ServiceNow makes strategic investment in AoraNow, the first pure play ServiceNow partner in Japan
A subsidiary of Pasona and Circlace, AoraNow will expand ServiceNow’s reach to new customers and develop job‑ready technology talent for the country
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — March 19, 2024 — ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), the leading digital workflow company making the world work better for everyone, today announced a strategic investment in AoraNow, the first pure play ServiceNow partner in Japan. A subsidiary of Pasona, a leading Japanese employment and staffing organization, and Circlace, a digital transformation consulting company, AoraNow will expand ServiceNow’s reach to new customers and develop job‑ready technology talent in Japan. ServiceNow Ecosystem Ventures' investment is alongside Tquila, the lead investor.
As Japan continues to embrace the intelligence revolution, the government has committed to skilling 2.3 million digital workers1 in the next two years to propel digital transformation. ServiceNow has been investing in Japan for more than a decade where the Now Platform is experiencing significant growth and adoption in the region.
“As our first pure play ServiceNow partner in Japan, AoraNow will be well positioned to serve many companies seeking to adopt and implement the Now Platform in the country,” said David Parsons, senior vice president of Ecosystem Ventures at ServiceNow. “AoraNow’s ServiceNow capabilities, local expertise and industry experience will help bring the power of our platform to the forefront of digital transformation to those companies seeking competitive advantage in Japan. With the support of Pasona and Circlace, this collaboration represents a huge step in closing talent gaps and help modernize Japan’s businesses.”
“As Japan rapidly evolves into an innovation hub, we’re pleased to partner with ServiceNow to propel digital business growth in the region,” said Scott Sato, Chairman at AoraNow. “This investment furthers our efforts to help companies acquire the necessary skilled talent and tools to transform their organization. We look forward to extending the best of our combined capabilities, experience, and skills for advancing solutions in Japan’s thriving economy.”
AoraNow will focus on IT and customer service transformations as well as generative AI implementations to help boost productivity and efficiency. It will also strengthen technical training efforts as part of RiseUp with ServiceNow, a global skilling initiative to train one million people on the Now Platform. With Pasona’s extensive staffing and training model aligned to Japan’s current skilling initiatives, AoraNow will quickly scale and deploy skilled digital workers, filling in‑demand projects across the country.
“This is our first partnership with ServiceNow and we’re excited to embark on this journey,” said James McHugh, Chairman of Tquila. “The Tquila team is committed to working with our long‑term partners Circlace and Pasona to attract and develop the best talent in the market so, together, we build a market‑leading, best‑in‑class ServiceNow services business.”
The investment builds on the ServiceNow Ecosystem Ventures program, launched in May 2023 to fuel partner growth in key global markets. ServiceNow's support allows partners to extend their go‑to‑market capabilities and deepen their experience with ServiceNow’s technology and solutions to deliver value more quickly.
Recently, ServiceNow Ecosystem Ventures has invested in companies including ANSR, Blueship Co.,Ltd and Japan System Co., Ltd., and Plat4mation.
Learn more about the ServiceNow’s Ecosystem Ventures program here.
About ServiceNow
ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) makes the world work better for everyone. Our cloud based platform and solutions help digitize and unify organizations so that they can find smarter, faster, better ways to make work flow. So employees and customers can be more connected, more innovative, and more agile. And we can all create the future we imagine. The world works with ServiceNow™. For more information, visit: www.servicenow.com.
Use of forward‑looking statements
This release contains “forward‑looking statements” about the expectations, beliefs, plans, and intentions relating to ServiceNow’s strategic investment in AoraNow. Forward‑looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward‑looking statements. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, our results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward‑looking statements we make. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update the forward‑looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward‑looking statements include unanticipated increased expenses or potentially reduced investment figures; impacts on anticipated sales or investment opportunities; challenges in establishing suitable digital skills frameworks; and/or unexpected changes in the regulatory landscape which would impact our ability to deliver our solutions in Japan.
Further information on factors that could affect our financial and other results is included in the filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.
© 2024 ServiceNow, Inc. All rights reserved. ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, Now, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Andere company names, product names, and logos may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
Media Contacts
ServiceNow
Lindsay Capurro
503‑551‑2655
press@servicenow.com
1 https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/101_kishida/discourse/20231101message.html