What Encourage Technologies does

Encourage Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo-headquartered, publicly listed (TSE Standard Market, 3682.T) Japanese enterprise software vendor founded in November 2002. The company develops and sells the ESS Smart IT Operation suite, a portfolio of IT system operation risk and control products designed for high-regulatory environments. Its flagship product, ESS REC, is a system evidence audit tool that records user system operations in video format and has held the No.1 share of Japan's system audit tool market for 16 consecutive years. The portfolio also includes ESS AdminONE (centralized privileged ID management, available on-premises and as a cloud subscription since April 2026), ID Inspector (shared-account user identification), ESS AdminControl for Client (local administrator password management working with Microsoft LAPS), ESS FileGate (file sanitization for network-separated environments), ESS AutoQuality (automated operations via Active RunBook), ESS AutoAuditor, ESS AdminGate, and Remote Access Auditor. Cumulative adoption exceeds 800 enterprise customers across finance, government, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications, and IT services.

The company monetizes via a mix of perpetual software licenses (with separate annual maintenance) and annual subscriptions, plus paid professional services for implementation. Pricing is JPY-denominated with disclosed reference tiers ranging from approximately ¥791K annually for ESS REC 6 Starter (5 agents) to ¥15.58M for ESS REC 6 Enterprise perpetual (300 agents). Go-to-market is a hybrid direct enterprise sales motion (in-house sales department) combined with a certified reseller partner network, supported by free product trials, on-demand webinars, an English- and Japanese-language content site (Compass), and regular participation at Security Days, Interop Tokyo, AWS Summit Japan, and the company's own SmartIT Forum. The customer base is concentrated in financial services and government/municipalities, with logos including Seven & i Net Media, Kawaguchi Shinkin Bank, Yamagin Bank, Mitsui Sumitomo Asset Management, JFE Steel, Mitsubishi Electric, Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH), NTT DATA, and DeNA. The company operates as a domestic-only vendor with no disclosed international expansion, reported ¥507.38M in paid-in capital, and 101-250 employees.

Name

Encourage Technologies

Legal name

Encourage Technologies Co.,Ltd.

Website

https://et-x.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Encourage Technologies is a publicly listed Japanese enterprise software vendor founded in 2002 that develops the ESS Smart IT Operation suite—privileged ID management, system audit, file sanitization, and automation tools—primarily serving banks, government, insurers, manufacturers, and IT service providers in Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IT Security and Privileged Access Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Service Management (ESM) Platforms (HDAEALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

IT Incident, Problem & Change Management Platforms (HDAEALAI), Enterprise Case Management & Request Fulfillment Platforms (HDAEALAJ), Endpoint & Mobile Asset Management (UEM/MDM Asset Controls) (BPAEAOAI)

Keywords

• Privileged identity management
• System audit software
• File sanitization solutions
• IT operation automation
• Privileged access security

Headquarters

HQ city

Chuo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Both perpetual (permanent) and annual/subscription software license models. Perpetual licenses require separate annual maintenance fees. Subscription licenses bundle maintenance.
2. Product Maintenance and Support: Annual maintenance contracts covering support, updates, and bug fixes. Offered directly by Encourage Technologies or through partner resellers.
3. Professional Services: Paid professional services for product implementation including requirements definition, design, installation, and testing via Encourage Technologies Professional Services team.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Encourage Technologies develops and sells the ESS Smart IT Operation suite of enterprise software for IT system operation risk management. The portfolio centers on privileged identity management (ESS AdminONE), system operation evidence audit and video recording (ESS REC), file sanitization for separated networks (ESS FileGate), automated system operations via Active RunBook (ESS AutoQuality), and complementary integrated tools. Products are sold under perpetual licenses plus annual maintenance, annual subscriptions, and usage-based cloud subscriptions, primarily to large Japanese enterprises in financial services, government, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Product overview

Encourage Technologies offers the ESS Smart IT Operation series of software products for IT system management efficiency and risk control. The core portfolio includes ESS REC 6 (system evidence audit tool with 16 consecutive years of domestic market leadership), ESS AdminONE (next-generation privileged ID management, available in both on-premises and cloud versions), ESS FileGate (file sanitization for network separation), and ESS AutoQuality (automated system operations). Supporting products include ID Inspector (shared ID user identification), ESS AdminControl for Client/EACC (local administrator password management with Microsoft LAPS), ESS AutoAuditor/EAA (audit automation), ESS AdminGate/EAG (all-in-one server security), Remote Access Auditor/RAA (remote access auditing), and ESS REC NEAO/Cloud (cloud-based monitoring). The portfolio provides comprehensive coverage for privileged ID management, operation evidence recording, file sanitization, and system operation automation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ESS Smart IT Operation: The product series brand encompassing all of Encourage Technologies' software products including ESS REC, ESS AdminONE, ID Inspector, ESS AdminControl, ESS FileGate, and ESS AutoQuality.

Products and services

• ESS REC 6 System evidence audit tool that monitors and records user system operations in real-time, providing video-based operation logs and audit functionality. Used for privileged ID management, preventing misoperations and unauthorized access during system maintenance and operation. Achieved 16 consecutive years of No.1 domestic market share, with 600+ enterprise customers.
• ESS AdminONE Next-generation privileged ID management software that centrally manages all privileged IDs and passwords across various system types. Provides unauthorized-use prevention, information leak prevention, and efficient inspection and audit functions. Available in both on-premises and cloud versions, ranked #1 in IT Trends Privileged ID Management category 2025.
• ESS FileGate File sanitization solution for safe file transfer between separated networks such as Internet and internal operation networks. Uses file sanitization technology including PDF image conversion to safely transfer files between air-gapped networks and supports any printable file format. Integrated with Active Directory; Japanese version only.
• ESS AutoQuality (EAQ) Automated user system operation solution using the 'Active RunBook' concept — executable instruction manuals that automate command-line operations. Records all executed commands within the RunBook, prevents human errors in command entry, and supports multi-environment operations with a single RunBook. Underlying technologies are patent-protected.
• ESS AdminGate (EAG) All-in-one server security solution that enables comprehensive privileged ID management. Combines access management, operation logging, and file transfer control in a single platform. Delivered as a cloud-based subscription with usage-based pricing.
• ESS REC NEAO Monitoring solution optimized for RPA and work-from-home environments. Records PC operations in video and text formats, providing real-time monitoring, rule-based detection, and automated analysis reporting. Available in a cloud version certified to ISO/IEC 27017.
• Remote Access Auditor (RAA) Remote access auditing solution for managing and recording remote maintenance operations. Provides evidence management for remote access sessions, ensuring security for outsourced maintenance operations.
• ESS AdminONE Cloud Cloud-based subscription version of ESS AdminONE for privileged ID management. Provides the same functionality as the on-premises version delivered as a managed cloud service with subscription-based pricing.

Quantifiable outcome

• ESS REC maintains 16 consecutive years of No.1 market share in Japan's system audit tool market
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• FIT Tokyo Forum (FIT東京フォーラム)minorOthers · 17 July 2026Encourage Technologies exhibited at the FIT Tokyo Forum on July 17, 2026, as part of its ongoing event-driven marketing and visibility program.
• Card Security Forum 2026 (カードセキュリティフォーラム 2026)minorOthers · 7 July 2026Encourage Technologies participated as a speaker at the Card Security Forum 2026 on July 7, 2026, discussing topics related to privileged ID management and cybersecurity threats.
• AWS Summit Japan 2026minorOthers · 25 June 2026Encourage Technologies exhibited at AWS Summit Japan 2026 (June 25–26, 2026), promoting cloud-compatible products such as ESS AdminONE Cloud.
• Interop Tokyo 2026minorOthers · 10 June 2026Encourage Technologies exhibited at Interop Tokyo 2026 (June 10–12, 2026), a major networking and IT trade show.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Okta: Cloud-native identity and access management leader. Already integrated with ESS REC V6.2 via SAML, but as a broader IAM platform it competes for budget allocated to privileged access and audit use cases in Japan.
• CyberArk: Global leader in privileged access management (PAM), headquartered in Israel/US and listed on NASDAQ. Directly comparable to ESS AdminONE for privileged ID management, but operates at much larger scale and competes for the same Japanese enterprise PAM deals.

Others

• NTT Data Group: Japan's largest IT services integrator and a notable Encourage Technologies customer (using ESS REC and ESS AutoAuditor for internal IT general controls). Competes as a system integrator that bundles third-party security tools, including potentially alternative PAM solutions.

Direct peers

• BeyondTrust: Privilege and vulnerability management vendor offering PAM, remote access, and session recording — directly overlapping with Encourage Technologies' ESS AdminONE and ESS REC portfolios. Increasingly active in the Japanese market.
• Hitachi ID Systems: Vendor of privileged access management and identity governance solutions (Hitachi ID Bravura), with established presence in Japan via the Hitachi channel. Directly comparable to ESS AdminONE for enterprise PAM.

Regional players

• LAC Co., Ltd. Tokyo-listed Japanese cybersecurity company (TSE Standard, ticker 3857) focused on security consulting, monitoring, and software. Adjacent competitor for Japanese enterprise security budget allocated to internal controls and audit.
• Soliton Systems: Japan-based IT security and video management vendor (TSE Standard). Offers secure file transfer and information leakage prevention products — directly comparable to Encourage Technologies' ESS FileGate network separation solution.
• NRI Secure Technologies: Japanese cybersecurity services and solutions provider (subsidiary of Nomura Research Institute). Offers managed security and consulting that can substitute for or bundle with PAM/audit tooling comparable to Encourage Technologies' offerings.
• Digital Arts: Tokyo-listed Japanese security software vendor (TSE Standard, ticker 2326) specializing in web filtering, email security, and file-based information leakage prevention. Adjacent competitor for IT security budgets in Japanese enterprises.

Emerging players

• WALLMATE / ManageEngine (Zoho): ManageEngine offers PAM360 and Access Manager Plus — affordable, broad-coverage PAM tools increasingly adopted in Asian mid-markets. Represents a price-disciplined alternative to Encourage Technologies' premium-tier ESS AdminONE in Japan.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/encourage-technologies-co-ltd-

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

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Encourage Technologies