CyberAgent, Inc. is a company that operates a wide range of businesses in the digital field, including media businesses such as the new television of the future "ABEMA," internet Advertisement businesses, and games businesses.
CyberAgent adopted the annual flat-rate font service "LETS" comprehensively across all creative departments in 2017. When the LETS platform was revamped in 2021, license management and system migration were re-examined, and the service is now being used across the entire group.
This time, we gathered Mr. Takeo Takeo, Mr. Tomiya Masaki, and Mr. Ogawa Ayano, managers involved in software implementation and license management for the entire group at CyberAgent's Group IT Promotion Headquarters, and together with Mr. Ohta, a sales representative at Fontworks, we spoke to them about the key points of large-scale LETS license implementation and how to centrally manage licenses used by many employees, including those of group companies.
Not limited to creative jobs, but can be used in a wide range of situations
--Today, I would like to hear about the large-scale introduction of LETS licenses. First of all, what kind of work are you each in charge of?
Tomiya: Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, a department was established to handle all software licenses used by the entire group. This is our organization called LIM, with Takao as the manager and Ogawa in charge of license management and accounting. I also work as a designer, so I make announcements that are needed by the creative department and Support any queries or questions from within the company. Takao is also an engineer, so we each have different roles within the same organization, such as incorporating into the system and implementing it.
--I was surprised to learn that there is an organization that collectively manages licenses for the group. If you have a large number of employees, you will certainly be dealing with a huge number of licenses.
Tomiya: By managing not only creative tools but also system and business service licenses in one place, we can coordinate and check costs more easily. We try to summarize contract periods and other information as much as possible to make it easier to understand.
--Currently, the entire group is using the annual flat-rate font service "LETS." What departments primarily use it?
Mr. Tomiya: Our main businesses are Advertisement, games, and media (ABEMA, etc.), so we use it for all our creative work. We not only design Video and UIs, but also print materials. Games and apps require embedding, and some of them are released for overseas markets.
Fontworks Ohta: There are many other companies, such as manufacturers and broadcasting stations, that have introduced a large number of licenses. However, in most cases, the uses are more or less fixed. In the case of CyberAgent, the most distinctive feature is that they use LETS in a very wide range of fields.
If there is a tool that
Mr. Ogawa wants to use, we ask for a license application from within the company and issue a license. There are various types of jobs, and people in sales and business positions sometimes check creative work, and they sometimes use LETS licenses for that purpose.
Takao: Because we place importance on speed in our work, simple corrections are sometimes handled by people in business positions. For this reason, we are not limited to designers or creators, and we will respond to any requests to use our services.
Because the contract is based on the expected number of users, we can respond immediately to the needs of the company, and if we had to sign a contract every time we wanted to use the font, we might have to think, "It's too much work, so let's use a different font." I think it's a benefit for both parties.
Providing LETS customized to meet your needs
--I'd love to hear about any other benefits you've had since you introduced it. By the way, Mr. Ota, CyberAgent not only provides "Fontworks LETS," but also offers customized LETS by combining options.
Fontworks Ota Fontworks LETS also allows for a fairly wide range of use, including use in print and broadcasting, but there are some areas that cannot be covered by that. For example, if you want to "embed fonts into your app or game," you would normally have to sign a separate contract for the "embedded option." That would be difficult to manage, so first we ask CyberAgent what they want to use it for and what kind of fonts they need, and then we provide them in the form of Packaging with the necessary options.
Thanks to
Mr. Tomiya, I think we've been able to reduce the amount of work considerably. Our challenge was sorting out the licensing agreements, so having him help us with that has been a great help.
Mr. Ogawa: Because we have many affiliated companies, there was a problem in the past where each company would enter into contracts on its own. By letting the group know that we have a comprehensive contract, we can reduce costs, and we can now check collectively whether the regulations are being followed and whether the licenses of former employees are being suspended.
Tomiya: It has also led to cost reductions. Even if we grant licenses, not everyone uses them throughout the year, so we created a system within the company that divides them into months and allows users to return the licenses when they are no longer needed. Previously, we had no choice but to sign additional contracts if the number of users increased, but by customizing in this way, we are now able to manage within the number of licenses we have contracted, so I think we have been able to shape our budget.
Services that adapt to changes in the times and environment
--I'd also like to introduce Fontworks' Support system for implementation.
Fontworks Ota: As mentioned earlier, we also hold hearings, verify the license, and have them try it out to make sure there are no problems, etc., and we respond as necessary. In the case of CyberAgent, we set up a verification period when switching to the new LETS, and we proceeded by having repeated discussions in a regular meeting-like format.
Ogawa: We also asked them to add a function to add users via CSV. There are a lot of users, and new employees join the company almost every week, so it would be difficult to register and cancel each person one by one on the management screen. We also had a designer who regularly uses LETS try out the new LETS to check how it would change and if there were any problems.
Takao: At CyberAgent, each employee works on a PC of their choice. There are a few bases, but they can be customized, and each person uses a different environment, so sometimes we have problems like, "For some reason, LETS doesn't install properly in this environment." In those cases, we shared log data and had them investigate the issue, and so on.
Fontworks OtaLETS 's system is handled in-house at Fontworks, so even when a problem arose, we were able to gather the development team together and quickly verify and respond to it, which was a good thing. If we had outsourced the system, it would have been difficult to respond in detail.
--Speed is important after all. Currently, subscription-based software and services such as LETS are mainstream, but that has also changed over the past 10 years or so. I imagine you must have gone through a process of trial and error to figure out how to introduce and manage them.
Tomiya: Our department had just been established when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and it became commonplace for people to have a PC at home and at work due to remote work. Since then, license agreements have changed to be based on the premise of remote work.
When I joined the team I had absolutely no experience in license management or anything like that, so I think I was pushed hard and worked with a sense of tension as the situation changed.
Fontworks Ota: Previously, LETS required license authentication for each PC, but for a company like CyberAgent that handles a variety of media, this was not possible. The current LETS requires authentication for each user, making it easier to flexibly accommodate new environments and people in a variety of industries. It also reduces the hassle of management, making it easier to introduce.
--We would like to continue to listen to the needs of the companies and users who will be introducing the service and make proposals that will make it even more convenient and safe to use. Thank you for today.
LETS comes with a standard feature that allows you to manage multiple accounts in groups. We also offer customization suggestions for LETS for enterprises, based on your requests.
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