English 
SAKURA Internet Inc., a Japanese cloud and digital-infrastructure provider, has announced its new “Manual Diagnosis Series”, the third offering within its recently established “Sakura Cybersecurity” marketplace. The launch represents an important move by the business to improve high-precision security services for both Japanese and international enterprises.
According to the company’s announcement, Manual Diagnosis Series offers expert engineers from certified partner firms’ (such as M&K or NSHC) manual security assessments, rather than automated-tool-based assessments.
This shift reflects the increasingly complex nature of cyber-threats-especially targeted attacks-that necessitate human judgment, insight into context, and manual diagnostics.
こちらもお読みください： チェック・ポイント、NVIDIAパワーによるAIクラウド・プロテクトの提供を開始
What the Series Covers
In all, the new service bundle will scan, diagnose, and deliver detailed reports on vulnerabilities across network infrastructure, web applications, and cloud environments. Even as automated scanning remains common, SAKURA makes the point that their manual diagnostics add value by finding weak signals and nuance that automated tools may miss. For clients wanting deeper risk insight, this “human in the loop” approach can translate to more accurate assessments, actionable remediation advice, and better alignment with compliance regimes.
SAKURA Internet is promoting this offering to its existing digital‐infrastructure clients, covering cloud platforms, managed hosting, and enterprise IT, positioning it as a value-add for organisations undergoing digital transformation or strengthening data-security governance.
Why It Matters for Japan’s Tech Industry
The implications of this launch are meaningful for the broader Japanese tech ecosystem, particularly in three ways:
Elevating the Japanese cybersecurity services sector
Japan has been building its cybersecurity capabilities in recent years, driven by the twin pressures of digital transformation (DX) and heightened cyber-risk (ransomware, supply-chain attacks). By enhancing the service layer—through manual diagnostics—SAKURA is helping raise the bar for Japanese-based security offerings. This signals to domestic tech firms that cybersecurity is no longer just a cost-centre but a service opportunity: consultancy, diagnostics, managed response are all in scope.
Reinforcing the shift from hardware/hosting to value-added digital services
SAKURA Internet has traditionally been a provider of infrastructure services such as cloud hosting, data centers, and network infrastructure. This move to specialize in diagnostic security services reflects a wider trend change in Japan’s technology sector: a shift away from merely providing hardware or connectivity to higher-margin software-and-services bundles. It points to new business models for Japanese firms and start-ups: offering security as a service, integrating diagnostics into platforms, and embedding human-led consultancy into digital infrastructure.
Business Continuity and Compliance Support for Japanese Enterprises
With more Japanese companies moving to the cloud, implementing remote work and deploying IoT, the attack surface increases. For such businesses, services like the SAKURA Manual Diagnosis Series help better manage risk and ensure compliance with data protection laws and industry-specific regulations. For the technology ecosystem-vendors, system integrators, MSPs-the implication is clear: support services around diagnostics, remediation, and governance will be in demand.
Impact on Businesses Operating in the Ecosystem
Several business segments are likely to be influenced by this announcement:
Cloud & hosting providers: Companies offering cloud infrastructure (including SAKURA itself) can upsell security-diagnostic services to their current clients. This will help drive up the average revenue per user and could further lead to customer stickiness.
Cybersecurity vendors & consultancies: Companies that specialize in vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, incident-response will see growth in demand. The “manual diagnosis” model underlines human expertise, supportive of the consultancy business.
SMEs and Japanese enterprise IT teams: The businesses undergoing digital transformation will face pressure to adopt stronger security postures. They might seek out providers, such as SAKURA, that offer diagnostic services embedded in infrastructure contracts.
Managed service providers and system-integrators: As companies outsource more of their infrastructure and security, MSPs and integrators will have to incorporate diagnostic services into their offerings-and align with vendors like SAKURA for partnerships.
Start-ups and niche service providers: There is an opportunity for new entrants specializing in diagnostics, remediation, security monitoring, or governance workflows to partner with infrastructure providers and deliver complementary services.
Key Challenges and Strategic Considerations
While promising, companies need to navigate several headwinds:
Scalability of human-led services: Manual diagnostics involve skilled engineers, which drives cost and constrains scalability. For efficient workflows and maybe automation augmentation, SAKURA will have to be widely delivered at competitive pricing with its partners.
Differentiation: There are many firms offering vulnerability scanning or security assessments. A manual diagnosis model needs to clearly differentiate in value-reporting depth, actionable remediation, and integration with infrastructure services-to justify premium pricing.
Talent and certification: Japan faces a shortage of cybersecurity talent. Ensuring enough expert-engineers for manual diagnostics will be key. Partners, such as NSHC, need to maintain certification, training, and quality controls.
Customer education and demand generation: Some Japanese companies may look at diagnostics as a checkbox rather than strategic value. Providers must educate clients on risk and ROI to make diagnostics a recurring business model.
Regulatory change and compliance: Diagnostics will have to change with the evolving Japanese regulation regarding data protection, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure. To be ahead of regulatory curves will mean competitive advantage.
結論
SAKURA Internet’s release of the Manual Diagnosis Series in its さくら Cybersecurity marketplace paves the way for Japanese infrastructure providers to transition beyond hosting and connectivity into value-added services around risk and security. For Japanese technology, this means that a suite of services related to human-led diagnostics, vulnerability assessment, and governance will be the core of the offering. Businesses, whether cloud vendors, MSPs, cybersecurity consultancies, or enterprise IT teams looking at this development, should consider this a call to action: the era of pure-play infrastructure business is shifting toward integrated services, and diagnostic capabilities will soon be a differentiator. As Japan deepens its digital transformation and sees increasing cyber-risk, such offerings may well become the order of the day.
日本語