Hello, my name is Takahiro Komiya, and I work as a Business Development Specialist at Qt Group. I mainly serve clients outside the automotive industry, including sectors such as logistics, medical devices, and factory automation.
On weekends, I often spend my time practicing guitar, which has become my favorite hobby. I didn’t pursue music seriously when I was younger, apart from music classes in school. Still, I’ve always loved symphonic speed metal, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, I stumbled upon a band called Unlucky Morpheus that blew me away. That inspired me to start playing guitar myself. While 90% of people reportedly give up shortly after starting, I’ve been taking lessons for over three years, steadily practicing. I’m not in a band yet, but I would love to try if the opportunity arises.
I have also been passionate about motorcycles and cars. Before discovering guitar, motorcycles and cars were my main hobbies. I have loved motorcycles since my university days and often went on long rides. There was a period when I stepped away from riding, but after a friend decided to buy a bike, I went with him to the shop and somehow ended up purchasing one myself. That naturally led me to cars as well, and the first car I bought for myself was a sports car I had always dreamed of owning. Since becoming a parent, it’s harder to go on long rides on weekends, but motorcycles and cars remain one of my passions.
Career Path from System Engineer to Business Development
I began my career as a system engineer at a global company, where I was responsible for proposing and implementing entire systems, including servers, storage, and networks. Rather than developing software myself, my role was to deliver complete system solutions to clients.
Around 2008, my responsibilities shifted. Instead of selling existing systems to end users, I started supporting manufacturers in creating new value with our products. In this role, I worked closely with manufacturers to propose new functions and solutions, and to discuss questions such as “What kind of value can this generate?”, “How much profit can be expected?”, and “How much should we invest?”.
From around 2012, I became involved in introducing new technologies to the Japanese market, particularly in the area of “Software Defined XX,” such as Software Defined Networking and Software Defined Storage.
In 2019, I made a career shift from an IT-focused company to an OT software company that supports the daily operations of industries such as manufacturing and telecommunications. That was when I first took on a business development role. Since then, I have consistently worked in business development, which has naturally led to my current role at Qt Group.
A Long-Standing Connection Leading to a New Challenge
I joined Qt Group after a colleague in the industry asked me, “There’s a business development position open at Qt Group. would you be interested?”
Although it was a relatively new area for me, I actually had a connection with Qt Group dating back to around 1996, when I first experimented with an early version of the framework. Since childhood, I had been interested in electronics and building things with CPUs, which was like the beginning of embedded technology. So even though I didn’t have direct professional experience in embedded systems, I found myself naturally familiar with Qt Group and the embedded industry.
At Qt Group, the expectation was to drive demand generation by industry. Because I had previously worked on introducing new technologies in collaboration with marketing, I felt confident that I could make use of that experience, and that’s why I decided to take on this new opportunity.
Two Missions to Expand the Value of Qt Group
It has been about a year and a half since I joined Qt Group, and I find the work very exciting every day. The role of business development at Qt Group is somewhat different from what people usually imagine. My responsibilities can be divided into two main missions.
The first mission is demand generation. I introduce the technical value of Qt Group to potential clients, helping them picture how they could apply it to their own projects. From there, I discuss potential timelines and requirements with them, and once the opportunity reaches the stage of a formal quotation, I hand it over to Account Managers. We are best known for its strengths in GUI/HMI, and many people immediately associate the company with these areas. However, Qt Group is not limited to just that. Our framework also has capabilities for control and networking. By presenting diverse use cases, I guide clients from interest to concrete projects. This role is partly sales-oriented and partly marketing-oriented, which makes it quite unique.
The second mission is market development. This is closer to the business development role people typically imagine, which involves expanding the Qt Group ecosystem. Since Qt Group cannot stand alone, it requires collaboration with hardware providers, integration partners, and other software vendors. I work on developing these partnerships and alliances to open new markets and create solutions. For example, earlier this year, I was responsible for establishing a strategic partnership with ISB Corporation.
The Joys of Working at Qt Group
There are three main aspects that make working at Qt Group especially rewarding.
First is the excellent communication within the APAC Business development team. Although the manager is based in Korea and the team spans the entire APAC region, the leadership is strong, and the team operates with transparency and openness. While the business demands are high, local requests are always heard and addressed with action. Day-to-day issues can be discussed freely, creating a supportive environment that allows me to focus on my work with confidence.
Second is the close collaboration with product teams. I regularly communicate with teams in Finland and Germany, providing direct feedback to product owners about the needs of the Japanese market and ideas for new features. It is exciting to contribute input that may be reflected in products several years down the line, allowing me to have a tangible impact on Qt Group’s offerings.
Third is the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies such as cross-reality and AI. For example, questions like “How should UI function in a virtual environment?” or “How should humans interact with AI?” are topics that Qt Group is uniquely positioned to explore, given its expertise in GUI and HMI. The field of Human-AI Interaction, in particular, is a space where we stand out.
I also enjoy constantly gathering information from a wide range of sources, including technology trends, business news, and global developments, and considering how we can be leveraged in various industries. Being able to engage with state-of-the-art technologies and help clients expand their business models using Qt Group’s solutions makes this role highly challenging and rewarding. For those who are passionate about innovation and spreading Qt Group’s capabilities, this is an incredibly exciting workplace.
