Optimizely to Launch in Japan, Extending its Testing Platform from the U.S. and Europe to Asia

TOKYO, March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimizely, the world's leading experience optimization platform, today announced it will introduce its service in Japan later this year, marking an important step for the company beyond the United States and Europe as it drives continued rapid adoption of its online testing, predictive analytics and customer targeting for web and mobile businesses.

Optimizely is now the most used online testing platform in the world.  The company works with more than 8,000 customers – including Disney, NBCUniversal, and Crate and Barrel – to help them discover and deploy the best digital experiences for every customer across the web and mobile apps, and Japan represents Optimizely's second major geographic expansion following its entry into Europe in 2013.

"Creating great customer experiences is a goal of web and mobile businesses around the world, and the relevance and desirability of quickly and easily turning data into action is global in scope," said Dan Siroker, co-founder and chief executive officer of Optimizely. "Measured international expansion is an important component of Optimizely's strategic plans, and we believe now is the right time and Japan is the right place for our next step." 

Based on macroeconomic factors, Japan represents a significant business opportunity for the company.  The Japanese economy is the third largest in the world by nominal GDP and trails only the U.S. among developed economies.  At the same time, while Japan sits high on the technology adoption curve, use of data analytics among Japanese businesses is not as prevalent as elsewhere, positioning Japan as a largely untapped market development opportunity for Optimizely.

In Japan, Optimizely will operate under a partnership structure, with local market expertise, sales, business development and account service provided by Japanese partners including Recruit Group, the large information services company, and e-Agency Co., an established interactive digital marketing agency.

Through current licensing agreements, Optimizely's customer accounts already include a number of leading Japanese brands, and Optimizely predicted its customer profile in Japan will skew heavily toward Japanese companies versus global brands operating in Japan.

Optimizely also announced the appointment of Nick Benavides as country manager for Japan.  Mr. Benavides joined Optimizely in 2013 in the company's sales group.  He was previously chief operating officer and head of sales for Chronos Research, an enterprise software company licensing high frequency trading platforms, and earlier was a business strategy consultant at Bain & Company.

Optimizely took its first steps outside the U.S. with the launch of its business in Europe two years ago.  Today, through company-managed operations and local licensing agreements, Optimizely's products are available in more than 100 countries, and international sales represent about one-quarter of Optimizely's annual revenue.

About Optimizely
Optimizely is the world's leading experience optimization platform, providing A/B testing, targeting and multichannel optimization for websites and mobile apps. The platform's ease of use and speed of deployment empowers organizations to conceive of and run experiments that help them make better data-inspired decisions. Optimizely meets the diverse needs of more than 8,000 customers looking to deliver connected experiences to their audiences across channels. To date, those customers have created and delivered more than 20 billion optimized visitor experiences. To learn more, visit optimizely.com.    

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SOURCE Optimizely