IAF Consulting

What IAF Consulting does

IAF Consulting Co., Ltd. (株式会社アイエイエフコンサルティング) is a Tokyo-headquartered, Japan-focused independent consulting firm specializing in Data Warehouse (DWH), Business Intelligence (BI), and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) systems. Founded in March 1998 by former employees of Yamaichi Securities, the company has built a 25+ year track record implementing DWH, multidimensional OLAP databases, BI tools, and Hyperion Planning/EPM systems for large Japanese enterprises across financial services, trading, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, medical device, beverage, and retail sectors. The firm offers four integrated service lines — BI Strategy Consulting, BI Solution Consulting, BI Project Consulting, and BI Product Consulting — covering the full project lifecycle from requirements definition through operations. Its proprietary IAF Method (a spiral-approach construction methodology), IAF Templates, and OpenOLAP differentiate its delivery model from conventional waterfall BI implementations.

The company operates a customer-immersed, direct enterprise consulting model: consultants engage face-to-face with client management and user departments on-site, primarily in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with no resellers or distribution partners. IAF is a certified partner with Oracle, Microsoft, SAP BusinessObjects, and IBM Cognos, enabling implementations across heterogeneous BI/EPM stacks. Since April 2019, IAF has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of JFE Systems (part of the JFE Steel Group), while retaining its independent consulting brand identity. Revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2025 was ¥1.52 billion (~USD $10M) with a headcount of approximately 100 employees. The firm monetizes exclusively through project-based, quote-priced professional services engagements with large enterprise clients, supplemented by thought-leadership content including authored books on BI and data analysis.

Name

IAF Consulting

Legal name

株式会社アイエイエフコンサルティング (IAF Consulting, Inc.)

Website

https://iafc.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

IAF Consulting is a Tokyo-based independent consulting firm specializing in DWH, BI, and EPM system implementation for large Japanese enterprises, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of JFE Systems since 2019.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IT Consulting Services (DWH/BI/EPM)

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

ERP, CRM & Enterprise Applications Consulting (BPAHAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) & BI (HDAEAMAG)

Keywords

• DWH consulting
• BI consulting
• EPM consulting
• Data warehouse implementation
• Enterprise performance management

Headquarters

HQ city

Nakajima

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. DWH/BI/EPM Consulting Services: Core revenue from data warehouse, multidimensional database, BI implementation consulting services, and budget management/EPM (Hyperion Planning) consulting.
2. BI Project Consulting: Project-based consulting for DWH/BI system implementation across all project lifecycle phases.
3. BI Strategy and Solution Consulting: Strategy consulting for BI system roadmaps, KPI monitoring, and BSC (Balanced Scorecard) construction.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IAF Consulting provides specialized consulting services for Data Warehouse (DWH), Business Intelligence (BI), and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) systems. The firm delivers four integrated service lines — BI Strategy Consulting, BI Solution Consulting, BI Project Consulting, and BI Product Consulting — covering requirements definition, design, development, education, operation, and adoption support across accounting, SCM, CRM, and performance management domains for major Japanese enterprises.

Product overview

IAF Consulting is a specialized DWH/BI/EPM consulting firm offering four integrated consulting service lines: BI Strategy Consulting (for roadmaps and adoption support), BI Solution Consulting (for full-phase system construction across accounting, SCM, CRM, and BSC domains), BI Project Consulting (using the proprietary IAF Method spiral approach), and BI Product Consulting (for Oracle, IBM Cognos, SAP BusinessObjects, Microsoft, Dr.Sum, Tableau, and Netezza platforms). The company also provides specialized solutions including Accounting BI, SCM-BI, eCRM-BI, and BSC solutions, supported by IAF Templates for accelerated implementation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BI Strategy Consulting Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Weekly inventory visibility enabling cross-regional inventory optimization
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and standard.

• OraclemajorTechnology or IntegrationOracle Partner Network Member Partner. IAF offers consulting services for Oracle Exadata, Oracle BIEE, Oracle Discoverer, Oracle OLAP Option, Oracle Warehouse Builder, Hyperion Planning, Oracle Analytics Cloud, and Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud.
• MicrosoftmajorTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft certified partner with Business Intelligence competency. IAF provides consulting for Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Analysis Services, Microsoft Reporting Services, Microsoft Integration Services, and Microsoft Power BI.
• SAP BusinessObjectsmajorTechnology or IntegrationSAP BusinessObjects certified consulting partner. Services include BW/SAP BI, BusinessObjects, Web Intelligence, Desktop Intelligence, Crystal Report, and Xcelsius implementations.
• IBM CognosstandardTechnology or IntegrationIAF provides consulting services for IBM Cognos Analytics, a DWH/OLAP/BI solution.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Accenture Japan: Global consulting and technology services giant with a large Japan BI/data analytics practice serving major Japanese corporations. Competes with IAF on enterprise BI transformation mandates, though at significantly larger scale and broader capability set.
• NTT Data: Largest Japanese SI with extensive BI/data warehouse consulting capabilities and Oracle/Microsoft partnerships. Serves many of the same enterprise customers as IAF across financial services and manufacturing sectors.
• BIPROGY (formerly UNISYS Japan): Japanese SI serving financial, manufacturing, and distribution enterprises with BI and data analytics solutions. Competes for enterprise data warehouse and BI implementation work in the same Japanese market segments as IAF.
• Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting: Large global consulting firm in Japan with a substantial Analytics & Cognitive practice serving the same Japanese enterprise clients. While much broader in scope, it competes for the same BI/analytics consulting engagements at larger deal sizes.
• TIS Inc. Major Japanese SI with data management and BI consulting practices serving enterprise customers. Comparable as a broad IT services provider with BI/data analytics capabilities targeting similar Japanese corporate clients.

Emerging players

• WingArc1st: Japanese BI and form/document platform vendor offering cloud BI solutions to enterprise customers. Adjacent competitor as a Japan-focused BI specialist, though operating more as a software vendor than pure consulting firm like IAF.

Direct peers

• Information Services International-Dentsu (ISID): Japanese SI with a strong financial solutions and data analytics practice, serving similar enterprise customers including financial institutions. Overlaps directly with IAF's BI/management accounting consulting offering and large-enterprise Japanese client base.
• Nomura Research Institute (NRI): Leading Japanese IT consulting and solutions firm with a significant data analytics and BI consulting practice serving financial services, manufacturing, and trading companies. Most directly comparable to IAF Consulting in client base, BI focus, and Japanese enterprise market.
• ABeam Consulting: Japan-origin management and technology consulting firm with enterprise applications and BI/analytics capabilities. Comparable as a mid-sized specialist consulting firm serving Japanese enterprises with similar technology transformation mandates.

Others

• IBM Japan: Major technology vendor with Cognos BI consulting services and a Japan BI consulting practice. Serves as both a technology partner to IAF and indirect competitor for BI implementation mandates, particularly in large Japanese enterprises.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IAF Consulting