What ENCOURAGE does

ENCOURAGE CO., LTD. (株式会社エンカレッジ) is a privately held Japanese IT services firm founded in June 1999 and headquartered in Osaka, with a Tokyo sales office. The company operates three integrated business lines: (1) IT system consulting, design, development, and management built on PHP, Java, and the NTT Data intra-mart platform; (2) technical staff dispatch and paid employment introduction services, with approximately 40 regular employees supplemented by 80+ contract engineers deployed at client sites; and (3) authorized CBT (Computer-Based Testing) test center operations for global examination providers Prometric and Pearson VUE at its Osaka headquarters.

The company's proprietary product portfolio includes CBT-M, a web-based learning support and examination platform; CBT-Medical, a healthcare-sector testing variant; DEFENDER-X, suspicious-person pre-detection software; and Mental-Checker, a psychological assessment tool. ENCOURAGE maintains NTT Data intra-mart Development Partner status and has extended its development capacity through offshore relationships with IT companies in Thailand, where it also actively markets DEFENDER-X and Mental-Checker.

ENCOURAGE's go-to-market is enterprise-led, targeting public sector and manufacturing clients with joint sales-and-development solution proposals, supplemented by trade fair participation (POWER UP Solutions Fair 2022, UOS Digital Fair 2021) and content marketing via its corporate blog. The company holds JIS Q 15001:2023 personal information protection certification and is led by Representative Director Hatae Muneyuki, who assumed the role in July 2023. Customer segments span public sector/government, manufacturing, educational/certification institutions, and general mid-market enterprises across the Kansai, Kanto, and Chubu regions of Japan.

Name

ENCOURAGE

Legal name

株式会社エンカレッジ (ENCOURAGE CO.,LTD.)

Website

http://www.enc-jp.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ENCOURAGE is a 25-year-old Osaka-based Japanese IT services firm offering system consulting, custom software development, technical staff dispatch, and authorized Prometric/Pearson VUE CBT test center operations, serving public sector, manufacturing, and certification clients across Kanto, Kansai, and Chubu regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Osaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. IT System Development and Construction: Design, construction, and management of trusted information communication systems; custom software development; DX solutions.
2. Technical Staff Dispatch / Human Resource Services: Dispatch of engineers and technical personnel to client IT departments; worker dispatch (労働者派遣) and fee-based employment introduction (有料職業紹介) services.
3. Test Center Operations (CBT): Operation of CBT examination venues for national exams, Prometric, and Pearson VUE; seminar operation services.
4. Self-developed Software Products: Sales and licensing of proprietary products including DEFENDER-X, Mental-Checker, and CBT-M systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ENCOURAGE designs, builds, and manages trusted information and communication systems for enterprise customers, provides custom software development and DX (digital transformation) consulting, dispatches technical engineers (worker dispatch and fee-based employment introduction) to client IT departments, and operates authorized CBT (Computer-Based Testing) examination venues for global testing providers Prometric and Pearson VUE. The company also develops and sells proprietary software products including the CBT-M learning and assessment platform, CBT-Medical, DEFENDER-X (suspicious-person pre-detection), and Mental-Checker (mental health assessment).

Product overview

ENCOURAGE operates primarily as an IT services company offering custom systems design, development, and consulting alongside a portfolio of proprietary software products. The core product family is CBT-M, a web-based learning and assessment platform; CBT-Medical extends this to medical-sector testing. Two standalone security and wellness products — DEFENDER-X (suspicious-person pre-detection) and Mental-Checker (mental health assessment) — complement the testing suite. ENCOURAGE further operates certified test center venues for Pearson VUE and Prometric, physically delivering third-party proctored exams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CBT-M A web-based learning support system (CBT: Computer-Based Testing) designed to deliver and manage computer-based exams and training assessments for educational and corporate clients.
• CBT-Medical A medical-specific variant of the CBT-M platform tailored for healthcare professionals, enabling computer-based testing for medical certification and competency assessment.
• DEFENDER-X A suspicious-person pre-detection software product designed to identify and flag potentially suspicious individuals, typically deployed in security and facility management contexts.
• Mental-Checker A mental health assessment and wellness screening software product that supports psychological evaluation and mental state monitoring for employees and individuals.
• Test Center Operations ENCOURAGE operates certified test center venues for major global examination providers (Pearson VUE and Prometric), offering physical facilities for proctored computer-based testing and certification exams at the Osaka headquarters.
• IT System Development and Construction Design, construction, and management of trusted information communication systems; custom software development; DX solutions delivered to enterprise customers in the public sector and manufacturing verticals.
• Technical Staff Dispatch / Engineer Staffing Dispatch of engineers and technical personnel (worker dispatch / 労働者派遣) and fee-based employment introduction (有料職業紹介) services that supplement IT human resource gaps at client organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25 years of continuous operation since 1999
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Prometric Japan (プロメトリック)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorENCOURAGE operates an authorized Prometric test center venue at its Osaka headquarters. Prometric is a major global provider of technology-based testing and assessment services. The company handles test appointment inquiries, examinee check-in, and proctoring at the venue.
• Pearson VUE (ピアソンVUE)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorENCOURAGE operates an authorized Pearson VUE test center venue alongside its Prometric venue. Pearson VUE is a leading global computer-based testing and assessment provider. The company manages examinee services and test administration.
• NTT Data intraMART (株式会社エヌ・ティ・ティ・データ・イントラマート)coreTechnology or IntegrationENCOURAGE is a certified Development Partner (ディベロップメントパートナー) for intra-mart products provided by NTT Data intraMART. The partnership supports solution proposals for business process challenges. Solution department members undergo intra-mart e-learning training programs.
• IT Development Companies in Thailand (タイのIT開発会社)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerENCOURAGE outsources offshore software development to IT development companies in Thailand, where Thai engineers deliver completed work by deadlines. Thailand was selected due to high IT education standards and technical capabilities. Products DEFENDER-X and Mental-Checker are being actively marketed in Thailand.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TechnoPro Holdings: Japanese technical staffing and engineering services firm. Comparable to ENCOURAGE's engineer dispatch and technical staffing revenue stream, though operating at much larger scale.
• Information Services International-Dentsu (ISID): Japanese IT services firm offering system development, consulting, and proprietary software products. Comparable to ENCOURAGE's mix of custom development plus packaged solutions.
• BayCurrent Consulting: Japanese management and IT consulting firm with comparable scale to ENCOURAGE. Overlaps in the IT consulting and enterprise advisory space, particularly around digital transformation.
• Future Corporation: Japanese IT consulting and system integration firm with similar scale and focus on enterprise IT solutions. Closer comparable than the largest incumbents given its mid-market positioning and consulting-led model.

Broad incumbents

• NTT Data: Major Japanese systems integrator and IT services provider. ENCOURAGE is a Development Partner for intra-mart (an NTT Data subsidiary), but NTT Data itself competes broadly in enterprise IT services where ENCOURAGE operates.
• SCSK Corporation: Major Japanese IT services firm and Sumitomo Corporation subsidiary offering system integration, consulting, and managed services. Comparable to ENCOURAGE's core IT system development and consulting offerings, though at significantly larger scale.
• Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ): Japanese IT services and network solutions provider serving enterprise customers with system development, internet connectivity, and managed services. Comparable as a mid-cap Japanese IT services firm with similar enterprise focus.
• Transcosmos: Japanese BPO and IT services firm with global presence. Overlaps with ENCOURAGE in technical staffing/dispatch and managed services, though operating at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Nihon Unisys: Japanese IT services subsidiary of Unisys providing system integration and consulting. Comparable to ENCOURAGE in enterprise system development and consulting services.
• TIS Inc. One of Japan's largest independent IT services companies with system development, consulting, and BPO services. Comparable to ENCOURAGE across multiple service lines including IT development and managed services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 ENCOURAGE