This year’s HR Technology Conference and Exposition was another success as vendors showcased the latest trends in HR tech, including SaaS, mobile, Human Capital Management (HCM), big data and more, attracting some of the industry’s greatest experts and thought leaders as vendors demonstrate new offerings. One big news item that was making waves at the conference is from Works Applications, the leading HCM provider in Japan, who unveiled its new Enterprise Productivity System (EPS), AI Works, and its plans for the U.S. market.

While the U.S. HCM market is dominated by companies such as SAP and Oracle, the industry overall is showing only minimal growth. In fact, a Gartner market-share analysis published in 2013 noted that the top ten vendors owned almost 64 percent of the market share, and that the U.S. market rose only 3.8 percent in 2013 from $24.4 billion to $25.4 billion.

With these numbers in mind, Works Applications saw a need in the U.S. marketplace to not only improve HCM software, but to bring to the U.S. the innovations it pioneered during nearly 20 years of business in Japan as the number No. 1 supplier of HCM software. Today, Works Applications announced that its new HCM solution, AI Works, will be available to U.S. companies beginning in early 2016.

An Intelligent, Cloud-based Enterprise Productivity System

Designed to break away from the traditional HCM model, AI Works offers a versatile, cloud-based solution created to specifically support operational efficiency and reduce manual input – ultimately resulting in superior operational standards for users of the system.

“From our perspective, AI Works’ ease of use, speed and cost predictability are the key differentiators compared to our competition,” said Masayuki Makino, CEO of Works Applications.

According to the company, AI Works has an unmatched response time of approximately 100 milliseconds, which helps enable better collaboration, allows for mobility and provides increased user convenience. Because the software is supported by artificial intelligence, AI Works “learns” from past actions of the user to increase user productivity.

Disrupting the Market by Putting Customers First

AI Works was created with the customer in mind and with extensive feedback from their wide-ranging network of clients.

“We have shown AI Works to some 600 clients and gotten their feedback, which resulted in updates to the software and an avalanche of client requests to implement the new offering upon its release,” said Makino. “Consumers expect personal technologies to be easy and intuitive while also delivering near-instant connectivity and results, and we believe AI Works meets and exceeds these expectations.”

Ultimately, Works Applications considers AI Works a tool that companies can utilize to allow employees to spend less time doing mundane tasks and more time being productive and creative. That provides tremendous value and resonance in opening doors in the American market over traditional HCM solutions, as U.S. enterprises continue to drive a significant trend toward IT consumerization, along with the proliferation of mobile devices and apps aimed at improving employee productivity.

The Challenges Ahead

Despite the existing need, an introduction into the U.S. market will not be without its challenges. Gartner also reported that Work Applications’ chief competition – Workday, Workforce Software, Cornerstone OnDemand and NetSuite – are the four fastest-growing vendors worldwide from 2012 to 2013. In fact, during that timeframe, Workday’s revenue grew 86.1 percent; WorkForce Software by 57.6 percent; Cornerstone OnDemand by 57 percent; and NetSuite by 39.6 percent.

But for Works Applications, this kind of small-vendor growth will mean entering the U.S. market with a strong introduction and continuous development of its solution. Thus, Works Applications will want to prove the superiority of its product to the ever-changing needs of the American consumer, which – if the numbers are correct – will likely be better served by vendors that produce offerings such as those from Works Applications.

Up against the newer entrants in the HCM arena, Works Applications must successfully demonstrate that AI Works is proven and simple to use while being faster and smarter than its competition with its data analysis. It also needs to show how the company’s services are verified in providing reliability, security and privacy – all with competitive cost efficiency.

All of Works Applications core assets position it to fare well against the head-to-head competition. The company’s strong position within the Japanese marketplace, willingness to innovate, innate ability to work closely with customers to address their true needs, and the fact it is a mature-yet-nimble company (Workday was founded in 2005 and is not yet profitable; SAP has been around since the ‘70s and suffers from acute complacency and high-cost system maintenance) make it a serious and potentially disruptive competitor in the U.S.

For more information on AI Works, read the press release here.