NTT DATA and Microsoft: Azure Becomes Preferred Cloud for Enterprise Transformation

NTT DATA’s expanded alliance with Microsoft marks a deliberate push to make Microsoft Azure the preferred public cloud for a wide range of enterprise digital transformation projects, combining NTT DATA’s system-integration scale and vertical expertise with Microsoft’s cloud platform, productivity stack and identity/security portfolio. This move — announced in a joint press release and reported across industry outlets — centers on accelerating cloud migrations, embedding Microsoft 365 and Teams into workstyle transformation, integrating NTT’s IP such as everis knowler and WinActor RPA, and developing a global skilling pipeline to certify thousands of staff on Microsoft cloud technologies.

Background / Overview​

NTT DATA and Microsoft formalized an expanded strategic collaboration in a joint announcement dated June 10, 2020, updating a broader multi‑year alliance between Microsoft and the NTT group. The press materials describe an intention to use Microsoft Azure as a preferred cloud solution for NTT DATA’s enterprise transformation projects and call out four headline initiatives: client digital transformation (Azure migrations and managed services), workstyle innovation (Microsoft 365, Teams, security), capability development (training and certifications — ~10,000 employees targeted), and “technology for good” initiatives including Microsoft’s AI for Health program. The announcement specifically mentions integrating NTT DATA products such as the everis knowler knowledge-management solution and the WinActor robotic process automation (RPA) tool. This arrangement builds on a longer commercial relationship: NTT DATA was designated a Microsoft Global System Integrator partner in 2023 and has since continued to scale Microsoft-aligned business units and IP that leverage Azure, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft’s broader AI and security portfolio. Recent NTT DATA materials show continued investment in Microsoft Cloud practices and agentic AI services layered on Azure.

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What the alliance actually covers​

Client digital transformation: Azure as the preferred platform​

NTT DATA and Microsoft pledged to jointly accelerate cloud modernization and migrate mission‑critical workloads (including SAP) to Azure, offering Azure migration and managed services as core components of the go‑to‑market. The intent is to position Azure as the primary public cloud underpinning NTT DATA’s systems integration projects, enabling customers to exploit Azure-native capabilities for scalability, security, and AI. Key items called out by both partners:

• Azure migration and managed services for mission‑critical systems such as SAP.
• Joint enhancement and deployment of NTT DATA solutions (everis knowler) atop Azure.
• Integration of RPA (WinActor) to automate routine processes and reduce operational overhead.

Workstyle innovation: Microsoft 365, Teams, and security​

The alliance explicitly aims to transform workstyles using Microsoft 365 security offerings and Microsoft Teams collaboration tools, both inside NTT DATA and for customers. This includes rolling out secure collaboration practices, strengthening identity and access controls, and using productivity tools to drive employee capability and organizational agility.

Capability development and skilling​

NTT DATA announced a target to cultivate approximately 10,000 employees worldwide with digital and Microsoft cloud‑related certifications to support customer transformation. The goal reflects an acknowledgement that tool delivery alone is insufficient without a trained workforce to plan, deploy and operate modern cloud environments.

Technology for good and responsible AI​

The collaboration also referenced philanthropic and “Technology for Good” avenues, including exploring Microsoft’s AI for Health program and focusing on UN sustainable development goals in areas such as AI imaging. While these are framed as social-impact activities, they also serve to align both organizations around ethical and societally beneficial applications of AI.

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Why this matters: strengths and strategic benefits​

1) Scale + engineering depth​

NTT DATA’s global delivery footprint, vertical teams and industry IP combined with Microsoft’s hyperscale cloud and productivity stack create a classic systems‑integrator + hyperscaler model. This enables:

• Rapid enterprise migrations using proven Azure patterns.
• Industry-specific accelerators and prebuilt components to shorten time to value.
• End‑to‑end offerings from strategy to operations.

2) Integrated productivity and identity/security posture​

Embedding Microsoft 365, Teams, and Microsoft’s identity/security services (Entra/Azure AD lineage) into migration and modernization projects helps customers address productivity and security together — a crucial requirement for remote/hybrid work models and distributed enterprise operations. Microsoft identity leadership within the company (exemplified by Alex Simons’s role) lends credibility to the identity/security angle in the alliance.

3) Automation and knowledge management as differentiators​

By bringing RPA (WinActor) and knowledge management (everis knowler) into Azure‑based solution bundles, NTT DATA aims to combine human productivity gains with backend operational automation — a pragmatic route to measurable ROI for customers. These tools can accelerate process automation and reduce manual handoffs when integrated with Azure services and Microsoft 365 workflows.

4) Skilling and supply-chain for cloud projects​

A targeted skilling program — 10,000 Microsoft‑certified staff — reduces the classic execution risk of insufficient personnel. When implemented effectively, this creates internal capacity and customer assurance that projects will be delivered by trained teams. NTT DATA’s later moves (e.g., launching a dedicated Microsoft Cloud business unit and holding hundreds or thousands of Azure certifications) indicate continued investment in that capacity.

5) Commercial and go‑to‑market advantages​

Designating Azure as a preferred cloud simplifies commercial conversations and can enable co‑selling motions, marketplace listings, and joint account planning that accelerate pipeline creation across industries where NTT DATA already has entrenched relationships. This alignment has tangible benefits when partner programs (co‑sell, marketplace, Azure Consumption Commitments) are used strategically. Industry partner analyses show similar alliances produce quicker customer adoption when combined with consumption guarantees or co-sell incentives.

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Technical considerations and verification of claims​

Several factual claims in the original announcements are verifiable in public materials:

• The joint announcement date and headline initiatives are recorded in NTT DATA’s press release and Microsoft regional news pages (NTT DATA / Microsoft APAC).
• The explicit target of cultivating ~10,000 Microsoft‑certified employees is stated in the NTT DATA press release. This is a declared target in the announcement rather than an independently audited headcount.
• The mention of everis knowler and WinActor as solution components appears in the public press materials and the WinActor trademark notice is included in the release.
• Alex Simons’s title and role as a senior Microsoft identity executive are corroborated in Microsoft community and conference materials.

Caveat and verification note: corporate press releases and partner announcements are reliable for describing intent, commercial alignment and named deliverables. However, operational metrics (for example, the eventual number of certified staff, timelines for migrations, or specific customer outcomes) require follow‑up reporting and should be treated as targets rather than delivered fact until independently validated by later disclosures or audited statements.

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Risks, friction points, and mitigation strategies​

While the alliance offers clear advantages, enterprises and IT leaders must weigh several risks and plan mitigations.

Vendor lock‑in and architectural dependency​

• Risk: Tight coupling to Azure, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft identity services can create operational and commercial lock‑in, making future multi‑cloud or alternative technology choices more difficult or costly.
• Mitigation: Adopt cloud‑portable architectures where practical (containerized microservices, standardized APIs, data export controls), implement a governance model with exit criteria, and negotiate contract clauses for data portability and migration assistance.

Integration complexity with legacy systems​

• Risk: Migrating mission‑critical systems (SAP, bespoke ERP) to Azure requires extensive re‑platforming and testing, particularly for latency‑sensitive or highly regulated workloads.
• Mitigation: Use phased migration patterns (rehost -> replatform -> refactor), proof‑of‑value projects, rigorous performance testing, and retain hybrid connectivity/backups during cutovers.

Data sovereignty and regulatory compliance​

• Risk: Customers operating in regulated markets (finance, healthcare, public sector) may face regulatory barriers to storing or processing data outside local jurisdictions.
• Mitigation: Employ regional Azure availability, sovereign cloud offerings, encryption and key‑management strategies that maintain control over data, and ensure solutions conform to local compliance frameworks.

Skills and delivery quality​

• Risk: The “10,000 certifications” ambition reduces risk only if certifications translate into deep operational competence, not merely badge counts.
• Mitigation: Emphasize role‑based training tied to measurable customer outcomes, continuous learning programs, and independent quality assessments or customer references.

Security and AI governance​

• Risk: Deploying automation and AI at scale (RPA+copilots) can surface new attack vectors, data leakage issues, and ethical risks (biased models).
• Mitigation: Integrate security by design (Microsoft Defender XDR, Sentinel), apply robust data governance and model‑audit trails, and use human‑in‑the‑loop processes for critical decisions.

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Practical guidance for IT leaders and procurement teams​

• Prioritize pilot projects that demonstrate end‑to‑end value: select one or two business processes to modernize using Azure, Microsoft 365 and WinActor/automation to measure ROI in 90–180 days.
• Define an exit and portability strategy up front: contractual language for data export, IP ownership, and migration support reduces long‑term risk.
• Insist on measurable skilling outcomes: certifications should be tied to role competencies and delivery experience; request team composition, certification lists and references as part of proposals.
• Demand security and compliance attestations: for regulated workloads, require detailed architectures, data flow diagrams and third‑party audit evidence.
• Use Microsoft partner program levers: explore co‑sell, marketplace offers, and Azure Consumption Commitments to obtain commercial incentives or migration credits. Industry partner playbooks show these mechanisms accelerate adoption when used strategically.

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Market context — partners, competition and what comes next​

The NTT DATA–Microsoft expansion fits a broader industry pattern where large global systems integrators deepen ties with hyperscalers to offer managed migration, AI, and sector-specific accelerators. Comparable moves by other SIs show similar emphasis on co‑selling, marketplace packaging, and consumption-driven commercial models. The emergence of specialized Microsoft units inside SIs (for example, dedicated Microsoft Cloud business units) underlines hyperscalers’ shift toward platformized partner ecosystems and “solutions as products” thinking. Two practical market implications:

• Customers will increasingly choose vendors able to deliver both cloud engineering and change management (skilling, process redesign) — not just lift‑and‑shift capability.
• Hyperscaler partner programs and specializations become a competitive filter; organizations should evaluate not just partner badges but demonstrable customer outcomes, specializations and vertical IP.

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A closer look at WinActor and everis knowler (technical role and fit)​

• WinActor: An RPA engine historically associated with NTT Advanced Technology; the partnership positions WinActor as an automation tool that integrates with Azure‑hosted back ends and Microsoft 365 workflows to eliminate repetitive user tasks and orchestration gaps. Effective adoption requires strong governance to prevent “automation sprawl” and ensure maintainability.
• everis knowler: A knowledge‑management solution that, when hosted on Azure and paired with Microsoft 365/Teams, can centralize organizational know‑how and surface relevant guidance inside user workflows. The practical benefit is reduced onboarding time and faster knowledge retrieval, but the success depends on taxonomy, governance and integration with identity and access controls.

Both components illustrate the alliance’s focus on combining productivity enhancements with backend automation—an approach that yields value quickly when targeted at high‑volume, low‑complexity processes.

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Flagging unverifiable or conditional claims​

• The press release’s target to “cultivate approximately 10,000 employees worldwide qualified with digital technologies and Microsoft cloud‑related certifications” is a public commitment; however, the actual achieved figure and timeline require later reporting or audit to confirm delivery. Treat this as a plan rather than a delivered metric unless corroborated by subsequent disclosures.
• Statements about future joint offerings, specific customer migrations, or the efficacy of agentic AI initiatives referenced in later NTT DATA materials reflect product roadmaps and pipeline opportunities rather than completed customer outcomes. These should be validated by customer case studies and technical post‑mortems as they occur.

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Strategic checklist for CIOs evaluating NTT DATA + Microsoft offers​

• Confirm the scope: which workloads, timelines, and SLAs will be covered by migration and managed services?
• Request completed customer case studies: ask for measurable KPIs (TCO reduction, performance improvements, RPA ROI).
• Audit security architecture: require architecture diagrams showing encryption, key management, identity flows and SIEM integration.
• Validate skills: request lists of certified team members, role descriptions and training roadmaps.
• Negotiate financial levers: explore consumption credits, co‑sell discounts, or marketplace pricing models to reduce migration cost spikes.

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Conclusion​

The NTT DATA–Microsoft expanded alliance is an archetypal hyperscaler‑plus‑system‑integrator play: combine global delivery scale, vertical IP and automation tools with Azure’s cloud platform and Microsoft 365 productivity stack to accelerate enterprise digital transformation. The announcement outlines a coherent value proposition — migration + managed services, workstyle modernization with Microsoft 365/Teams, automation via WinActor, and significant skilling investments — and is backed by official press materials from both partners. For IT decision makers, the partnership can deliver tangible gains when paired with disciplined governance, portability planning and a focus on measurable outcomes. Risks center on vendor dependency, integration complexity and the need to ensure certifications translate into delivery excellence. Those who evaluate offers with a practical checklist — emphasizing security, contractual portability, and proof points — will be best positioned to convert this alliance into real business value.
The long view: the partnership is not a short‑term marketing play but a structural alignment designed to scale Azure‑first transformation globally. Continued monitoring of delivery metrics, customer case studies and independent audits will be essential as the promise of faster digital transformation turns into operational reality.

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Source: BetaNews Microsoft partners with NTT DATA to boost public cloud for digital transformation