Fujitsu is having trouble securing the technology workers it needs to expand its IT consultancy arm and take on bigger system integrators like Accenture.
The Tokyo-based company, which is fighting to differentiate itself in Japan’s crowded industrial electronics sector, has been targeting a fivefold expansion in its consultancy team to 10,000 workers in the business year to March 2026. But making headway has been tough, according to Corporate Executive Officer Yoshinami Takahashi.
"The progress has been slow, and we’re struggling,” Takahashi said in an interview Monday.
To help it expand, Fujitsu is looking for companies to acquire both at home and abroad to obtain workers, he said. "We have a lot in our pipeline.”
Founded in 1935, Fujitsu has shifted its focus away from hardware, and its service solutions segment — which includes system integration, consulting, cloud, network, data center and security services — now accounts for more than half of revenue. The company is seeking to expand its ability to prepare artificial intelligence tools that match clients’ needs.
Slimmer margins are hurting Japanese companies’ ability to poach experienced workers from rivals, however. Operating profit margin at Fujitsu’s service solutions segment was 7% last quarter. Accenture’s was 16.4%.
Fujitsu’s in-house technology, which spans supercomputers to data storage, gives the company an edge over other rivals that need to integrate solutions from elsewhere, Takahashi said. Its information technology solutions and consulting team Fujitsu Uvance also helps clients minimize carbon emissions while increasing profits from carbon credits, he said.