NorthSand
NorthSand is a Tokyo-headquartered Japanese IT and business consulting firm serving large enterprises with human-centric consulting services, and serves as Notion's first authorized sales agent in Japan offering Notion implementation, subscription resale, and template products.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NorthSand does
NorthSand (株式会社ノースサンド) is a Tokyo-headquartered Japanese professional services firm founded in 2015 by Tomohiro Maeda (前田知広), operating as a publicly listed entity on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 446A) following a November 2025 IPO as a spinoff from Baycurrent. The company delivers IT and business consulting services to large Japanese enterprises across pharmaceuticals, chemicals, IT services, manufacturing, and retail, with approximately 80% prime contract ratio, 90% project continuation rate, and 6% employee turnover against a ~20% industry benchmark. Its differentiating positioning is a human-centric consultant philosophy (charm, honesty, persistence) and a hiring model that recruits outside traditional consulting backgrounds.
NorthSand's second business line operates as Notion's first authorized sales agent in Japan, offering Notion Enterprise subscription resale with Yen billing, implementation consulting, training programs, AI integration services, and a Notion-branded template store with individual templates priced ¥100-¥2,500. The firm employs 2,147 people as of April 2026 across Tokyo (Kabukiza Tower HQ), Osaka, and Fukuoka, and operates a content marketing platform (Sore, Notion de), YouTube channel, webinars, and multiple published books.
Revenue is generated through three streams: professional services consulting engagements (core), Notion subscription resale (recurring), and template store sales (one-time license). The Notion Authorized Partner status provides preferential access to the ecosystem but creates dependency on Notion Labs' roadmap. Certifications include ISO 27001 and ISO 30414, and the firm has been Great Place to Work certified for nine consecutive years.
NorthSand firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NorthSand
- Legal name
- 株式会社ノースサンド
- Website
- https://northsand.co.jp
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- NorthSand is a Tokyo-headquartered Japanese IT and business consulting firm serving large enterprises with human-centric consulting services, and serves as Notion's first authorized sales agent in Japan offering Notion implementation, subscription resale, and template products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where NorthSand is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices3 records
Markets served
NorthSand business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- IT and Business Consulting Services: Core consulting services providing IT and business consulting to enterprise clients, with high project continuity rate (~90%), consultant utilization rate (>90%), and prime contract ratio (~80%)
- Notion Subscription Resale: Resale of Notion subscriptions (Enterprise plans) with Japanese Yen billing support, 24/7 email technical support, and onboarding assistance
- Notion Template Sales: Sale of pre-built Notion templates through the Notion Template Store, ranging from ¥100 to ¥2,500 per template
- Notion Consulting Services: Notion consulting including online training, onboarding support, Japanese chat support, dedicated customer success managers, and enterprise template distribution
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Template Pack - Comprehensive package with all store templates |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Project Management templates (small to medium scale) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Paid leave utilization rate management template |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
NorthSand product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NorthSand provides IT and business consulting services to large Japanese corporations, emphasizing a human-centric consulting philosophy over pure technical skills. The firm operates as Notion's first authorized sales partner in Japan, reselling Notion subscriptions, offering Notion consulting/implementation/training services, and selling pre-built Notion templates through its own template store. Services cover project management, DX support, business transformation, organizational knowledge management, and Notion AI integration for enterprise clients.
Product overview
NorthSand operates as a Notion Authorized Partner offering consulting and implementation services alongside a template store. The core consulting practice provides IT and business consulting services, while the Notion-specific offerings include implementation consulting, enterprise onboarding support, training programs, and a template store with pre-built Notion templates for project management, CRM, HR, and business operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- IT Consulting Services IT and business consulting services covering project management, DX (digital transformation) support, business transformation, system migration, and organizational change. Targeted at large Japanese corporations across pharmaceutical, chemical, IT services, and manufacturing sectors.
- Notion Consulting & Implementation Enterprise Notion implementation consulting including security assessment, trial support, onboarding assistance, and training programs for Japanese enterprises adopting Notion.
- Notion AI Implementation Implementation and training services for Notion AI features including AI Meeting Notes, knowledge base Q&A, and generative AI capabilities for enterprise workflow automation.
- Notion Template Store Online e-commerce store selling pre-built Notion templates for various business functions including project management, CRM/SFA, HR management, task management, meeting management, and administrative operations.
- Notion Training Programs Structured training programs including online training, mid-career onboarding content creation, and department-specific consulting to build Notion proficiency across organizations.
- Notion Subscription Service Enterprise Notion subscription management service offering Japanese Yen invoicing, security assessment support, 24/7 email technical support, and authorized partner consultation for Japanese enterprises.
Quantifiable outcome
- ~90% project continuation rate, >90% consultant utilization rate
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use NorthSand
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
NorthSand technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature1 record
NorthSand partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Notion Labs, Inc.coreNorthSand is the world's first Notion sales agent/distributor in Japan and Notion Authorized Partner. The company resells Notion subscriptions (including Enterprise plans) with Japanese Yen billing support, provides 24/7 email technical support, and serves as a certified implementation partner offering consulting, training, and onboarding services. NorthSand has published multiple Notion books and hosts Notion fan events in Japan.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NorthSand competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Baycurrent Consulting: Parent company of NorthSand prior to the November 2025 spinoff IPO. Japan's largest pure-play strategy and management consulting firm serving similar enterprise clients across DX, IT, and corporate transformation — directly comparable in service mix and customer base, and now a potential competitor post-spin.
- Future Corporation: Japanese consulting and IT services firm with a strong focus on IT consulting, system integration, and DX support for large enterprises. Overlaps directly with NorthSand's core IT/business consulting and DX transformation offerings in the Japanese enterprise market.
Broad incumbents
- NRI (Nomura Research Institute): One of Japan's largest IT consulting and systems integration firms, serving financial institutions, manufacturers, and public sector with consulting, IT solutions, and outsourcing. Comparable to NorthSand in serving large Japanese enterprises, but with a much broader portfolio of proprietary systems and global footprint.
- ABeam Consulting: Major Japanese management and IT consulting firm with deep enterprise transformation, ERP, and DX practices. Direct competitor for enterprise IT and business consulting engagements in Japan, though broader in scope and global in reach than NorthSand.
- Accenture Japan: Global consulting and technology services giant with a substantial Japan practice covering strategy, consulting, digital, technology, and operations. Competes with NorthSand for large Japanese enterprise transformation projects, but at vastly greater scale and breadth.
- Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting: Japan arm of Deloitte's global consulting network, offering management consulting, technology implementation, and human capital services. Competes with NorthSand for large Japanese enterprise DX and transformation mandates, with greater brand recognition and global resources.
- Boston Consulting Group Japan: Global strategy consulting leader with significant Japan operations serving Japanese conglomerates on corporate strategy, DX, and organizational transformation. Operates upmarket of NorthSand in strategy work but competes for the same large Japanese enterprise client budget.
Others
- Notion Labs: Strategic platform partner of NorthSand — the underlying SaaS vendor whose products NorthSand implements, resells, and consults on in Japan. Not a competitor but the key enabler of NorthSand's most differentiated business line; relevant for understanding partner concentration risk.
Emerging players
- Yappli: Japanese digital transformation and no-code platform provider that overlaps with NorthSand in supporting Japanese enterprise DX adoption, though focused more on app/no-code than knowledge management. Comparable as a Japanese DX-focused growth-stage public company.
- Works Applications: Japanese enterprise cloud ERP and business productivity platform provider with consulting-led go-to-market. Adjacent to NorthSand's Notion-based knowledge management offering, though focused on financial/HR ERP rather than general knowledge workspaces.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NorthSand social profiles
Digital presenceNorthSand compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
NorthSand financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NorthSand leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
NorthSand funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NorthSand M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NorthSand
What does NorthSand do?
NorthSand provides IT and business consulting services to large Japanese corporations, emphasizing a human-centric consulting philosophy over pure technical skills. The firm operates as Notion's first authorized sales partner in Japan, reselling Notion subscriptions, offering Notion consulting/implementation/training services, and selling pre-built Notion templates through its own template store. Services cover project management, DX support, business transformation, organizational knowledge management, and Notion AI integration for enterprise clients.
Is NorthSand a public or private company?
NorthSand is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was NorthSand founded?
NorthSand was founded in 2015. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is NorthSand based?
NorthSand is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does NorthSand make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. IT and Business Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are notion Subscription Resale, notion Template Sales and notion Consulting Services.
Who are NorthSand's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Baycurrent Consulting and Future Corporation. Broad incumbents are NRI (Nomura Research Institute), ABeam Consulting, Accenture Japan, Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting and Boston Consulting Group Japan. Notion Labs is listed as an others. Emerging players are Yappli and Works Applications.
Does NorthSand have an API?
No public API is recorded for NorthSand.