3. Competitors/Industry
The IT sector is characterized by intense competition and fast-paced technological innovation. Events within the industry or actions by competitors could therefore have a substantial impact on our business results. Examples of such potential risks are listed below.
3-1. Price Competition
Intensifying competition is directly linked to declining prices for products and services. Anticipating such technology- and competition-driven price erosion, we are pursuing a variety of measures to reduce costs, including the introduction of Toyota Production System reforms, standardization of system development methodologies, and software modularization, as well as efforts to expand sales of new products and services. Despite these steps, the Group still faces the risk of larger-than-expected declines in prices, as well as the risk of being unable to achieve sufficient cost reductions and sales growth due to fluctuations in the price of semiconductors and other components, either of which could negatively impact Group sales and profitability.
3-2. Competition from New Market Entrants and Others
In addition to challenges posed by existing industry peers, competition from new market entrants continues to intensify in the IT sector. Today, new entrants continue to emerge in market areas where the Fujitsu Group wields a competitive advantage, thus entailing the risk that we may lose our competitive edge, or fail to secure a clear competitive advantage in future business operations.
3-3. Competition in Technology Development
Technological advancement in the IT sector occurs at an extremely fast pace, leading to rapid turnover in new products and technologies. In this context, remaining competitive requires the continuous development of state-of-the-art technology. While the Fujitsu Group does its utmost to maintain highly competitive technologies, a loss in competitiveness versus other companies in the race to develop innovative technologies could lead to a decline in the Group's market share and profitability, which would negatively impact sales and earnings. Further, sales and profitability could be affected by the development of groundbreaking technologies and other actions by competitors that would severely compromise the value of the Group's products and services. Additionally, there is also the risk of an adverse effect on sales and profitability as a result of the time it takes to implement mass-production chip technologies for semiconductors, such as in solving technological issues concerning cutting-edge process development technology.
