but we made efforts to make it clear, attaching images and photos and turning the text into English bullet points. I think that was one thing that went well. It also made things easier that before the project began, there were no demands like "we absolutely need this to proceed." As we went along, we handed over things they requested with "it would be even better to have this kind of information," and when we had a little time, we passed on notes like "it would help if you could look over this Google Cloud document." They read through those carefully too, and I think that let things go smoothly.

Q: How was VNEXT's project structure?

Mr. Ito: The ones we actually interacted with were the communicator and two engineers, but I felt a solid backup structure was in place behind them. Even on things I hadn't been concerned about in meetings, they'd check in with "shall we improve this part?" I believe the high quality is maintained precisely because there are people supporting the local engineers, not just the direct contacts. That's one of VNEXT's strengths.

Q: What do you hope for from VNEXT going forward?

Mr. Ito: Depending on the situation, we'd like to request additional staff and continue the engagement. Going forward, we'll be asking them to work on things related to our service, Cmosy. For that, we have detailed requests already decided, down to "we'd like this part done this way," so while it will be a new attempt, we want to proceed by clearly conveying what we're expecting. There's a great deal we'd like to ask of them, so we'd be glad to keep having their support.

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About VNEXT HOLDINGS

Evolving from VNEXT SOFTWARE, founded in 2008, VNEXT HOLDINGS is a trusted AI-augmented software development and digital transformation (DX) partner. Headquartered in Vietnam with representative offices in Japan, our team of over 550 specialists has delivered more than 800 projects for over 400 clients across the Asian market, with expertise spanning custom web and app development, AI and ML, blockchain, enterprise system solutions, SAP ERP, legacy modernization, and offshore development.

Drawing on deep experience across manufacturing, retail, healthcare, finance and fintech, logistics, and education, we apply globally recognized standards to help enterprises modernize, scale, and compete with confidence. Committed to supporting businesses at every stage of their DX journey, VNEXT HOLDINGS combines AI-powered services and solutions with an AI-augmented workforce to deliver greater speed, scalability, and quality.