Here we introduce the case of TCJ Global Inc., which took the adoption of Kanal-WEB as an opportunity to cancel the LMS (Learning Management System) it had been using and move its e-learning operations onto a My Page.
The company had felt that the My Page it ran on its previous system lacked versatility and scalability. In 2023, it adopted Kanal-WEB and built a new My Page for its students.
This not only improved operational efficiency and reduced costs, but also brought together a wide range of functions, starting with e-learning, turning the My Page into a platform that supports every aspect of student life in one place.
The number is expected to keep growing
Founded in 1988, TCJ Global is a comprehensive Japanese-language education institution with more than 35 years of history and tradition. With campuses in Tokyo and Osaka, it runs large Japanese-language schools for international students and foreign residents of Japan. It is also one of the largest Japanese-language teacher training institutions in the country, and its strength in Japanese-language education is highly regarded both in Japan and abroad.
We spoke with Takumi Nakazawa, President and Principal, along with Murata and Hayashi, about the challenges they faced before adoption, their selection criteria, costs, and the results they have seen since.
(From left in the photo)
Hayashi: Instructor
Nakazawa: President and Principal
Murata: Head of Marketing
Challenges Before Adoption: Reliance on One Person and Rising LMS Costs
The Engineer-Dependency Wall: Concerns About a Legacy System That Required Advanced Technical Skills
The company runs two types of My Page: one for students learning Japanese and one for students in its Japanese-language teacher training course. Both serve as the place where learners get the information and communications they need.
The company did have a My Page before adopting Kanal-WEB, but that system had been built by a developer using their own programming skills, leaving it dependent on one specific person.
As that person's departure approached, concern grew within the company: "Once they leave, will we still be able to fix or update the system?" And indeed, after they left, there was no one on staff who could manage the system, making even small changes and routine maintenance difficult.
Against this backdrop, renewing the system into one the company could flexibly manage with in-house resources became an urgent priority.
Takumi Nakazawa: President and Principal
Nakazawa was personally involved in the project, driving it forward through repeated discussions with the team in meetings.
Rising Costs in the Shadow of Growth, and the Requirements for a New My Page
When considering a system renewal, the company was worried about a sudden jump in costs. The risk of costs rising in proportion to growing enrollment and expanding service lines was one of its concerns.
In addition, a key requirement for the new My Page was that it serve as a delivery platform for e-learning. Rather than simply being a place to provide information, it needed to be a single system that could offer users a comprehensive learning environment.
The company had been developing e-learning as a new business, using an external SaaS platform to do so. However, while SaaS is highly convenient, its running costs add up, raising concerns about the future cost burden.
Hayashi: In charge of operational improvement and efficiency
Also an instructor, Hayashi had been aware of the old system's shortcomings and of unmet needs from the perspective of international students.
Selection Process
kintone, which the company had introduced about two years earlier, was already deeply embedded in many of its operations, and staff valued it highly for its ease of use and convenience. Given this track record, a kintone-based plugin was a natural option to consider.
However, because the team was not familiar with the specifics of what the market offered for kintone integration, adoption was by no means settled. With no clear direction and internal discussions stalled, the company was searching for its next move.
The turning point came at Cybozu Days 2023, when the team happened to visit bitRiver's booth. Being introduced to Kanal-WEB gave them their first real lead on how to approach the system overhaul.
Deciding Factors
A Flat Monthly Fee That Eased Cost Concerns
One of the biggest reasons for choosing Kanal-WEB was "the peace of mind of a flat monthly fee, regardless of the number of users".
"Whether the cost of implementation and operation would justify the return on investment (ROI) was a critical factor in our decision," Nakazawa recalls.
During selection, building a system from scratch was also an option, but the development costs were too heavy to be realistic. The company also considered adding My Page functionality to its existing LMS, but non-standard features came with high additional fees, and adding them after the fact was often technically difficult in itself, presenting major hurdles.
Furthermore, under the pay-per-use pricing adopted by many LMSs and similar systems, costs grow as the number of users increases. Even if operating costs start out within expectations, there was concern that a growing student body could drive costs beyond what had been anticipated.
Kanal-WEB, on the other hand, requires an initial setup fee but uses a flat monthly fee, so no additional costs arise as the number of users grows, making it a highly cost-effective choice over the long term. Another major factor in the decision was that, after adoption, the company could operate it without worrying about costs and flexibly accommodate expanded functionality and increased usage.
Hayashi says, "For a school to have its own My Page usually requires a large investment in systems, which makes it a costly hurdle. But Kanal-WEB keeps the cost burden low, and it has proven to be a truly reliable partner for us."
The Flexibility to Run E-Learning Within the My Page
Conventional LMSs offered only limited options within their standard features, which imposed major constraints whenever the company wanted to add specific functions.
Kanal-WEB, by contrast, has a highly flexible structure, and a major advantage is the ability to add and customize features to fit the unique requirements of companies and educational institutions. For example, a wide range of functions, such as e-learning content delivery and certificate requests, can be freely designed and integrated to build a system tailored to specific needs.
Because Kanal-WEB is so flexible to extend and allows the system to be designed around specific requirements, it offered the adaptability to keep pace with future business growth and change.
"The information companies and educational institutions want to show, and the functions they need, differ from one organization to the next. That's why a generic packaged system alone often can't meet those needs. What makes Kanal-WEB attractive is that it is highly extensible and can respond flexibly to such needs," says Hayashi.
Clearing Security Hurdles for Smooth Integration
Murata points to two things: "peace of mind on security" and "smooth integration with existing systems."
When introducing a system, it is not enough for its features to be excellent; a major challenge is how to integrate it with core systems and manage information safely and accurately. Educational institutions in particular often handle highly sensitive information such as students' personal data and grades, making security measures an essential requirement.
"We needed to carefully discuss how to integrate our core systems with the My Page, and whether we could ensure data consistency and security throughout that integration," Murata recalls.
Because Kanal-WEB is provided as a kintone-based plugin, the company, which was already using kintone as a primary system, had the reassurance of being able to introduce a new system while keeping its existing security framework in place.
The process from build to go-live moves quickly, so the system can be up and running efficiently.
Murata: Head of Marketing
Drawing on IT expertise, Murata serves as an advisor on the company's internal IT projects and played an important role in selecting the new system.
Results: Lower Costs and a Flexible Operating Structure
50% Lower Operating Costs: Greater Efficiency by Moving Away from the LMS
By integrating e-learning content into the My Page, the company succeeded in cutting its monthly operating costs by about 50%.
This result came mainly from canceling the pay-per-use LMS it had been using.
Under pay-per-use pricing, even a fee of just a few hundred yen per user caused monthly costs to swell significantly with a large number of accounts. The new system has eliminated that burden.
With the old system, costs rose every time the number of users grew, forcing the company to limit how many users it gave access to. With Kanal-WEB's flat monthly fee, those cost constraints are gone, and the company can now offer the service to more students.
"With a predictable cost structure, managing costs as we expand our services and enroll new students has become far easier." (Nakazawa)
Especially with student numbers expected to grow, the ability to use Kanal-WEB for a flat monthly fee makes it an important source of reassurance for long-term operations.
Responding Quickly to Internal Requests
Kanal-WEB has made flexible site improvements possible, allowing the team to respond quickly to requests from within the company.
Hayashi says, "We can now make adjustments ourselves in response to requests. Simple tasks take only about 5 to 10 minutes, so we can make improvements quickly."
Because the new system is built on kintone, changes can be made without code. As a result, the company can make effective use of in-house resources and no longer needs the resident engineer or outside vendors it once relied on.
Along with lower operating costs, the company now has a structure for handling maintenance quickly with in-house resources.
Less Time Spent by the Administrative Office and Greater Convenience for Students
Using the My Page has simplified previously cumbersome administrative work, reducing the burden on staff and improving operational efficiency at the same time.
Certificate Requests
Previously, students requested certificates by email or through the administrative office. After adopting Kanal-WEB, the school set up a system that lets students request certificates directly on the My Page.
As a result, the administrative office spends far less time handling requests, and students can request certificates easily.
Learning Status Page
By adding status displays such as attendance rates and grades to the My Page, the school lets learners check their progress in real time. In particular, for attendance rates, which are important for meeting visa requirements, the school now has a system for spotting issues early and providing appropriate support.
In addition, with information consolidated on the My Page, the administrative office has seen a significant drop in inquiries and greater operational efficiency. The time once spent answering inquiries can now go to other important work.
Student ID / Enrolled courses / Exam results / Personal information
Everything in One Place: No More Logging In to Multiple Systems
The company previously juggled multiple systems such as an LMS and WordPress, but by integrating with kintone through Kanal-WEB, it can now manage all of its operations in a single system.
"We now center everything on kintone, and it also integrates smoothly with WordPress. This saves us the trouble of logging in to multiple systems separately, and we can publish and manage information with kintone alone." (Hayashi)
My Page users used to have to log in separately to the LMS and the My Page, but since Kanal-WEB was introduced, a single login to the My Page lets students handle every part of student life smoothly, from studying to various procedures. This has greatly improved convenience and made the learning environment simpler and more comfortable.
What They Valued About Working with bitRiver
Flexible System Development That Reflects Customer Feedback
TCJ Global praised bitRiver's "flexible approach of listening carefully to customers and reflecting their feedback in the system."
"In system development generally, many products are packaged, and it is not uncommon for vendors to turn down customization requests. bitRiver, however, listened carefully to what we wanted.
When we requested a feature to check each member's video viewing history, they didn't turn us down with 'That can't be done.' They listened to us properly and worked on developing it," Hayashi recalls.
Kanal-WEB already offers a rich set of features, and on top of that, its flexibility to grow the system by listening to customers is highly valued by many companies.
After the Interview
What stood out most in this interview was that adopting Kanal-WEB brought major improvements not only to internal operational efficiency but also to convenience for its users (students).
Consolidating systems not only reduced the work of running multiple systems and made operations run more smoothly, but also dramatically reduced the hassle students experienced when studying and completing procedures. It was clear that these improvements are raising user satisfaction and making the learning environment more comfortable.
"I feel that adopting Kanal-WEB has greatly expanded our growth opportunities as we develop our business and as our student numbers increase. Without having to worry about infrastructure constraints, I believe we can enter new markets in Japan and overseas, develop new products, and serve a wider range of customers," says Nakazawa.
In October 2024, TCJ Global signed a basic agreement on a business partnership with Hanoi College for Electro-Mechanics, which operates a private university in Vietnam, marking its entry into global education and the start of its overseas expansion. *The press release on this announcement is available here.
We hope Kanal-WEB may find even wider use in this new venture as well, and we look forward to TCJ Global's continued success!
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