Trusted, But Not Yet Transformative
Fujitsu Oceania’s Strategy-in-Transition
There’s something quietly significant happening at Fujitsu Oceania.
Following a sweeping leadership reset and a visible pivot toward platform ecosystems like ServiceNow, Microsoft, SAP, and AWS, the company is clearly repositioning itself. The departure of long-time regional CEO Graeme Beardsell, Enable’s Bruce Hara, and Chief Strategy Officer Tim White marks the end of an era defined by relationship-driven growth and platform acquisition.
In their place, incoming CEO Peter Grassi and his new executive team signal a shift in tone. It is more assertive and more sharply aligned with what they’re calling the “next tech curve.” The language is also bold: sovereign capabilities, cleared personnel, cyber-first foundations, AI frontiers, quantum futures. The defence credentials are solid, the multi-industry case studies credible, and the partner ecosystem increasingly focused.
This is a strategy in transition. Fujitsu is leaning hard into platform-enabled digital transformation, particularly in sectors where sovereign control and operational resilience are non-negotiable.
But if it wants to lead the next curve, not just the current one, it must develop the business capabilities to match its technical ones.
Right now, Fujitsu’s value proposition is largely executional. The emphasis is on integration, security, and trusted delivery at scale. Their message at their Executive Analyst Day made that clear. There's a heavy leaning into Uvance, their global transformation umbrella, and confidence in their ability to implement complex technical solutions.
And fair enough. In a world of air-gapped clouds and decentralised service networks, Fujitsu has earned the right to be taken seriously. But something is missing.
For all the talk of transformation, there’s little evidence that Fujitsu is engaging in business architecture or value chain redesign. Uvance supports DX, yes, but who, inside Fujitsu, is helping customers rethink how they operate, not just what tech stack they run? Where are the playbooks, the operating model frameworks, the transformation accelerators?
This is the difference between being trusted and being transformative.
Trusted partners implement platforms. Transformative ones shape strategy. Accenture, Deloitte, even ServiceNow itself. These players are positioning themselves as business model orchestrators, not just delivery arms. Fujitsu, by contrast, is still largely describing itself in terms of technical competence.
And while that may be enough in the short term, especially in government, it does also act as a delimiter on long-term relevance in the private sector boardroom.
If Fujitsu wants to lead the next curve, it needs to close the distance between platform delivery and business value realisation. That means investing in strategy-to-execution frameworks. It means building more narratives that start with outcomes (I did see a few), not deployments. And it means developing a business transformation capability that can sit confidently at the same table as the CIO, COO, and CFO.
Until then, Fujitsu will remain what it already is. A highly capable, secure, and reliable technology partner. These are classic, and still valuable, 20th century traits. Fujitsu is a safe pair of hands with a great culture. When the problem is well-defined, the scope is large, and operational certainty is paramount, they’re exactly who you’d want on the shortlist.
But they are also a paradox not unfamiliar to many Japanese firms. The same traits that make them trusted (precision, discipline, reliability, and long-term orientation), can sometimes inhibit adaptability or radical innovation and make them appear cautious in an era hungry for imaginative disruption. The result is that they have not always been the first partner you call when the problem isn’t clear, and the future isn’t written. Dependable doesn’t always mean visionary in times of uncertainty. And in an era defined by reinvention, clients need both.
And yet, credit where it’s due.
Fujitsu made some brave calls at their Executive Analyst Day, particularly in rationalising their platform partnerships and signalling a clear commitment to where they believe value will be created.
We need look no further than their exit from the mainframe business as a proof point that they are laser focused on executing with clarity and conviction. That same discipline is likely to serve them well as they double down on ServiceNow, Microsoft, and their sovereign cloud offerings.
They may not be the loudest voice in the room, but Fujitsu has long been one of the most dependable. So if this new leadership team can build on that foundation, while strengthening their business design and transformation capability, then they’re well positioned to take a meaningful role in shaping the next chapter of regional enterprise transformation.
Disclosure: I attended the Fujitsu Oceania Executive Analyst Summit in June 2025 as a guest.