Latest news with #NTTGroup
Bloomberg
08-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
NTT Eyes $20 Billion Tender Offer for NTT Data in AI Pivot
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. plans to make NTT Data Group Corp. a wholly-owned subsidiary, a move geared at making AI central to the telecom giant's sprawling operations. Japan's biggest telecom operator is holding a board meeting on Thursday to discuss a tender offer for all shares it does not own in NTT Data, the company said in a statement. The deal is estimated at about ¥2 trillion to ¥3 trillion ($14 billion to $21 billion) according to the Nikkei Shimbun, which reported the deal earlier.
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Enterprise AI Is Headed Toward Autonomy, Says NTT Data's AI Chief
Wendy Collins- Chief AI Officer at NTT Data Most enterprise AI is still stuck in assistant mode, with tools that help write emails, summarize documents, or suggest next steps, but only when asked. What it's not doing, at least not at scale, is taking meaningful action on its own. But that reality is beginning to evolve in subtle, yet important ways. In a recent interview with Wendy Collins, chief AI officer at NTT DATA — a part of the global conglomerate NTT Group and innovator of IT and business services — she noted that this is a trend that we will begin to see more and more across the enterprise, adding that the future of AI in the enterprise isn't just about intelligence, but about autonomy. Collins believes we're entering a new phase where AI is starting to operate more like an agent than an assistant, moving beyond informing decisions to initiating them. And while the hype is still loudest around GenAI and copilots, these autonomous AI systems that take action are now seeping their way into the heart of the AI conversation. Agentic AI — a term still finding its footing across the industry — describes systems that don't simply return answers but complete tasks. In Collins' words, it's the difference between an AI telling you a return policy and one that can issue a return authorization, log it in the system of record and notify the customer. Rather than involve a single AI model that just generates results by pulling answers from a vast pool of pretrained datasets, AI agents depend on a coordinated stack of technologies — including language models, decision engines, integrated tools and real-time data access — to execute tasks. 'Agentic AI,' Collins told me, 'is bigger than generative AI.' It sits at the intersection of multiple capabilities, and its strength lies in doing, not just knowing. Collins was, however, candid about the current limits. In industries like insurance and financial services, agentic AI is already reducing cost and latency in call centers and procurement. These domains work because the processes are predictable and well-documented. If a task can be reduced to rules and data flows, it can be delegated to an agent. Where it falters — for now — is in high-context workflows like underwriting or complex manufacturing, where much of the decision-making still lives in the heads of experienced employees. "We're not seeing agentic AI take hold in those environments yet," she said. "Because the knowledge hasn't been captured." But that doesn't mean these industries are excluded from progress. It just means that they're currently focused on using GenAI to collect and structure the very knowledge needed to support agentic systems down the line. What Collins is most bullish about isn't GenAI alone. It's what happens when GenAI is fused with traditional AI techniques like optimization, forecasting and rule-based systems. She called it 'hybrid AI,' noting that it's the most overlooked and under-discussed area of enterprise AI transformation right now. 'GenAI is a hammer,' she said. 'But some problems need a wrench.' For many business challenges, multiple tools working together are what unlock the most value. And while GenAI can generate, recommend and personalize, it still relies on classical AI to drive precision, consistency and integration. Many enterprises are stuck in proof-of-concept purgatory — touting dozens of pilots but deploying none. According to Collins, the gap between POC and production is much larger than most leaders anticipate. 'It's not linear,' she explained. 'It's exponential.' Her advice is that business leaders must 'stop trying to boil the ocean.' Instead, they need to start with one or two high-value, internal use cases. Focus on workflows where the AI can succeed quietly and quickly, not in customer-facing experiments that risk brand equity before the technology is ready. And, maybe most importantly, was what Collins said about building with measurement in mind. 'ROI needs to be planned for from the beginning, not retrofitted at the end,' she noted. Perhaps the most underrated variable in any AI deployment is people. Collins emphasized the importance of enterprise-wide AI literacy, especially among enterprise executive teams. 'Companies that invested in executive AI literacy outperformed their peers financially by 40%,' she said, citing recent research. While Collins didn't mention the exact research she quoted, it's an assertion that some other studies support. For example, one MIT CISR research found last year that companies with advanced enterprise AI — which often prioritizes AI literacy as a key component — outpace industry peers in financial performance For Collins, AI adoption is more about comfort, confidence and context, rather than being about a lofty desire to build out infrastructure. While there's growing talk of AI fatigue, Collins believes much of that fatigue stems from underwhelming outcomes from how AI is used. When AI doesn't deliver transformation — when it's used only to shave seconds off a task — teams lose interest. What that means is that AI's promises must be felt, not just marketed. As AI becomes more capable of making decisions, enterprises will need stronger governance models to match. Already, the concerns about AI safety are at an all-time high, with the World Economic Forum noting that 'the increasing autonomy of AI agents introduces both immense opportunity and considerable risk. Without proper oversight, such systems may behave in unexpected ways or even undermine intended goals.' The OECD AI Observatory's 2024 policy report also details how autonomous AI systems challenge existing governance frameworks and increase the urgency for risk mitigation strategies, particularly as these systems begin to operate independently. While some often think of AI governance as an innovation blocker, Collins described it as 'a strategic enabler'. Her team at NTT Data also developed a 'payoff matrix" to help clients identify where to begin, how to align value with feasibility and where the biggest traps lie. 'It's not about waiting until all your data is perfect,' said Collins. 'It's about knowing which parts of your data are good enough to begin capturing value now — and building toward the rest.' From all indications, the future of enterprise AI won't be decided by the next viral chatbot demo or shiny new app. It'll unfold quietly — inside workflows, behind dashboards, — where AI stops waiting for instructions and truly starts working on its own. Collins also urges caution, noting that if someone tells you they know what AI will look like in five years, they're either lying to you or trying to sell you something. Still, she remains clear-eyed about where we're headed: 'Every new incremental development is going to unlock new problems in the same way that it unlocks new opportunities.' That's the future enterprise AI seems to be inching toward.
Zawya
27-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
NTT Sparks Smart Building Revolution with New OCEAN Intelligence™ Platform in Hong Kong
Offering a Strategic Vision to Bring AI into Every Building, empowered with an Open Partner Ecosystem HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 February 2025 - As part of NTT Group, a world-leading telecommunications and ICT service provider, NTT Com Asia (NTT) today launched OCEAN Intelligence™ in Hong Kong, a ground-breaking AI-powered open platform set to transform smart building management. With the vision to "Bring AI into Every Building" with an open partner ecosystem approach, the new platform represents a game-changer for building management by fostering collaboration and open innovations. At its core, OCEAN Intelligence™ makes AI accessible through three foundational pillars: Openness - that breaks down proprietary barriers and data silos, and enable convergence of OT/IT/IoT; Partner Ecosystem - an open partner ecosystem that enables innovation and collaboration among local and global technology providers to create new services; Quality Data - leverage open hardware to allow cost effective control and collection of real-time high-density equipment data, together with digitization of operation data through automation of operation processes, this forms a superior data foundation for machine learning. "OCEAN Intelligence™ unique strength lies in its ability to democratise AI, with data quality as its core foundation, making it accessible to every building." said Steven So, Senior Vice President, NTT Com Asia."Acting like human brain and central nervous system of smart buildings, the platform connects previously disparate systems and enables data intelligence to flow seamlessly throughout the entire infrastructure. Beyond AI, its modular design and strong open partner ecosystem enables quick deployment in existing environments and opens up possibilities to integrate with partners for new solutions." The platform builds upon the company's commitment to open innovations driving smart building development. A thriving partner ecosystem brings in the latest technology from startups and industry partners to offer more choices to the market. For example, users can benefit Chiller Plant Energy Optimization solution from Carnot Innovations, a startup incubated from Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, which uses AI to analyse operational data to maximise efficiency and reduce energy usage and costs. Through Carnot Innovations' integration with OCEAN Intelligence, the chiller plant can be directly managed, breaking down data silos, and speeding up deployment under a single pane of glass. "Openness and collaboration are essential in today's complex building environments and fast-growing development of AI and IoT technologies, where the open partner ecosystem approach delivers far greater value than isolated technologies," adds Steven."With the global smart building market projected to reach USD 359 billion by 2035, growing at over 24% annually, we're creating significant business opportunities for our partners across the ecosystem — from hardware manufacturers to specialized AI solution providers. This partner-centric approach creates mutual value: partners gain access to new markets and revenue streams, while customers benefit from best-in-class solutions tailored to their specific needs." "Today's complex building challenges demand collaborative solutions. Carnot Innovations brings deep AI expertise and a proven track record, partnering with industry leaders like NTT. Our collaboration within the OCEAN Intelligence™ partner ecosystem allows us to address critical solution gaps with cutting-edge AI. Leveraging NTT's resources, we provide enhanced support to local clients, ultimately delivering more choices, better integration, and a more streamlined smart building transformation journey," said Ashish Jerry Justin, Co-founder and CEO, Carnot Innovations. Leveraging NTT's global R&D and local talents, the platform empowers businesses to achieve substantial cost efficiencies, optimize building operations, and enhance asset value. Already deployed in NTT facilities and customers in Hong Kong and other locations, OCEAN Intelligence™ is slated for further international rollout. "With an investment of over HKD170 million into the research and development of the technology, it represents strategic expansion of our vision for AI and smart city," said Stephen Tsang, Chief Revenue Officer, NTT Com Asia. "It aligns with the Hong Kong Government's initiatives to establish the city as a leading Information and Technology hub in the region. By championing innovation in smart building management and supporting the development of critical facilities, we're actively contributing to Hong Kong's technological advancement and helping solidify its position as a pioneer in smart city development across Asia and globally." The launch is a key investment in the company's series of strategic initiatives to accelerate Hong Kong's digital transformation into a smart city. This launch follows the successful introduction of the NTT Innovation Alliance in April 2024, High-Performance Computing as-a-service with a Direct Liquid Cooling enabled AI-ready data centre in June 2024, and Private 5G service in September 2024, underscoring NTT's commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions for Hong Kong's future. OCEAN Intelligence™: Key Benefits OCEAN Intelligence™ gathers and processes data from diverse building systems to optimise performance with unparalleled precision. User benefits include: Predictive AI: The platform uses AI to automate tasks and provide real-time insights, leading to significant improvements in efficiency. It allows businesses to reduce maintenance downtime by up to 75%, speed up data provisioning for new buildings by 2X, and speed up decision making and incident root cause analysis by 5X. Cost Optimisation: Users can achieve up to 30% savings on air-conditioning energy bills, reduce maintenance expenses by up to 50% through predictive maintenance, and lower data collection costs by 40% with open data collection hardware. Customisable and Modular Agility: The platform is designed to be open and modular. This allows it to be deployed with existing platforms or solutions or integrated with current and future solutions from partners. This gives customers the freedom to build their platform, scale according to their business needs and add unique features and services to maximise the value of the building — all within a single platform. For more information about OCEAN Intelligence™, please visit our website at Hashtag: #NTT The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About OCEAN Intelligence™ Goes beyond simply collecting IoT and BIM data, it cultivates actionable insights in real-time, breaking down data silos providing a flexible modular design, and a suite of readily integrated solutions powered by an open partner ecosystem. From digital construction to digital operations, OCEAN Intelligence™ is the strategic partner for creating smarter, more sustainable, and truly intelligent buildings. About NTT Com Asia As part of NTT Group, a world-class leader in telecommunications and ICT services, NTT Com Asia Limited ("NTT") is dedicated to delivering the best ICT infrastructure and disruptive technologies with the vision to enable a smarter world. Riding on the leading enterprise mobile technology from docomo business in Japan, we are bringing cutting-edge and ready-to-market IoT, AI and other digital solutions to support enterprises in developing a mobile-first strategy in their digitalisation journey. For more information, please visit: About Carnot Innovations Carnot Innovations is a pioneer of AI Energy Optimization Solution in Hong Kong. We make buildings smarter to perform better maintenance and energy saving. Our projects included grade A commercial buildings, premium shopping malls, infrastructures, and hospitals, etc. Everyday we are helping enterprises to reduce carbon to achieve their ESG target. We have deployed our AI in over 100 buildings in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. NTT Com Asia
