zooba Launches Early Adopter Program for New BPaaS, Making AI Helpdesk Free and Offering IT Governance Diagnosis at a Special Price for 5 Companies
zooba Inc. has announced an early adopter program for its new freemium BPaaS, where AI handles routine helpdesk tasks for free, allowing humans to focus on strategic work. Targeting five mid-sized companies with 50-500 employees, the program offers a free AI helpdesk and an IT governance diagnosis package, normally priced at ¥1.5 million, for a special price of ¥50,000. This initiative aims to jointly validate and implement a new IT support model for the AI-native era as a countermeasure to the severe IT talent shortage.
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- 📰 Published: May 21, 2026 at 18:10
- 🔍 Collected: May 21, 2026 at 09:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 21, 2026 at 10:36 (1h 4m after Collected)
zooba Inc. (Headquarters: Tachikawa, Tokyo; CEO: Ayane Nawa) will launch an early adopter program for a new freemium BPaaS model starting on [Date, 2026]. This is an industry-disrupting IT support model that provides routine helpdesk support, which can be handled by AI, for free, while charging separately for tasks that require human judgment and expertise, such as strategy, IT governance, and security design. In collaboration with five mid-sized companies, zooba will implement and validate this AI-native IT support model, with the official service launch planned after the program's completion.
During the early adopter program, the AI helpdesk will be provided free of charge. Additionally, the "IT Governance Blueprint Light Diagnosis Package," one of the paid services normally valued at ¥1.5 million, will be offered to the five participating companies for a special price of ¥50,000. The application deadline is June 12, 2026 (Friday), and the program targets mid-sized companies with 50 to 500 employees. Registration will close once the five slots are filled.
*BPaaS (Business Process as a Service) is a model that combines SaaS (Software) and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) to provide business processes themselves as a service. Unlike SaaS, which only provides tools, BPaaS is characterized by its ability to outsource operations, execution, and improvement.
## Limited Recruitment for 5 Early Adopter Companies
The AI helpdesk is available for free during the program. Concurrently, the IT Governance Blueprint Light Diagnosis Package, normally worth ¥1.5 million, is offered for a special price of ¥50,000, with diagnostic results delivered within one month. The program participation fee (¥50,000) will be credited as a down payment upon signing a formal contract after the official release.
**Deliverables (within 1 month):**
- Current state assessment via a 6-domain checklist
- IT asset visualization (zooba dashboard)
- As-Is diagnosis report (approx. 15 A4 pages)
- Risk heat map + Top 5 priority actions
- One debrief session with management present
**Application Requirements:**
- 50-500 employees
- Involvement of management
- Cooperation with case study publication and interviews after completion
- Deadline: June 12, 2026 (Friday)
## Why Make the AI Helpdesk Free Now?
According to a survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan's IT talent shortage is expected to reach up to 790,000 people by 2030. The job-to-applicant ratio for IT support roles is 5-8, and can exceed 50 for security specialists. As a result, many SMEs face staff shortages, with 44.1% reporting insufficient IT staff and 70.3% already outsourcing tasks.
IT support tasks are polarizing into "routine operations" that can be automated by AI and "strategic, governance, and security design" that requires human judgment. As the marginal cost of generative AI approaches zero, continuing to sell AI features as a paid service becomes unsustainable. Conversely, the value of human judgment, expertise, and relationship-building is increasing.
Under the concept of "making AI-capable tasks free to focus on human-only tasks," zooba is launching this service to solve deeper issues that tool implementation alone could not address. This early adopter program was created to implement and validate its feasibility with five mid-sized companies.
## Service Plans
This service offers three plans based on company size and scope of work:
- **Lite**: Free during the introductory period. Includes first-level AI helpdesk support, automatic internal FAQ generation, etc.
- **Pro**: ¥100,000/month. Includes all Lite features plus second-level BPO support, monthly reports, etc.
- **Plan M**: From ¥500,000/month. Includes all Pro features plus IT governance/security design, and hands-on support from an ex-DeNA CSIRT member.
*Pricing and service terms for the official release will be determined based on the results of this program.
## Team Members
- **Ayane Nawa** (CEO, zooba Inc. / former DeNA CSIRT): Leveraging her experience as an engineer and in IT strategy at Microsoft Japan and DeNA, she oversees IT governance and security design.
- **Nobuyuki Kikuchi** (Product Manager, zooba Inc.): With extensive experience at an SIer, enterprise IT department, and SaaS startup, he leads the design of business process standardization and operational delegation.
## About zooba Inc.
zooba Inc. uses technology to create an environment where people can maximize their abilities and unleash their creativity. Through its AI service "zooba," the company aims to improve organizational productivity and competitiveness by helping IT departments operate more efficiently and create value.
During the early adopter program, the AI helpdesk will be provided free of charge. Additionally, the "IT Governance Blueprint Light Diagnosis Package," one of the paid services normally valued at ¥1.5 million, will be offered to the five participating companies for a special price of ¥50,000. The application deadline is June 12, 2026 (Friday), and the program targets mid-sized companies with 50 to 500 employees. Registration will close once the five slots are filled.
*BPaaS (Business Process as a Service) is a model that combines SaaS (Software) and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) to provide business processes themselves as a service. Unlike SaaS, which only provides tools, BPaaS is characterized by its ability to outsource operations, execution, and improvement.
## Limited Recruitment for 5 Early Adopter Companies
The AI helpdesk is available for free during the program. Concurrently, the IT Governance Blueprint Light Diagnosis Package, normally worth ¥1.5 million, is offered for a special price of ¥50,000, with diagnostic results delivered within one month. The program participation fee (¥50,000) will be credited as a down payment upon signing a formal contract after the official release.
**Deliverables (within 1 month):**
- Current state assessment via a 6-domain checklist
- IT asset visualization (zooba dashboard)
- As-Is diagnosis report (approx. 15 A4 pages)
- Risk heat map + Top 5 priority actions
- One debrief session with management present
**Application Requirements:**
- 50-500 employees
- Involvement of management
- Cooperation with case study publication and interviews after completion
- Deadline: June 12, 2026 (Friday)
## Why Make the AI Helpdesk Free Now?
According to a survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan's IT talent shortage is expected to reach up to 790,000 people by 2030. The job-to-applicant ratio for IT support roles is 5-8, and can exceed 50 for security specialists. As a result, many SMEs face staff shortages, with 44.1% reporting insufficient IT staff and 70.3% already outsourcing tasks.
IT support tasks are polarizing into "routine operations" that can be automated by AI and "strategic, governance, and security design" that requires human judgment. As the marginal cost of generative AI approaches zero, continuing to sell AI features as a paid service becomes unsustainable. Conversely, the value of human judgment, expertise, and relationship-building is increasing.
Under the concept of "making AI-capable tasks free to focus on human-only tasks," zooba is launching this service to solve deeper issues that tool implementation alone could not address. This early adopter program was created to implement and validate its feasibility with five mid-sized companies.
## Service Plans
This service offers three plans based on company size and scope of work:
- **Lite**: Free during the introductory period. Includes first-level AI helpdesk support, automatic internal FAQ generation, etc.
- **Pro**: ¥100,000/month. Includes all Lite features plus second-level BPO support, monthly reports, etc.
- **Plan M**: From ¥500,000/month. Includes all Pro features plus IT governance/security design, and hands-on support from an ex-DeNA CSIRT member.
*Pricing and service terms for the official release will be determined based on the results of this program.
## Team Members
- **Ayane Nawa** (CEO, zooba Inc. / former DeNA CSIRT): Leveraging her experience as an engineer and in IT strategy at Microsoft Japan and DeNA, she oversees IT governance and security design.
- **Nobuyuki Kikuchi** (Product Manager, zooba Inc.): With extensive experience at an SIer, enterprise IT department, and SaaS startup, he leads the design of business process standardization and operational delegation.
## About zooba Inc.
zooba Inc. uses technology to create an environment where people can maximize their abilities and unleash their creativity. Through its AI service "zooba," the company aims to improve organizational productivity and competitiveness by helping IT departments operate more efficiently and create value.