DEEP DIVE
improvements that benefit
the world. The NTT Group
overall has committed
US$3.6 billion investment to
research and development,
harnessing a team of over
2,500+ research engineers
to deliver continuous
technological innovation to
benefit its people, clients
and communities.
NTT Ltd. is also a ‘Business
Avenger’, working with 16 other
large global organisations to
support the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (Global
Goals) by 2030. We are
working closely with internal
and external partners to gather
data on our contribution to the
Sustainable Development Goals.
This will, in turn, help us shape
our sustainability framework,
programmes and targets for a more
sustainable and connected future.
How do you deal with stress
and unwind outside the office?
At the moment with COVID-19, our
activity is very limited but playing golf
is my stress reliever. I play golf with my
wife and friends on weekends.
What do you currently identify
as the major areas of investment
in your industry?
I still think that investing in data centres
is a major area because of the demand
to move to the cloud and delivering
Software-as-a-Service. COVID-19 has
forced many companies into Digital
Transformation. They have had to quickly
transform their infrastructure to be able to
operate during these times.
Software (AI, automation, etc.) is another
key area. We provide software-defined
network services and are seeing that
we can provide value-added services as
an add-on to network connectivity. This
is exactly why NTT Ltd. integrated its
existing companies into one powerhouse.
Being able to offer clients end-to-end
technology services globally makes our
proposition very attractive.
What are the region-specific
challenges you encounter in
your role?
When I was in the UK about 10 years
ago, we wanted to build a data centre
in the London area. We looked for
land with power but could not find an
appropriate site. After some time, we
found a site that wasn’t perfect but we
started to design the building. While we
were doing this, we received information
from our M&A team in Japan that a
smaller but good data centre company
was available to acquire.
After the due diligence process, we
decided to acquire a company called
Gyron to strengthen our global data
centre capabilities. We are now building
three big data centres in the London area
which are set to open this September.
What changes to your job
role have you seen in the
last year and how do you see
these developing in the next
12 months?
I am seeing a lot of demand for hybrid
cloud. It is important to design solutions
that use both private and public cloud
based on the client’s requirements. It
is fantastic that we are in this unique
position with our own infrastructure.
We also recently signed a strategic
alliance with Microsoft to bring together
NTT’s best-in-class ICT infrastructure,
managed services and cybersecurity
expertise, with Microsoft’s trusted cloud
platform and AI technologies. This will
help us accelerate the hybrid cloud
solution offering in the next 12 months. ◊
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