New Delhi, Jan. 13 -- After years of operating as a federation of companies, NTT Data's long-running global integration effort is beginning to show tangible results across Asia-Pacific, with India emerging as both the operational backbone and a proving ground for the company's one NTT Data strategy. Since 2024, more than 40 different entities have been brought together under the NTT Data umbrella globally, a scale of transformation that has been as complex internally as it has been visible to clients. "It's been an enormous transformation," said John Lombard, CEO, Asia-Pacific, NTT Data told TechCircle in a recent interview. "Not just for our clients who now see us as a full-stack solutions provider rather than a collection of brands, but also for us as a company, bringing together tools, systems, and ways of working. We're still getting there, but we are creating a brand-new systems integration business." Lombard credits India with setting best practices for how the integration has been executed across the region. NTT Data has consolidated its previously separate operations into a single operating company not just in India, but across Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. "We are now operating very much as a uniform business," Lombard said. "That consistency is critical for customers and partners." India plays a dual role in NTT Data's global strategy. On one hand, it is home to a large Global Capability Center (GCC) operation supporting worldwide delivery; on the other, it is a fast-growing domestic market in its own right. The company employs around 40,000 people in India, supporting global application managed services, BPO, and shared services, alongside a dedicated "India-for-India" team focused exclusively on local clients. "We have invested heavily in that," Lombard noted. Big-ticket deals and full-stack wins NTT Data now serves around 6,000 clients across Asia-Pacific, with financial services accounting for roughly 40% of its regional business. Manufacturing, retail, telecom, and data-led enterprise services make up the rest. Historically strong in infrastructure, the company is now winning larger, more complex deals across cloud and applications, particularly in India, Australia, and Singapore. "Last quarter, we closed some of our biggest deals in India, much larger than we've historically done, especially in financial services and automotive," Lombard said. "That tells us that bringing these teams together, who earlier worked separately despite carrying the same entity name, is finally paying off." India is also central to NTT Data's full-stack portfolio in the region. The company operates global data centre services, with Netmagic playing a significant role locally, alongside infrastructure solutions, cloud, security, and applications consulting. Netmagic is NTT's data centre and cloud services arm in India and a core part of its global infrastructure business. Another fast-growing focus area is servicing Global Capability Centres. India hosts nearly 2,000 GCCs employing close to two million people, and NTT Data now has a dedicated, India-based team focused exclusively on this segment. "We realised over a year ago that GCCs needed the same dedicated focus as BFSI or manufacturing," Lombard said. "Today, we work with around 300 GCC clients. Some are deep, end-to-end engagements; others are more targeted but AI, automation, and skill transformation are central to almost all of them." As NTT Data's multi-year integration effort moves from structural consolidation to execution at scale, India's role as delivery engine, innovation hub, and growth market has become more central than ever, said Lombard. Notably, NTT DATA announced in July 2025 that it is investing $1.5 billion in India to expand its data center capacity and support the country's digital infrastructure growth. This investment is part of NTT's global strategy to meet the rising demand for cloud services and AI infrastructure. Lombard says that it is one of the largest investments made by the company globally. "India is, and will continue to be, a key market for us," Lombard said. "It's not just about local growth. It's about leveraging India's talent across infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI-first development, and workforce transition for our businesses across Asia-Pacific and beyond." NTT Data goes back into the NTT Group fold

NTT DATA was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) on September 26, 2025, following shareholder approval for a share consolidation. Parent company, NTT, moved to make it a wholly-owned subsidiary to enhance corporate value and align with its strategic goals. NTT acquired the remaining shares of NTT DATA that it did not already own, aiming to strengthen its AI and IT offerings.

"We need to make more agile growth investments and strengthen our global solutions portfolio," NTT Data President Yutaka Sasaki told the media earlier. "We will speed up our decision-making to do large-scale M&A and build data centers." Commenting on this decision, Lombard said, "The delisting doesn't change anything for our day-to-day operations. In fact, being fully integrated into the broader NTT Group actually makes things easier for us. From risk and compliance to governance and the way we operate, it simplifies processes, improves alignment, and allows us to move faster as one organisation."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.