The “Management Decision Void” Behind Administrative Service DX
On July 1, 2026, Matsudo City in Chiba Prefecture will fully launch the digitalization of its administrative services. The specifics include online procedures and paperless applications—a textbook example of “administrative DX.” While this may seem like a simple convenience initiative, from a management × IT perspective, it encapsulates the “price of not defining IT” that many SMEs face.
For citizens, Matsudo City’s efforts offer the benefit of “not having to go to city hall.” However, behind this lies a structural problem: “Why couldn’t this be done before?” In many local governments, the purpose of IT adoption stops at abstract levels like “operational efficiency” or “improving citizen services,” without concrete management decisions on “what to change and how.” This perfectly mirrors SMEs’ IT strategies, which often proceed with unclear objectives like “let’s just adopt the cloud” or “let’s just go paperless.”
The reason Matsudo City’s DX is progressing is partly due to the mayor’s leadership and staff efforts, but the essence is that they “defined IT.” In other words, they clarified “why they use IT” as an administrative body and allocated budgets and resources accordingly. The presence or absence of this “definition” is the biggest factor determining the success or failure of DX.
Why Do Local Governments and SMEs Repeat the Same Mistakes?
While advanced cases like Matsudo City attract attention, many local governments and SMEs struggle with IT adoption. The reason is simple: the mistaken assumption that “IT should be left to the experts” remains deeply rooted. The moment a manager or mayor thinks, “I don’t understand IT, so let’s leave it to the IT department or vendors,” the purpose of IT becomes limited to narrow scopes like “stable operation” or “cost reduction,” losing its original role as a “means for business growth.”
This problem is clearly evident in the recent moves of “Jōshisu 365.” This outsourced IT department service for SMEs has published a landing page specifically for switching from major vendors. This is an attempt to break the current situation where many SMEs are bound by “hardware-sales-driven IT maintenance” and lack the capacity to even think about their true IT strategy.
“Hardware-sales-driven IT maintenance” refers to a state where, after purchasing servers or PCs, the maintenance contract becomes the core of IT. In this model, the purpose of IT is reduced to “keeping the hardware running.” Managers don’t need to think about an “IT strategy”; they just keep renewing the maintenance contracts proposed by vendors. This is the “easy path” where management doesn’t define IT. However, the price is that ROI on IT investment never materializes, and opportunities for operational improvement are continuously missed.
The New IT Vision Shown by “Jōshisu 365”
The launch of the switching LP for “Jōshisu 365” is not just a proposal to change services. It carries a message of “redefining the purpose of IT.” By breaking free from major vendors’ maintenance contracts, companies gain an opportunity to rethink “why they use IT” from a zero base. Specifically, by switching to an outsourced IT department service costing a few thousand yen per month, they can reduce annual maintenance costs by hundreds of thousands of yen while also covering IT strategy consultations and security measures.
This move shares the same structure as Matsudo City’s administrative DX. In other words, it requires recognizing the “cost of continuing the old ways” and making a management decision to “redefine IT for a new purpose.” Just as Matsudo City online-ized administrative procedures for the purpose of “improving citizen convenience,” SMEs should set concrete goals like “business growth” or “operational efficiency” and make IT investments aligned with those goals.
Three Costs of Management Not Defining IT
Here, we organize the specific costs that arise when management fails to define IT. These are common challenges visible in the Matsudo City case and the outsourced IT department trend.
1. Fragmented IT Investment Goals
When management doesn’t define the purpose of IT, each department introduces tools independently. Sales uses Salesforce, accounting uses freee, HR uses an attendance management system—each introduced to “make their own work easier.” As a result, data isn’t integrated, leading to “siloization” that can’t be used for overall management decision-making. In Matsudo City, individual departments introducing systems separately led to integration failures and duplicate data entry. Solving this requires defining “which data to use and how” at the management level.
2. Accelerated Dependence on Specific Individuals
In organizations where IT’s purpose isn’t defined, specific employees or staff manage systems simply because they “know IT.” If that person leaves or is transferred, system operations stop. In Matsudo City, there was a case where an enthusiastic staff member built a system personally, but after their transfer, the system became unusable. Outsourced IT department services are also effective in eliminating this dependence. Regular checks by experts enable a shift from individual dependence to organizational operation.
3. Inability to Adapt to Change
Organizations that only see IT as an object of “maintenance” are vulnerable to environmental changes. For example, they cannot quickly update systems in response to regulatory changes like the 2025 invoice system or the 2026 electronic bookkeeping law revision. Behind Matsudo City’s push for administrative DX is the national government’s “digital completion” policy. Local governments that cannot respond risk not only falling behind in citizen services but also losing eligibility for national subsidies. The same applies to SMEs; if they are left behind while competitors advance DX, they face customer attrition and worsening business terms.
What Managers Should Do Now: “Defining IT”
The lesson from the Matsudo City case and the outsourced IT department trend is that “definition” comes before “implementation” for IT. Specifically, we recommend following these three steps.
Step 1: Articulate the Purpose
Define “why we use IT” in the manager’s own words. For example, set concrete goals like “centralize customer data to increase sales by 20%” or “automate accounting to reduce overtime by 30%.” It’s crucial to include numbers and deadlines, not just abstract “operational efficiency.”
Step 2: Take Stock of the Current Situation
List all current systems and maintenance contracts. Then, evaluate whether each contributes to the “purpose.” If a system doesn’t contribute, question whether it’s a remnant of “hardware-sales-driven IT maintenance.” Using an outsourced IT department service, you can have experts handle this inventory.
Step 3: Create Investment Decision Criteria
Establish criteria for introducing new IT tools. For example, set rules like “payback period within 2 years,” “measure effectiveness 6 months after introduction,” or “only adopt tools capable of data integration.” This prevents the introduction of purposeless tools.
Conclusion: Reframing IT as a “Management Resource”
Both Matsudo City’s administrative DX and the new moves in outsourced IT departments highlight “the importance of defining IT.” IT is no longer something to be “left to the experts”; it is a management resource that managers must define directly. A manager’s failure to define IT is, in itself, a management decision for “maintaining the status quo,” and its price manifests as daily inefficiencies and declining competitiveness.
Is your company’s IT investment based on a clear purpose? Or are you simply bound by “maintenance contracts”? Now is the time to redefine IT.
Comments