Digital Heroes: Guide to IT World

If all you have to do is implement a system, then just read the specifications and you're done! …Really? I had just returned from a business trip to London. The purpose of the trip was to introduce a system used in the UK into Japan. At first, I thought: “If it’s a UK system, all we need to do is read the specifications.” Understand the system requirements. Check the functions. Then implement them in Japan. Simple enough. But as soon as I actually started reading the requirements, I ran into a wall. “This simply won’t work as it is in Japan…” A System Reflects the Business of Its Country The reason was simple. The business rules underlying the system itself were different between Japan and the UK. The securities industry, in particular, has a complex, multi-layered structure of rules. First, regulatory authorities and exchanges establish the rules. Large banks and securities firms then translate those rules into their own business processes. Smaller securities firms follow and supp...

I Used to Think “Completion” Was the Goal Whoa! The financial system was evolving like a living organism. For nearly eight years, I had been involved in system development. Designing, developing, testing, and delivering systems. That was the world I worked in. Of course, I also proposed improvements along the way. But deep down, I still had the mindset that “a system is complete once it’s delivered.” Then one day, I joined a project that changed my perspective entirely. It was a project where a customer was bringing a financial system from London to Japan. The “Unusual Scene” I Witnessed in London I joined a two-week training program in London as the person responsible for understanding the system from the application perspective. What I saw there shocked me. The system was not owned by a software vendor. It was owned by a financial institution in London. In other words, the financial company itself had built a core banking system and was selling it overseas as its own bu...

I Thought I Knew How to Build Systems Whoa! The airplane wing looked strangely fragile. I was boarding an ANA flight from Haneda Airport to London. My very first “overseas system training program” was about to begin. It was my eighth year in the company. I had gained a fair amount of experience in system development and had already worked on systems actively used in society. And I wasn’t just a developer anymore. I had also been involved from the management side, overseeing projects from a broader perspective. “This is how systems are built.” I had gradually started to gain that confidence. Of course, I was not a Java professional. I wasn’t the kind of engineer who specialized in mastering code itself. Rather, my strength was understanding overall architecture and connecting business operations with IT. Little by little, I had started to understand the field where I could truly compete. That was why I viewed this London business trip almost as a “confirmation exercise.” ...

就業中にTED！？ …なんて言われそうだけど、これが意外に効くんです。Global System Engineerとして日々働く私にとって、リフレッシュの時間は「ただの休憩」じゃありません。ほんの10分でも、視野を広げるチャンスに変えることができるんです。 📌 普段の業務は「考える余白」がない 資料（PPT）作成、会議、資料確認、メール…。気づけばあっという間に一日が終わっている、そんな人も多いのでは？ じっくりとアイデアを練ったり、新しい発想を考えたりするのは、朝の静かな時間か、仕事終わりの夜。それ以外の時間は、実は“情報を入れる時間”として使うのがコツです。 🎧 英語で“ぼーっと”YouTubeを見る 私がよくやっているのが、「英語でYouTubeを見る」こと。 ただし、勉強モードで見るのではなく、“ぼーっと”が大事。 Shark TankやTED Talkを、コーヒー片手にぼーっと流すだけでも、英語の耳は鍛えられるし、世界のアイデアにも触れられる。何気なく聞いていた一言が、次の提案のヒントになることもあります。 📰 ITニュースを“新聞感覚”で読む 日経クロステックや海外のITニュースサイトを、新聞をめくるように読む。 バズワードや派手な流行に流されず、「これは現場でどう活きるか？」という目線で読むと、すごく面白い。 特に、クラウドやセキュリティ系は動きが早いので、ちょっとの積み重ねが未来の自分を助けてくれます。 🚶‍♂️ ビッグサイトで歩いて、話して、ひらめく 展示会にふらっと足を運ぶのも、立派なリフレッシュ。 会場で出会う新サービスや、企業の技術者との雑談の中に、アイデアの種がたくさん転がっています。 歩いて、見て、話すだけで、頭の中がどんどん切り替わっていくんです。 👨‍👧 でも本当は、子どもとの時間が一番の癒し やっぱり、心からリフレッシュできるのは、家族と過ごす時間。 でも、業務中にそれはできないからこそ、ちょっとの“知的な脱線”で気分を変えているんです。 ただの休憩じゃなく、少しだけ自分にプラスになるような、そんな時間。 アンケートでおこづかい稼ぎ 🌱 明日からの一歩、私ならできる！ リフレッシュ＝サボりではなく、仕事の質を高めるための準備。 少しだけ視点を変えて、...