Listening to the Customer

Our Commitment to the Electronic Measurement Business,
A Global Enterprise with 76 Years of History

Let me talk about the measurement business. Measurement is the act of ascertaining that a product is made accurately in a manufacturing process. It is absolutely necessary when something new is born, that is, when technological innovation occurs. Keysight has contributed toward technological innovation in the fields of communications, defense, semiconductors, and computers. Keysight was spun off from Agilent Technologies, a life sciences and chemical analysis company, in 2014. Before that, Agilent was spun off from Hewlett Packard (HP) in 1999, bringing with it measurement, chemical analysis, and medical equipment and electronic component business, leaving HP with computer and printer business. HP, since 1939 when it was founded in Silicon Valley as a measurement equipment maker, had strengthened its presence primarily in the measurement business until the late 1960s. Keysight is a global company with a 76-year history of electronic measurement.

The measurement business is a low-profile business, but I think that it provides a basis for electronics and electric industries around the world. The development of the measurement business has always been along with the growth of these industries. HP was founded during the Second World War. HP has a history of developing its technologies in the field of military technology and equipment. Communication technologies have developed in this kind of environment, leading to the creation of demand in the private sector.

Keywords Are 5G and IoT
A New Era of Network Society

The globalization of communication technology and its application to everyday use have supported the growth of Keysight. For instance, the first mobile phones sold in the 1980s used to be only for those who could afford them because they were so expensive. The function was limited to transmission of voice, and the communication method, which was called cellular technology (WAN: wide area network) , differed by country. This technology was later digitized. In the 1990s, when PHS and PDC were adopted in Japan, gradual unification of communication standards began. Mobile phones today adopt a common global technology, which allows them to connect beyond borders. Furthermore, as the popularity of mobile phones increased, the price of each phone markedly decreased, allowing a greater number of ordinary people to own them. The greater the number of users, the more diversified the application. Mobiles phones were initially for transmission of voice; now they have become data communication terminals connected via the Internet, such as smartphones. To facilitate the data communication, communication technologies have evolved into such various forms as wireless LAN, besides cellular technology.

Communications connects everything: from equipment in automobiles to healthcare devices. Network is entering into a new era, and communication technologies have been reshaping their roles. In such an environment, measurement has been sought after as a means of effecting standardization or unification of various communication technologies.

We live in an era of transition, where we have begun to see a new trend of communications. For instance, what is envisioned by the 5G and IoT technologies is a world connecting everything around us, in which independent developments will evolve into those with greater relationship.

We have now been connected via Wi-Fi^® and Bluetooth^® technologies. Furthermore, there is a trend of further enhanced connection that is trying to connect more and different things. The amount of data traffic is about to surge. To cater to such an expected increase, the data traffic will speed up, and the bandwidth will increase and become multiplexed via optical fiber networks or wireless communications in the millimeter wave band called WiGig. Sufficiently high data communication speed will help cloud computing evolve further, which will make data processing or storage at each terminal device no longer necessary.

Reflecting the above-mentioned trend, demand in the measurement business has shifted to new measurement technologies such as millimeter-wave and ultra-wide band analysis, high-throughput measurement technologies for a great number of devices, and network optimization technologies.

History of Keysight

Keysight’s electronic measurement business dates back to the foundation of Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 1939. The startup electronic measurement business of HP, a now famous computer hardware equipment maker, was spun off from HP as Agilent in 1999. Fifteen years later, Keysight was spun off from Agilent.

【Keysight’s Business Field】

Fields of Business

• Electronic component and communications field
• Aerospace and defense field
• Industrial equipment, computer, and semiconductor field

Products and Services

• The development and marketing of electronic measurement equipment (oscilloscopes, reference signal generators, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, portable measurement equipment, etc.)
• The development and marketing of software programs (simulation software, analytical software, etc.)
• Customized solutions and consulting services in measurement

Expectations for the Asian Market
The Olympic Games in Japan and South Korea Will Be the Focus

5G is an ambitious next-generation technology, which conflates technologies thus far accumulated up to 4G and a fundamentally different new technology. 5G will have to deal with a range of millimeter waves such as 60 GHz, 70 GHz, and 80 GHz, where our common sense in the range of thus-far widely-used radio waves does not work. 5G, whilst posing this kind of technological challenge, promises various new opportunities: For example, 5G will realize ultra-high-speed, low- latency, and highly-reliable networks anywhere. When the communication methods were largely divided into CDMA and GSM, the CDMA system, which was mainly adopted in Japan and South Korea, was technologically superior to the GSM system, which was the most popular and successful globally. I personally believe that Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, will be a vanguard in the development of 5G network technologies. In the day of CDMA and GSM, it was a little too early to have a single unified communications standard, whereas today it is a time for a single unified standard to connect every corner of the globe. In particular, I think that two Olympic Games in Asia, namely, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, will bring about a new era of communications in Asia.

The essence of IoT is to connect everything. Communication technologies for IoT do not need to be something new to be developed; already-existing popular technologies can be exploited. But, for each thing to be connected, a large number of various additional components, such as communication modules, will be necessary. An increase in the number of components is a great opportunity for business. That said, the usability, reliability, and user-interface are also important factors. How can measurement support mass-production of these kinds of communication modules or other components? This is the mission of Keysight.

Communication technologies have already become essential to new areas that had thus far had nothing to do with the technologies; these new areas are connected to networks. For example, in the United States, farms are connected to networks, and the production there is remotely controlled. In Europe, carbon dioxide emitted from factories is consumed in photosynthesis under LED lights to grow tulips, etc. These kinds of efforts to promote agricultural productivity led by governments are called an agricultural revolution “smart agriculture.” I expect that clothing will also be connected to networks in the future as smart fabrics. In this connection, China, India, and South East Asia, where the population grows rapidly, are markets that have the potential to be cultivated. Although business models in the new areas of business have not been established, there are many business chances today for parts manufacturers who are capable of miniaturizing and mass-producing components.

Providing All the Know-How That We Have Collected
Startup of a Comprehensive Solution Business Based on Measurement

The scope of business of Keysight is also gradually changing. The measurement business has now evolved from just operations of taking measurements for data collection into a comprehensive business that provides measurement-based consulting or management services as well as solutions to clients’ business challenges. We certainly take measurements to collect data, but what is important in this new business model is how we analyze the data and how we utilize the results in the development and production phases as well as in the quality control of our clients’ products.

To be competitive in the global market, competitive cost is a necessary condition, but not sufficient; speed matters most. A challenge that is common to many companies is how fast they can launch new products under development. We do not want to take up the time of our clients to bother with measurement-related work. If our clients can let measurement equipment take care of what it is good at, that is, measurements and analyses, then our clients can spend their time (and focus their resources) on business within their core competencies. At Keysight, we consider it our duty to make good measurement equipment that has high precision and high accuracy and is able to process quickly at the same time. We will use all of our resources, that is, our best practices, global experiences, and know-how that we have accumulated thus far for decades as well as the portfolio of our software and hardware, to provide solutions to our clients through our consulting services.

Strategy Increasing Business Potential
Corporate Culture of Keysight and Murata

In a world where everything is connected, attention is directed to parts manufacturers that have product lineups in all fields of sensors, components, passive and active devices, such as Murata. I think that Murata is better positioned in the market as it has a large market share in all of the mentioned components and devices. To expand the field of business for the next generation, Murata did not hesitate to use M&A whenever necessary, which helped it expand its product portfolio. The growth of their corporate earnings has been impressive. Murata correctly analyses the served available market, or SAM, based on its past business records or existing markets, to implement strategies to expand the most promising business. Its corporate culture, which focuses on personal and community relationships, has seemingly propelled it into success as well.

Murata and Keysight have a similar corporate philosophy. The backbone of both companies is engineering, innovation, and technologies. Both value personal relationships. HP was founded in 1939, and Murata in 1944. Although located on the opposite sides on the globe, the two companies started business around the same time; both value relationships with clients, and adopt a user-oriented manufacturing policy. I think that it is important to have this kind of similar corporate culture to enjoy a good business partnership.

Along with future technological development, I think that the partnership between Murata and Keysight will also evolve. The number of components and modules for wireless communications will grow exponentially. We know what Murata wants: miniaturization of components and cost reduction in manufacturing while the reliability of products is maintained. Will close collaboration in product development stages contribute toward improving the reliability of products? How can Keysight contribute toward the business of Murata? I think that we are about to enter into a new era.

Smart Agriculture and Smart Fabrics