Is it a gamble? In any case, it’s a game-changer for NTT Data, which is going all-in on Agentic AI Business Services. From Software as a Service (SaaS) to Services as Software (SAS).
“We want to become the leading Agentic AI services company,” said Abhijit Dubey, CEO of NTT Data Inc, the division of the Japanese operator responsible for all services outside Japan. And is he serious? Alongside his role as CEO, he also holds the title of Chief AI Officer.
During the recent client event at one of NTT Data Inc’s largest innovation centres in Milan, Abhijit Dubey pulled out all the stops. ‘We were innovation-driven and AI-led before AI became “a thing”.
In IT services alone, it generates significantly more revenue per employee than competitors Accenture, CapGemini and the Indian firms HCL, Infosys, TCS and Wipro. He believes that NTT Data Inc’s total addressable market could grow by a factor of 25 thanks to Agentic Business Services. “It is the biggest opportunity ever”.
NTT Data Inc, which until now has derived the bulk of its revenue from operations and end-user equipment such as networking, storage and security—working with companies including Dell, Cisco and HPE—is now fully committed to Services as a Software (SAS), where intelligent agents execute outcomes rather than merely enabling them. It is an AI-driven, emerging business model where technology, rather than human labour, delivers complete business outcomes. It differs from traditional SaaS by providing automated solutions—such as autonomous payroll, AI-powered customer support, or automated logistics—where the software performs the task, not just providing tools to do so. It is noteworthy that NTT Data Inc has entered into a strong partnership with the French IT specialist Mistral for this purpose. Other partners include Microsoft, Google, Amazon and NVIDIA.
“A lot has changed in the last twelve months,” says Abhijit Dubey, who notes that some 400 use cases have already been defined, addressing the core domains of businesses. He does point out that “Building agents is a relatively small portion of the overall effort (~10%). Most of the work lies in data readiness (~40%), architecting, optimising and training single or multiple agents (~30%) and change management (~20%).”
The Japanese player has also precisely defined where savings can be achieved thanks to SAS in the banking, insurance and industrial sectors. In the latter case, this accounts for around a fifth of operational costs: increased productivity, reduced downtime and lower maintenance costs.
‘Organisations leading the AI race rigorously align business strategy and AI strategy,’ says Anne-Sophie Lotgering, former vice president of Proximus’ enterprise business, who has been CEO of NTT Data Europe since last year. “It is a shift from AI as a traditional IT initiative to a driver of operating model innovation. AI is no longer merely an efficient tool; it reshapes the entire business model.”
Without dropping names, she points to particularly large clients in the automotive, aviation and defence sectors, where sovereignty is naturally also a major factor. Control and trust naturally play a major role in this, especially in government-owned companies such as those in Luxembourg. Mistral and NTT Data have, in fact, established a Centre of Excellence for this purpose. ‘The next decade belongs to companies that build business solutions with ecosystems, not in isolation,’ adds Anne-Sophie Lotgering.
Incidentally, NTT Data Inc, with its 140,000 employees across 50 countries, is also undergoing a complete AI transformation. “Employees play a critical role in this. ‘AI for everyone’ is the motto,” explains the programme manager. It is clear that this does not always go smoothly. “If you are frustrated with AI, you’re on the right track. It can only get better.” The journey from adoption to transformation is no overnight feat.
