OPTiM®

RELEASE

2015.09.18Release

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Press Release

9/18/2015
OPTiM Corporation
Digital Arts, Inc.

Kansai University Elementary School to Adopt
Optimal Biz and i-FILTER® Browser & Cloud

Used for Managing iPad Home Study Program “Muse Learning”

TOKYO, Japan (September 18, 2015) – OPTiM Corporation※1 (TSE Mothers: 3694), a leading provider of business-related applications for smart devices, and Digital Arts, Inc.※2, a provider of information security software, announced that Kansai University Elementary School※3 will be using their products. The elementary school, located in Osaka, Japan, will utilize OPTiM's Optimal Biz and Digital Arts' web filtering i-FILTER Browser & Cloud service in their program for providing 5th and 6th grade students with iPads for studying at home.

MEXT (Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) wants every school in the country to develop lessons that provide a tablet to each student in the class by 2020. Furthermore, the government has announced their "Declaration on the Creation of the Worlds Most Advanced IT Nation," which includes goals to provide all schools with broadband internet access and a smart device to every student. As a result, ICT in education has been growing in recent years.

Kansai University Elementary School is following this policy, along with the early education concept of "cultivating thinking ability," to establish their unique methodology, "Muse Learning." This system involves using six types of thinking tools and systematically learning about thinking methods, so that students can learn how to use thinking tools from their first year of school. Also, students in the upper grades work towards combining multiple thinking tools to solve complex problems. In October 2014, the school started to provide all fifth and sixth graders with their own iPads to help facilitate this learning.

Since the program has been implemented, the iPads have allowed students new ways to study at home and contribute to their classes, however, both guardians and teachers have worried about students also using the devices for obtaining unauthorized applications or content.

So, OPTiM's Optimal Biz, Japan's #1※4 MDM※5 for four straight years, and Digital Arts' i-FILTER Browser & Cloud are combined as an OEM product called “Optimal Biz Web Filtering Powered by i-FILTER,” to be installed on all student iPads. With Optimal Biz, app installation can be restricted and app use can be managed. And, with i-FILTER Browser & Cloud, a blacklist web filtering system can be implemented, blocking dangerous sites both at school and home.

Now, Kansai University Elementary School students can safely use their iPads as a tool for various learning activities. And, the school can continue implementing ICT education with their iPad-focused "Muse Learning" methodology.

Digital Arts and OPTiM are collaborating to provide this service to more schools in order to ensure safe and secure ICT education and to accelerate the adoption of tablets ahead of the 2020 goal.

■About Optimal Biz
https://www.optim.com/products/biz

Optimal Biz is an MDM service application that securely manages smart devices provided by or used in the office, enabling IT administrators to manage every mobile device from his/her web browser. Optimal Biz offers several powerful advantages, including unique features like Zone Management and device-detection technology (both of which use OPTiM's proprietary technologies), the industry's highest number of supported models thanks to strong alliances with device manufacturers, a hierarchical management function which helps administrators efficiently manage a large number of devices, and a Management screen with an intuitive user interface.

■About i-FILTER Browser & Cloud
http://www.daj.jp/en/products/if_browser/

i-FILTER Browser & Cloud is a cloud-based web filtering service for business use. Using a top-of-the line domestic database, this service provides control over business use web access and restrains access to dangerous sites unrelated to work. This allows more efficient work while also protecting from threats to web devices. i-FILTER Browser & Cloud can be downloaded through the App Store, Google Play or Digital Arts’ website, or purchased at a licensed dealer shop.

※1 Headquartered in Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan; CEO: Shunji Sugaya
※2 Headquartered in Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan; CEO: Toshio Dogu
※3 Located in Takatsuki-Shi, Osaka, Japan
※4 Source for 2011 and 2012 sales figures: "Cloud Service Market: Current Condition and Forecasts 2013," published in October 2013 by MIC Research Institute, LTD. IT Asset Management & MDM Market.
Source for 2013 and 2014 sales figures: "Cloud Service (SaaS / ASP) Market: Current Condition and Forecasts 2015," published in June 2015 by MIC Research Institute, LTD. IT Asset Management & MDM Market.
There was no 2014 edition of the report published.
※5 MDM stands for "Mobile Device Management," an enterprise solution that collectively manages all employee smart devices and offers security when a device is lost or stolen. MDM provides features such as remote lock and prevention of malicious application launch.
■About OPTiM Corporation
https://www.optim.com

OPTiM is a leader in internet-based services that improve its clients’ interactions with technology in all aspects of everyday life. Its services include Optimal Biz, a cloud device management service, Optimal Remote, a remote management service, Optimal Support, a setup support service, and the Unlimited content and software suite series. Its business partners include NTT, KDDI, Canon, and Fuji Xerox. Based in Tokyo, Japan, its corporate motto is, "We make the net as simple as breathing."

■About Digital Arts, Inc.
http://www.daj.jp/en/

Digital Arts, Inc. in an industry leader in enterprise-level web, email and file security solutions. i-FILTER provides web security by giving administrators control over access to web sites while completely blocking malicious sites. m-FILTER provides email security by preventing the mistaken transmission of email, archiving the full text of email messages along with attached files for reporting, and also blocking spam and inappropriate attached files. FinalCode provides file security with password-free and automatic file encryption as well as the unique ability to remotely delete files that have already been sent. i-FILTER, the pioneer and leader of the web filtering market in Japan, provides unique added value with its huge web filtering database, the most comprehensive in Japan, at the core of its filtering products. i-FILTER's unique filtering technology has also been awarded patents in 27 countries around the world. Digital Arts, founded in 1995 as a software developer, continues to expand its business by bringing high quality products and services to customers who are facing the challenges of the rapidly changing information age.

【Copyright/Trademark】

※The corporate names and product names mentioned above are registered trademarks or trademarks.

※The iPad and App Store names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the United States and other countries.

※Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc.

※DIGITAL ARTS, ZBRAIN, i-FILTER/i-FILTER EndPoint Controller, m-FILTER/m-FILTER MailFilter/m-FILTER Archive/m-FILTER Anti-Spam/m-FILTER File Scan, D-SPA names and logos are registered trademarks of Digital Arts, Inc.

※FinalCode is a registered trademark of IQS’ Co., Ltd.

※The information presented in this press release is subject to change without notice.

Inquiries
OPTiM Corporate Promotion and Marketing Team
press@optim.co.jpTEL: +81-3-6435-8570FAX: +81-3-6435-8560

Digital Arts, Inc. Administration and Planning Department
info@daj.co.jpTEL: +81-3-5220-1110FAX: +81-3-5220-1130

Visit the Optimal Biz website for further information.