New Version of BizRobo!, '2026.1', Released on May 25

Open Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Takayuki Ishii; hereinafter "Open"), a subsidiary of Open Group, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tomomichi Takahashi), released the new version "2026.1" of the "BizRobo!" series* on May 25.

* Target products: BizRobo! Basic, BizRobo! Lite/Lite+. BizRobo! mini is scheduled for release on June 27.

Overview and New Features of 2026.1 Previously, BizRobo! used a versioning system with sequential numbers for each new version, such as "Ver11.5". Going forward, this has been changed to a system that identifies when the version was released using the release year + quarter, such as "2026.1".

Additionally, to improve the product regularly and stably, new versions will be provided at a pace of twice a year.

The main points of the features implemented in the "2026.1" version released today are as follows:

* The items described are new features of BizRobo! Basic. Users of Lite/Lite+/mini may experience restrictions on some features.

(1) Reduction of Man-Hours for Environment Setup and Operation Independent startup of each component is now possible, eliminating the need to install Java and Tomcat, which were previously required when upgrading. With this simplification of environment setup, the creation and editing of detailed configuration files are reduced, decreasing cases where setup does not proceed smoothly due to errors.

Furthermore, during operation, man-hours for changing Java or Tomcat versions and responding to vulnerabilities are reduced. In terms of troubleshooting during failure response, the simplified system configuration makes it easier to isolate the target.

For BizRobo! Lite/Lite+, a dedicated installer with patches applied will be provided. In addition, a tool for setting the number of simultaneous executions will be prepared, creating an environment that can be configured using the tool rather than from the screen. Environment setup is significantly simplified, contributing to reduced load and man-hours for engineers and operators.

(2) Addition of a Step to Call Another Robot from a Robot Conventionally, a robot could not internally execute another robot, requiring the other robot to be called via a Basic Engine Robot (commonly known as BER).

In version 2026.1, using the "Call Robot" step allows for easy integration with other robots, and settings for input values, output values, and devices to be used on the screen can be configured in DesignStudio. Promoting the common componentization of robots by utilizing this step helps prevent the creation of enormous robots and realizes sound operational maintenance.

(3) Constant Management by MC In versions prior to 11.5, constants used in robots had to be defined directly in the robot or managed as external files such as Excel or text files, requiring the contents to be read every time the robot was executed. With this approach, it was essential to be careful of omission of modifications or setting errors when there were differences between environments, such as different setting values in the development and production environments, leading to management costs and risk prevention outside of robot development, such as file loss or operational errors.

In 2026.1, constants can be centrally managed in the Management Console (the integrated management console of the robot system, commonly known as MC), and values can be set separately for the development and production environments, eliminating the need to configure settings for each environment.

Also, when using constants, since the robot can directly reference the information, setting errors when modifying robots or for each environment can be reduced.

For details of the features implemented in 2026.1 other than the above, an upgrade guide will be published on the product download page of the exclusive site for BizRobo! members, "MyBizRobo!".

Future Release Schedule and Outlook As mentioned above, new versions will be released twice a year going forward. Most recently, version 2026.3 is scheduled for release around July to September 2026, and 2027.1 around January to March 2027.

By clarifying the release schedule of new versions, we will enhance options so that user companies can select the optimal version for their own operations.

Moreover, as integration with generative AI tools and highly advanced automation aiming for overall operational optimization are required, specific integrat