Good evening, everyone.
Let me begin by welcoming our three newest members:
Now, I’m pretty sure I’ve got Akira’s name right.
But for Chin-Hao and Koen, I had to rely on Google’s pronunciation.
So if I mess up the tone or the accent—blame Google… or my hearing… or maybe I need a little more beer.
As for me, I’m Jim Parker.
And yes, we have two Jims—Jim Adson and myself.
If you ever need to differentiate us when we are in the same room, you can call me “Art”—it’s my middle name.
But fair warning… no one’s ever called me that in 80 years, so don’t expect an instant response.
While on the subject of names, let’s look at their importance.
Names aren’t just labels. They carry meaning, identity, and responsibility.
They differentiate. They let us refer to someone or something clearly, without confusion.
They show association. They tell us something about where we come from—our heritage, values, or purpose.
And names create accountability. They tie us to our actions—legally, financially, and relationally.
That’s why names matter.
And that’s exactly why I named this company DataFlow International back in 1986.
Even then—long before the Internet became public—I could see that the biggest challenge wasn’t just creating information…
It was moving it—between people, systems, companies, and countries.
The name DataFlow wasn’t just a technical term.
It reflected our mission: to enable the smooth, clear, and efficient flow of information—just like a well-designed conversation.
And the word International? That was always intentional.
Even in the beginning, I believed that solving communication problems wasn’t just a local issue—it was a global one.
Fast-forward to today, and the mission behind that name is more relevant than ever.
DFI’s software engineers now write code for apps that support the clients of software and communication companies.
We build tools that help their users work more efficiently, communicate more clearly, and serve their own customers better.
In other words, we still do what our name says.
We support the flow of information—between systems, between companies, and between people.
So when I say that names matter, I mean it—from the names we call each other, to the name we’ve built together.
And with that in mind, I want to keep things simple and respectful.
When we speak in English, I’ll be using first names only, without titles or honorifics.
If we were speaking Japanese, I’d absolutely say -san.
But here, I want us to keep things easy and open—like laid-back Californians—or whichever culture you imagine sipping tea in flip-flops.
Now, let me give you a little more company history.
When DFI was first established back in 1986, the Internet was still confined to universities and the military.
CD-ROMs were the hot new thing. We were switching from cassette tapes to floppy disks and Windows was just beginning to replace CP/M and DOS.
Web browsers? They hadn’t even been invented yet.
We had modems that transmitted at 1200bps and some early adapters were able to double that! Downloading an average website page today over a modem of that era would take 5.5 hours on the average.
With that in mind, it would have been more truthful to name our company DataDrip International rather than DataFlow.
Even so, the amount of digital data—text, audio, video—was growing rapidly. But the tools for moving that data efficiently were still catching up.
That’s where DFI came in. We focused on enabling communication. Helping people move data—not just store it.
Let’s jump forward to around 2005.
I first met Takashi when he and I collaborated on a website that supported people affected by pancreatic cancer.
Takashi was still a university student at this time. A hard-working student, but he still found the time to do volunteer work on the website.
In 2010, I returned to the U.S. to care for my aging parents, and DFI paused for a while.
During that time, Takashi had graduated from Waseda and had begun building a stellar career—as a top salesman at Apple, and later at Norton.
After my parents passed away, I returned to Japan, not to restart DFI, but to enjoy my retirement in Western Izu where I have a small home in a very small fishing town. However, I spend only half the year there now and the other half in Arizona where the winters are much more comfortable.
I was beginning to enjoy my retirement, when a few years ago ....
Takashi popped me with the question, "Can I take over DFI?"
I immediately said, “Of course!” It was the best decision I had ever made for DFI!
Takashi not only took it over but with him at the helm, the resurrection of DFI has been astounding!
Not only has Takashi revived DFI... he has taken it to a new level.
He brought together the clients and our first software engineer, Jim.
With Takashi’s leadership and salesmanship, Jim’s engineering expertise and guidance, Mark’s dedication, and Chie’s patient coordination, DFI has now reached the point where we can afford to bring you three talented engineers onboard.
Now, that’s not just growth—that’s momentum.
Oh! Me? Takashi thought that having a guy with white hair and wearing glasses might imply that the head of the company was a mature, well established businessman. So while the top page of our company website states that I am the president of DFI, the reality is that I resemble what the Japanese used to call an Ōgosho — the old guy who shows up when required, smiles, and makes a speech every now and then and, when no longer required, quietly goes back to whatever he was doing before he got disturbed.
We are now truly international—with people from Japan, the U.S., New Zealand, Taiwan, and Holland.
We work in different time zones, speak different languages, and collaborate mostly online.
That’s powerful—but it also increases the risk of:
And hiring three new engineers increases the possibility that such risks will occur.
So how do we protect against that?
We build a BRIDGE.
And that’s your cue to reach under your chair—or over to your package—because it’s time to put on your DFI t-shirt.
You’ll see the BRIDGE logo printed right on it.
Let me walk you through what it means:
If we can remember BRIDGE, we can cross any divide—technical, cultural, or personal.
So let’s stay curious. Let’s stay kind. And let’s keep talking to each other.
Because when we do that, DFI won’t just grow—it’ll thrive.
Welcome aboard.