NTT DATA Certified by Scaled Agile, Inc. as “Global Transformation Partner”
Third GTP Worldwide and First Japanese Company

October 9, 2020, Tokyo — NTT DATA, a leading digital business and IT services provider, concluded an agreement on September 25 with the U.S. firm Scaled Agile, Inc., acquiring status as a Global Transformation Partner (GTP) under the company’s Scaled Agile Partner Network Program.

GTP partners support business transformation at the global level applying the Scaled Agile Framework^® (SAFe^®)¹, a large-scale Agile methodology adopted mainly by Global 2000 corporations and governments as a means of enhancing their agility and adaptability to changing market conditions. NTT DATA is the third company worldwide to be certified as a GTP, and the first headquartered in Asia. This partnership includes the NTT DATA Group’s head office in Japan, along with 13 group companies in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America.

Going forward, through its partnership with Scaled Agile for strong technical support and communication of information, NTT DATA will support business transformation for customers in companies around the world. The company aims to generate ¥50 billion in sales worldwide in fiscal 2022 from SAFe and other types of business transformation support.

A number of forward-looking companies have implemented digital transformation (DX) measures, enhancing their business agility through structural and process reforms. However, as changes in market trends and customer needs have intensified as a result the coronavirus, and uncertainty regarding business and the future outlook has increased, more companies are under pressure to reform. At the same time, the rapid shift to conducting business online is requiring companies with operations extending across several countries and regions to pursue reforms at the global level.

NTT DATA has a wealth of system development experience in Scrum and other types of Agile development, and to facilitate reform from the upstream business design consideration process, has pursued Agile development outside the system development field as well, such as for design thinking, idea generation, and other value search processes. Through its Agile/DevOps Center of Excellence (CoE) activities, NTT DATA provides customers with knowledge, tools, and consulting as technical offerings for Agile and cloud services on a global scale.

NTT DATA, in considering a large-scale Agile methodology from the standpoint of achieving DX for its customers, has focused on SAFe, the world’s leading framework for business agility that has been adopted by more than 20,000 companies and government agencies. To enhance the practical skills of the entire corporate group, and as a requirement for GTP status, NTT DATA has deployed throughout its corporate group more than 100 certified SAFe Program Consultants (SPCs), and more than 1,000 SAFe certified practitioners.

“We are proud to welcome NTT DATA Corporation as Scaled Agile, Inc’s third Global Transformation Partner (GTP), and first in the Asia Pacific region.” said Dean Leffingwell, creator of SAFe and Chief Methodologist. “NTT DATA Corporation has met the rigorous requirements of the GTP program, which includes training and certifying over 1,100 employees in SAFe, 100 of which have achieved the advanced certification of SAFe Program Consultant (SPC). As COVID-19 accelerates the need for greater flexibility and adaptability in the marketplace, we’re seeing a surge in demand for integrated support among our largest customers in the Global 2000. We’re meeting that demand by working with companies like NTT DATA Corporation that have the knowledge, experience, and global reach to successfully support large enterprises through every phase of a digital transformation.”

With this elite status as a GTP Partner, by strengthening cooperation with Scaled Agile, NTT DATA will support large-scale organizational reform and business agility enhancements for customers that operate at a more global level. Further, to support overseas business expansion involving DX for customers in the Japanese market, NTT DATA will coordinate with its group locations worldwide to establish regional support contacts, and provide optimal solutions tailored to local markets.

Responsibility of Each Company
NTT DATA, to facilitate business transformation utilizing SAFe, will secure and develop SPC qualified personnel with a deep understanding of SAFe, and provide consulting, coaching, and educational services to support the introduction and practice of SAFe in a way that meets the needs and issues of its customers.

Scaled Agile, Inc. will provide knowledge and expertise, business transformation case studies and other SAFe resources such as toolkits and educational programs to help train NTT DATA’s SAFe workforce.

Future Goals
Through this partnership, NTT DATA will accelerate its support for business transformation and enhancements in business agility for customers in a wide range of fields conducting business on a global level. In SAFe and other types of customer business transformation support, the company aims to generate ¥15 billion in sales in Japan by fiscal 2022, and ¥50 billion in sales worldwide, including Japan.

Notes
1. Provided by Scaled Agile Inc., SAFe is a knowledge base of proven, integrated principals, practices, and competencies for Lean, Agile, and DevOps. Companies practicing SAFe learn how to build agility into their culture so they can quickly identify and deliver customer value, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and improve business outcomes.

* Other names of products, companies, and organizations are trademarks or registered trademarks of those companies.

Contacts
Media inquiries
NTT DATA Corporation
Public Relations Department
Email: pr-team@kits.nttdata.co.jp

Product and service inquiries
NTT DATA Corporation
Technology and Innovation General Headquarters
System Engineering Headquarters
Digital Technology and Engineering Department
Agile Professional Group
Contact persons: Ichikawa / Inaba / Kondoh
E-mail: apcj@kits.nttdata.co.jp