Best Cloud-Based Service | NTT Communications |
| Last year's winner: | NTT Communications |
| Best International Wholesale Carrier | NTT Communications |
| Last year's winner: | BT Global Services |
| Best Data Center Services Provider | NTT Communications |
| Last year's winner: | Equinix |
| Major shareholder: | NTT Holding |
| President & CEO: | Tetsuya Shoji |
| Business segments: | Network services, cloud services, data center services, security management, unified communication services |
| Key stats (end of FY, 31 March 2015): | Consolidated operating revenue: 1.2 trillion yen, up 2.7%; consolidated net income: 77.2 billion yen, down 13.1% |
This is the third year in a row NTT Com has claimed Telecom Asia’s Best Cloud-Based Service prize, but it’s the first time the carrier has triumphed in the Wholesale and Data Center Services categories. That’s a testament to its ability to bring formidable competition to what is already two reasonably crowded sectors, but at the end of the day, as far as NTT Com is concerned, it’s all being driven by the company’s strong and unique cloud vision.
NTT Com said its “Global Cloud Vision” is “a guiding principle for all services of NTT Com for enterprise customers. Specifically, with regard to what is called ‘Carrier Cloud’, we are moving forward with services that strengthen the links between cloud and networks. This is how we aim to differentiate ourselves from other cloud players as a telecom carrier.”
In practical terms, that means leveraging NTT Com’s strength as a telecom carrier to help enterprise customers optimize their ICT environments, says Akiko Kudo, NTT Com’s VP of public relations and corporate planning. “We achieve this by supporting migration of their on-premises ICT environments to cloud and/or colocation on a global scale, and combining that with other services such as network, security, application and managed ICT.”
There’s also the matter of leveraging cutting-edge technology such as SDN and NFV to give customers unprecedented flexibility to activate their own cloud services and pay on a per-use basis. In the last 12 months, NTT Com expanded its cloud portfolio, launching “Cloudn” and “Enterprise Cloud” outside of Japan, offering SaaS-based enterprise e-mail in Taiwan and on-demand NFV functionality.
NTT Com also credits its awards sweep this year to some savvy acquisitions in web conferencing, data center and SDN/NFV services to grow the carrier’s brand catalogue.
And of course there’s always the network itself. NTT Com points out it is participating in the planned Asia Pacific Gateway subsea cable system, as well as the Asia Submarine-cable Express extension to Cambodia, to help keep up with traffic demands. “In addition, we built new IP backbone PoPs in emerging markets including Brunei and Bangkok in 2014.”
Result: NTT Com offers services in 196 countries, operates more than 130 data centers, runs one of the world’s largest IP backbones and is now Asia’s largest network wholesaler.