Earth Corporation promotes “Democratization of Digital” with SmartDB implementation - Accelerating site-led business reforms on a platform utilized by all employees -

DreamArts Corporation (Tokyo Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Hiroshima Head Office: Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima; President: Takao Yamamoto; hereinafter referred to as DreamArts), a provider of cloud services for large enterprises, is pleased to announce that Earth Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Katsuyoshi Kawabata; hereinafter referred to as Earth Corporation) has implemented "SmartDB® (Smart DB)", a cloud service for business digitalization for large enterprises, and will commence full-scale operation as a business platform from April 2026.

The company is promoting the "Democratization of Digital" (Note 1), where business departments themselves are responsible for digitalization. Through this initiative, they aim to accelerate company-wide DX and strengthen corporate competitiveness.

Note 1: "Democratization of Digital" refers to a state where, as internalizing DX becomes a management issue, business departments proactively engage in problem-solving and value creation through DX, and autonomously and continuously lead improvements and value amplification. For details, please visit: https://hibiki.dreamarts.co.jp/smartdb/democratization/

Mr. Akira Kaji (right), Executive Officer, General Manager of the Information Systems Department, and Mr. Ryo Todaka (left), Information Systems Department, System Development Office, Head Office Systems Section.

Background of SmartDB Implementation: Transition to a Company-Wide Platform to Realize "Democratization of Digital"

Earth Corporation has set a DX vision to become a "leading company that co-creates a rich life for people and a sustainable future for the planet by making digital a driving force for management and accurately capturing change." Under this DX vision, they are working on DX with a focus on accelerating data-driven management and digitizing customer touchpoints, while also concentrating on developing digital human resources to support these efforts.

To respond to the rapidly changing business environment and the advancement of digital and AI technologies, the company determined that it was necessary to realize the "Democratization of Digital," where business departments can utilize digital tools to improve operations while maintaining control by the Information Systems Department. On the other hand, existing systems were based on custom development for flexible responses, making it difficult for business departments to build systems themselves. Furthermore, the Information Systems Department was overwhelmed with maintenance and operational tasks, as well as responding to diverse digitalization needs from various departments, resulting in a situation where development could not be expanded to the field while maintaining control. Additionally, operational challenges included information and progress being dispersed among individuals and departments due to email-centric communication, making it difficult to grasp the overall business process.

To solve these issues, SmartDB® was chosen as one of the platforms to promote company-wide "Democratization of Digital."

Reasons for Selecting SmartDB: Balancing Department-Led Development with Company-Wide Control

The following points were particularly highly evaluated during product selection:

No-code business application development Allows business department staff, even those not IT-savvy, to develop business applications using no-code, enabling proactive problem-solving by the business departments.

Robust security features and governance for large enterprises Enables appropriate management of information access scope and ensures governance through granular permission controls. The Information Systems Department can also operate while maintaining overall control.

High evaluation of digital human resource development and retention support system

In addition to implementation and utilization support, the use of knowledge-sharing communities among user companies enables self-driven utilization promotion.

Abundant standard features

Despite being no-code, it is equipped with standard features that can handle the complex business requirements of large enterprises.

Results of SmartDB Implementation: "Democratization of Digital" Expands to the Field

Following the implementation of SmartDB®, results have been achieved by both business and information systems departments. The first case from a business department involved an IT-inexperienced staff member building an application for requests in about one week. Site-led development is progressing, and a development cycle of rapid prototyping and improvement is becoming established.

The Information Systems Department has also seen improved development efficiency by enabling construction without relying on specialized development experience through the use of the no-code platform, and the company-wide rollout was achieved one month ahead of the initial schedule.

Furthermore, business process improvements have been made. In software purchasing operations, the process from quotation requests to implementation, which was previously handled by email, has been integrated into a single workflow. This allows for centralized management of information and progress status that were previously dispersed by department or person in charge, leading to faster decision-making.

Future Outlook: Expanding and Establishing Company-Wide Utilization, and Advanced Utilization with AI

Earth Corporation aims to achieve "Democratization of Digital" and will promote the expansion and establishment of development systems led by business departments. They will also actively leverage the knowledge of other companies through DreamArts' user community. Furthermore, by considering the use of "SmartDB Practical AI (PA) Option" (Note 2), they aim to further promote company-wide DX and improve business performance by increasing operational efficiency and accelerating decision-making.

Note 2: SmartDB Practical AI (PA) Option: https://hibiki.dreamarts.co.jp/smartdb/function/ai/

Comment from Mr. Akira Kaji, Executive Officer, General Manager of the Information Systems Department, Earth Corporation

I strongly resonate with the "Democratization of Digital" advocated by DreamArts. While our company has been working on DX, I believe it is crucial for each individual working on-site to proactively utilize digital tools and solve problems themselves in order to further advance business reforms.

Currently, the company-wide rollout of SmartDB® is complete, and proactive development by business departments is spreading to each division. Moving forward, we aim to become an organization where improvements are made autonomously by strengthening the system to support application development in the field and further enhancing digital human resource development for utilization to take root.

Furthermore, by considering the use of the SmartDB Practical AI (PA) Option, we intend to further advance our initiatives and connect them to the achievement of our corporate goals.

DreamArts will continue to provide total solutions that contribute to "strengthening on-site capabilities" and "improving corporate competitiveness" with the philosophy of "co-creation."

About SmartDB® (Smart DB): https://hibiki.dreamarts.co.jp/smartdb/

SmartDB® is the No. 1 market share (Note 3) business digitalization cloud for large enterprises. It enables no-code development for everything from individual site operations to company-wide cross-departmental operations. With a wide range of features centered on workflows and web databases, it supports flexible integration with external systems, granular access control, and advanced security requirements. It is used by users in all industries and business types, primarily large enterprises, such as MUFG Bank, KDDI, Tsuruha Holdings, and the University of Tsukuba. As its service infrastructure, it has adopted Microsoft's cloud platform "Microsoft Azure," realizing an environment that can flexibly respond to changes in usage scale and increases in content.

Note 3: Based on Techno-System Research's "2025 SaaS Workflow Market Manufacturer Share Survey."

About DreamArts Corporation: https://www.dreamarts.co.jp/

DreamArts, with its corporate mission to "contribute to the development of people, organizations, and society filled with the joy of co-creation," acts as a true solution partner for its customers, assisting them in comprehensive problem-solving by embodying "co-creation" itself.

Its main services include the development and provision of cloud services such as "SmartDB®," a business digitalization cloud for large enterprises; "ShopRan® (Shop Ran)," which supports multi-store operation reforms; and "InsuiteX® (Insuite X)," a business cockpit that transforms the way large enterprises work.