NTT DATA, a global digital business and IT services leader, has launched Innovation Center in six locations worldwide in August 2022. These local centers, situated in countries where customers have high sensitivity to the latest trend, will focus on leading-edge technologies with the potential to become mainstream within five to ten years, aiming to generate new business through joint R&D with such customers.
The initial organization structure will comprise Strategy Headquarters, which formulates the technology strategy, and local centers in six countries (Japan, United States, Italy, Germany, China, and India), which consist of around 100 experts, mainly researchers, consultants, and engineers. Technology themes will be established for each center based on the strategy from Strategy Headquarters. Through joint R&D with leading companies, as well as cooperation with universities and startups, these centers will be among the first to accumulate information on the advanced technologies in their regions. Such information will then become input for the next technology strategy.
NTT DATA is currently pursuing initiatives for technology assessment and client proposals in cutting-edge areas such as quantum computing and metaverse. The center aims to expand its organization to 300 experts by the end of fiscal year 2025, to acquire world-leading capabilities for the utilization of advanced technology.
Background
Recently, social issues have become increasingly complicated, such as global pandemic, warfare, climate change, etc. At the same time, rapid advancements in technology have transformed the way people live. Digitalization has been embraced in all industries and continues to disrupt business models. Technological innovation is increasingly required to solve social and business challenges.
As the role of IT in society and business changes, value is being found and discovered in new forms of technology offerings.
To enhance its competitiveness amid such fierce global rivalry, NTT DATA has included in its new Medium-Term Management Plan the strengthening of advanced technology utilization in order to generate new business value, which focuses on technologies expected to emerge within the next five to ten years. To achieve this goal, NTT DATA launched Innovation Center in August 2022 as an organization to bring together innovation professionals scattered throughout the world. Its main objectives are to acquire world-leading capabilities for utilization of advanced technologies and to pursue joint R&D with innovative customers.
Role of Innovation Center
Innovation Center will focus on advanced technologies of emerging domains, which are expected to become mainstream within the next five to ten years, aiming to establish world-leading research and development team. The center will present proposals, conduct joint R&Ds, and create use cases with innovative customers who desire to actively utilize advanced technologies at global locations worldwide.
Strategy Headquarters:
• Formulate medium- to long-term technology strategies for the corporate group, and coordinate with local centers to implement these strategies.
• Select target technology themes from numerous candidates accumulated by local centers, and promote R&D based on technology and market trends in each region.
Local Centers:
• Focus on technology assessment and customer proposals. Staffed with experts in R&D, prototype development, and various domains.
• Based on Strategy Headquarters’ policy, explore the potential of advanced technologies, establish relationships with innovative customers worldwide, and pursue joint R&Ds.
Strengthen relationships with universities and startups to assess advanced technologies, and broadly accumulate information on leading technologies in each region.
Main Themes (as of August 2022)
Innovation Center will focus on the following technology themes.
*Themes may be added/modified as needed depending on the results of technology selection.
• Japan (NTT research lab technologies): Genomes, metaverse, quantum computing
• United States (customer contact or facing -related technologies): Digital humans, smart city planning
• Italy/Germany (data processing, simulation technologies): Quantum computing, metaverse
• China (hardware-related technologies): Remote sensing technology (LiDAR), metaverse
• India (*India will develop a framework as a center for prototype development)
The Future
For fiscal year 2022, Innovation Center will strengthen its network for global collaboration and accumulate expertise in advance technologies, aiming to establish partnerships for joint R&Ds with innovative customers. By 2025, NTT DATA aims to generate more than 50 medium- to long-term R&D project partnerships.
