NTT Data Grows Expertise in Analytics, DevOps, Cloud
IT service firm buys AWS partner Flux7, agrees to resell GoodData platform
IT service company NTT Data Services is expanding its capabilities through an agreement to resell GoodData’s analytics platform and the acquisition of another IT service firm – and premier partner of Amazon Web Services (AWS) – Flux7.
The Lowdown: The two deals, both announced this week, give NTT Data – a subsidiary of Japan-based global systems integrator NTT Data Corp. – a greater reach into such growing areas as analytics, business intelligence, DevOps, and the cloud.
The Details: With Flux7, NTT Data is inheriting consulting expertise in such areas as cloud implementation and migration, automation, and DevOps, as well as Agile app development, particularly in verticals such as financial services, pharmaceuticals, software, manufacturing, and retail. It also is acquiring proprietary DevOps IP.
NTT Data will leverage the expertise with its own cloud lifecycle capabilities to bolster its strengths in the public cloud arena, particularly the AWS platform. The company will be better able to refactor applications for the cloud and expand its capabilities in microservices and serverless application architecture.
Aater Suleman, Flux7’s co-founder and CEO, will continue to lead the company’s day-to-day operations as part of NTT Data.
By reselling GoodData’s analytics platform, NTT Data will have a new tool for customers to better manage the huge amounts of data they’re generating in the Internet of Things (IoT) era. The company also will use GoodData’s analytics technology to power its own iQuattro industrial IoT platform that some Japanese manufacturers are using to run smart factories and create intelligent supply chains by getting precise, real-time visibility into the performance of everything from machines and factory lines to facilities.
Background: The acquisition of Flux7 follows similar deals by NTT Data, including its purchase of IT service firm Sierra Systems Group last year and Cognosante Consulting, a health care IT consulting and service specialist, in April. The company also becomes the second international IT service firm to resell GoodData products. GoodData kicked off its reseller program last year with a strategic partnership with TOTVS, a Brazilian software company.
The Buzz: “The acquisition of Flux7 will enhance the value we can deliver in AWS, DevOps, and Agile development capabilities, while aligning with our focus to drive digital services for our clients,” NTT Data CEO Bob Pryor said. “With an excellent brand, industry recognition, and impressive client base, as well as a strong record of growth, Flux7 is a strategic fit for our business and part of our ongoing strategy of growth through acquisition.”
“This opportunity will allow Flux7 and our clients to take advantage of NTT Data’s expanded portfolio and resources, as well as the depth and expertise of a top 10 global IT service provider,” Suleman said. “Access to NTT’s global R&D, applications, infrastructure, and investments in digital transformation and innovation will also enable us to leverage complementary resources that accelerate modernization initiatives for our clients and bring improvements to our employee culture.”
“GoodData’s analytics platform provides the best solution for handling the massive amount of data produced by the industrial IoT,” said Kazumasa Taninaka, head of NTT Data’s AI and IoT Division of Business Solutions Sector. “The ability to quickly analyze data produced by industrial machines and factory workers is instrumental to the success of the IoT and is becoming the backbone of the 21st-century factory floor. We only enter strategic business and technology alliances with the best of the best, and we’re excited to enter this one.”
“There is no better partner for helping to develop and extend the factory of the future than NTT Data,” said GoodData co-founder and CEO Roman Stanek. “Japan has long been at the forefront of manufacturing innovation and excellence, and together we’ll create solutions that enable companies to fully capitalize on the IoT, data analytics, and other advanced technologies.”
Related Links:
CHANNELNOMICS:
> NTT Data Buys into Health Data Management
> Flux7 Launches HPC Consulting Practice
