IIJ Launches the IIJ Unified Operation Management Service for the Automation of Multi-cloud Operations

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TOKYO-March 13, 2017-Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ, NASDAQ: IIJI, TSE1: 3774), one of Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions providers, today announced that its IIJ Unified Operation Management Service will launch on April 1, 2017. The service makes system operations more efficient for companies that are transitioning to multi-cloud environments.

As corporate systems continue their moves to the cloud and companies accelerate their use of hybrid systems that include various cloud services and on-premises servers, system operations are becoming even more complex. This complexity is leading to serious issues: The uniquely differentiated operation systems can lead to increased operational load and decreases in support flexibility and speed.

In order to resolve such issues, IIJ has built a new operations platform, using the knowledge which it has cultivated over many years of operating its own services and customer systems. It will provide this next-generation unified operations service to allow users to centrally manage multi-cloud systems, automate their operations, and detect signs of faults.

Through the use of this service, IIJ’s customers will be able to centralize management that is currently divided among respective cloud services. Furthermore, they will be able to detect signs of default, pinpoint the faults’ causes, and navigate through fault recovery systems, using correlative analyses of all data obtained from the system, including monitoring alerts, structural data, and application logs. Thanks to the service’s efficient operation of systems with a mix of on-premises servers and multiple cloud services, the customers will be able to reduce operational loads and provide highly flexible and agile support, even without knowing the differences among the cloud services they use.

The service has the following primary features:

Centralized management of multi-cloud systems

The service integrates the management portals and support desks of different cloud services. Moreover, because it automatically gathers structural and resource data from multiple cloud services—each with differing APIs—the customers are able to manage and control the system from a unified management portal, even without knowing the differences in APIs.

Efficient operations from automation

The service takes advantage of its automated processing of more than 10 million alerts annually and provides filtering that classifies alerts requiring a response from among this massive volume of alerts. In addition, it allows users to navigate to the optimal recovery options by using its knowledge of past support records, even for complex faults whose causes require time to identify. By automating regular process document operations and preliminary reports that demand immediate attention, the system allows for substantial reductions in operational loads and operation time.

Respond to invisible changes and errors

Because monitoring-alert thresholds are constantly being automatically set to appropriate values based on past trends rather than operator settings, the service predicts changes and reports these transitions in plenty of time, even if use trends change for values such as disk capacity. Furthermore, the monitoring thresholds allow users to handle system failure in its early stages by detecting these failures (and the silent faults) when they go unnoticed.

Service Options

Category	Feature	Summary
Common	API interface	A command interface that changes according to the various web operations for each web portal
	Integrated web portal	An integrated dashboard for information such as alert statuses and system resource data
	Integrated support desk (*1)	A support desk that allows for one-stop reception of support inquiries
	OEM support (*1)	A multitenancy function that supports resale business
Integrated management	Ticket management (*1)	A ticketing system for fault events, requests, task management, and reminders
	System configuration management (*2)	Automatically collects system configuration data (OS, middleware, and patch data)
	Automated report creation (*2)	Automatically creates system operation performance reports
	Integrated account management (*2)	Integrated management of accounts and IDs that are required for managing and configuring systems
	Subscription management (*2)	Manage contracts for subscriptions and use performance
Monitoring	System monitoring	Monitor system information such as pings, ports, URLs, logs, and resources
	API alert links	Link alerts from sources such as OSS monitoring tools through the API
	Import alert notification emails (*1)	Import fault emails and event data from appliance devices
	Application monitoring (*2)	Monitor at the level of applications and detect bottlenecks
	Trend prediction (dynamic thresholds) (*2)	Detect indicators such as those for capacity using data trend prediction
	Error detection (anomaly detection) (*2)	Detect errors using trends and gathered data (silent fault detection)
Operational support	Automatic alert filtering	Close alerts that do not require a response, using machine classification
	Automatic alert notification	Send group notifications via telephone or email during specific time periods
	Job controls	Manage the execution of jobs based on task or workflows
	Navigate operations (*2)	Automatically display the order or fault recovery procedures based on alert incident and accumulated knowledge
	Automatic operation (*2)	Automatically execute scripts and workflows that are triggered by alerts and requests

• (*1) Scheduled for release on April 1, 2017.
• (*2) Scheduled for follow-up releases after April 2017.

IIJ will continue to support our customers in operating their systems efficiently, by providing high-quality services that leverage our advanced skills and know-how in system operations.

The statements within this release contain forward-looking statements about our future plans that involve risk and uncertainty. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents furnished by Internet Initiative Japan Inc. with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on Forms 20-F and 6-K, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

For inquiries, contact

IIJ Corporate Communications

• +81-3-5205-6310
• +81-3-5205-6377
• press@iij.ad.jp