About

Profile #

Shin Tokiwa. I have worked in the IT industry for over 20 years, since 2001. I have experienced time and again how rewarding it is to solve problems through software and applications. My interest in emerging technology has never faded, and I still keep up with web technology, which has been evolving continuously since the dawn of the Internet.

In 2008 I co-founded ZEALOT Inc., and I am now in my 18th year as its representative director. While my center of gravity has shifted to management, I have never put down the tools of design and implementation. My guiding policy has not changed: technology is only ever a means to solve a problem. I value relationships in which — after genuinely understanding a client’s business — I can say so plainly when the best course of action is to do nothing at all.

Career #

• 2001 — Graduated from a technical college, majoring in information systems
• 2001–2007 — Joined a software development company in Kofu, Yamanashi. Worked as a systems engineer and programmer, covering everything from business system development to server setup and network cabling, on projects ranging from small engagements to several-hundred person-month builds
• 2007–2008 — Freelance engineer
• December 2008 – present — Co-founded ZEALOT Inc. and became its representative director. In June 2025 the company joined the SMS DataTech Corporation (SDT) group as a wholly owned subsidiary
• January 2026 – present — Founded Brightseed Inc. and became its representative director, operating the restaurant “Yoshio no Motsuya” in Yamanashi

Areas of Expertise #

• The full lifecycle of system development, from planning and requirements definition through architecture, implementation, and operations
• Since 2010, my main focus has been building systems on cloud platforms, primarily AWS and Google Cloud
• A generalist across technical domains rather than a specialist in one. I am at my best designing mechanisms that solve stubborn problems, and troubleshooting

Certifications #

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
• Google Cloud Certified – Associate Cloud Engineer

Community Involvement #

• 2022 – present — Member of the Mirai Yamanashi Creation Council, an advisory council under the Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture
• Active in PTA work at elementary and junior high schools in Chiba Prefecture (for the 2026 school year, elementary school PTA president and vice chair of the city PTA council)

About This Site #

I write about technology, software, development, the cloud, and whatever else catches my interest.