NTT DATA has expanded its AI Factory network with new facilities in Singapore and Paris, extending its presence across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The new locations add to its existing sites in Plano, Texas, and Riyadh, while a separate facility in Munich provides an environment for organisations to test their own AI models, data and workloads in production conditions.
The AI Factory sites are designed to help business and technology teams assess whether artificial intelligence projects that have succeeded in pilot programmes can be deployed across wider operations. Organisations can evaluate infrastructure architecture, security, governance, workload placement, performance and costs before making larger investment decisions.
Each facility combines NTT DATA’s consulting and technical services with technologies from partners including Cisco and NVIDIA. The programme also includes discovery workshops, technical reviews, proof-of-concept planning and solution design.
The expansion comes as businesses continue to face challenges in moving AI projects from limited trials into regular operations. Infrastructure limitations, security requirements, governance concerns and operating costs can slow wider adoption.
NTT DATA’s facilities will allow clients to test AI applications across areas including employee productivity, customer experience, intelligent operations, cybersecurity, networking, software development and industry-specific business processes.
The Munich facility has a distinct role within the network. Located inside NTT Global Data Centres’ Munich 2 data centre, it allows organisations to run their own AI assets in a production environment rather than a demonstration setting. This gives businesses an opportunity to assess how systems perform under operational conditions involving data controls, latency, resilience and budget limits.
“AI at scale is ultimately about turning intelligence into measurable business impact,” said Dilip Kumar, President, Technology Solutions at NTT DATA. He said organisations need to balance innovation with responsibility and make informed decisions about where AI can create value and how it can be deployed sustainably and economically.
Cisco is supporting the initiative through its work with NVIDIA on infrastructure for AI deployments. Cassie Roach, Global Vice President, AI Infrastructure and Connectivity Partner Sales at Cisco, said enterprises need secure and resilient infrastructure that brings together performance, security and operations while maintaining control over data and AI costs.
Chris Barnard, Vice President of Networking and Infrastructure Services at IDC, said AI deployment requires infrastructure, data, security and operations to work together, supported by the right technology partners.
