Tower Records Builds Data Integration Platform for AI Utilization with "Warp" ~Achieves No-Code Integration with Core Systems and Various Cloud Services~

Asteria Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoichiro Hirano; Stock Code: 3853; hereinafter "Asteria") announces that Tower Records Corporation (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President: Ikuo Iwasaki; hereinafter "Tower Records"), which develops diverse businesses including music software sales and event management, has built a data integration platform that spans its core system "PROACTIVE," various cloud services, and a demand forecasting AI platform, utilizing "ASTERIA Warp" (hereinafter "Warp"), which has maintained the No. 1 market share for 19 consecutive years in Japan's software market for Enterprise Application Integration (EAI/ESB) products. ■ Background and Effects of "Warp" Introduction According to the 2025 Information and Communications White Paper (Reiwa 7 Edition)※2, Japan's IT investment has grown by approximately 4 trillion yen over the past decade, with DX (Digital Transformation) being a continuous investment theme across all corporate activities. The retail industry is no exception, with over 80% of companies utilizing cloud services, indicating progress in digital adoption. However, this has also led to challenges arising from increased operational complexity. Amidst these environmental changes, Tower Records has been advancing data utilization for business improvement. As part of this initiative, they had been performing data integration between their core system "PROACTIVE" and internal systems. However, processes such as journal data integration, master updates, and ledger creation required manual handling of data processing and registration, necessitating further operational efficiency and stable operation. Furthermore, as efforts to leverage data progressed, the need to handle different data formats and integration methods across various systems grew, making the development of a flexible data integration platform, independent of specific systems, an urgent priority. Therefore, the company adopted Warp as a platform to centrally manage data integration between various systems, evaluating it based on the following points: **Points that led to the evaluation of Warp:** * Ability to flexibly handle different data formats and integration methods for each system. * Capability to automate routine data processing (e.g., journal data integration with the core system, master updates, CSV processing, report generation). * Possibility of no-code development and modification, enabling continuous in-house operation. * Flexibility to accommodate future system expansion. This enabled the company to realize a mechanism for smooth, no-code integration between its core system and various cloud services. For the cloud service managing expense settlement, it automated master data registration and journal data processing/integration from the core system. By integrating with a business data management cloud service, it automated the registration of item data and the electronic management of PDF data for invoices and payment notifications, which were previously stored on paper. This reduced the workload associated with report registration and management, achieving operational efficiency. Furthermore, Warp integrated sales performance data accumulated in the sales management system with a demand forecasting AI platform, automating the entire process from data extraction to the execution of the AI sales forecasting model and retrieval of results. By incorporating forecast results into daily operations, it achieved advanced data utilization, and AI-driven business improvement initiatives are progressing at a practical level. Moreover, these data integrations and processing tasks were built and operated by an in-house development team with limited programming experience, leveraging Warp's characteristic no-code development capabilities. (Image of Integration with Various Systems) ■ Future Development of Warp Business Warp, capable of no-code integration with over 100 tools and systems without programming knowledge, contributes to DX promotion for business efficiency improvement across a wide range of industries. The Warp series, including Warp Core, is steadily expanding its business, with over 10,000 companies currently adopting it. It continues to hold the No. 1 market share in the enterprise data integration market (EAI/ESB) for 19 consecutive years and also responds to new integration needs arising from legal regulations and cloud migration. Asteria will continue to expand sales of its integration functions with diverse data sources across various industries. Leveraging the characteristics of no-code, it will support data utilization to solve societal issues, such as addressing IT talent shortages, and contribute to promoting operational efficiency and automation. ※1: Source / Techno-System Research Co., Ltd. "2025 Software Marketing Overview EAI/ESB Market Edition". EAI/ESB are abbreviations for Enterprise Application Integration and Enterprise Service Bus, respectively, and refer to product categories that manage data integration within and outside enterprises. ※2: Reiwa 7 Edition Information and Communications White Paper "Data Collection" https://www.soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/whitepaper/ja/r07/html/datashu.html https://www.asteria.com/jp/warp/case/w_tower/ ■ About "Tower Records Corporation" https://tower.jp/ Tower Records, with its corporate voice "NO MUSIC, NO LIFE," operates a retail business that focuses on selling music and video software, and also handles books, miscellaneous goods, and tickets. In addition to operating "TOWER RECORDS" stores nationwide, it manages online sales and a marketplace through its comprehensive music portal site "TOWER RECORDS ONLINE." The company's operations also include the import and wholesale of music and video software, buying and selling used records, and the planning, manufacturing, and sales of miscellaneous goods and apparel. Furthermore, it engages in music production/copyright management businesses, such as artist management, music and copyright management, and master production, as well as food and beverage services through the planning and operation of entertainment cafes "TOWER RECORDS CAFE" and "TOWER RECORDS BEER." ■ About "Asteria Corporation" https://jp.asteria.com/ Asteria, as an expert in "connecting" society and businesses, is a software development company that provides products and services to "connect" people, things, and thoughts, with the concept of "connecting the world with software." Its core product, ASTERIA Warp, which enables no-code integration of data from various systems and clouds, has been adopted by over 10,000 companies. Other products include Handbook X, a digital archiving app that allows users to consolidate and manage various information such as documents, videos, and websites within an app; Platio, a mobile app creation tool that enables anyone to easily create and utilize no-code mobile apps tailored to their business needs; and Gravio, a no-code AI/IoT platform that serves as a node computing infrastructure for aggregating and utilizing diverse data from various locations for centralized information management. Through the provision of these products, Asteria promotes DX and operational efficiency. The company also engages in activities to promote innovation and popularize new technologies and values, such as participating in the establishment of organizations like the Blockchain Promotion Association and the No-Code Promotion Association. ■ About "ASTERIA Warp" https://www.asteria.com/jp/warp/ "ASTERIA Warp," the No. 1 product in Japan's EAI/ESB market for 19 consecutive years, is middleware that enables no-code integration of data between different computer systems. It is recognized for its ability to establish connections and perform data transformations between various systems, ranging from mainframes and cloud servers to spreadsheet software, without complex programming. Warp Core offers a selection of Warp's core features on a subscription basis, starting from 30,000 yen per month with no initial costs, providing "easy" access. It enables business automation and data utilization by rapidly integrating with various systems and services. * Asteria, ASTERIA, Handbook, Platio, and Gravio are registered trademarks of Asteria Corporation. * Product names in this text are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.