September 2013 Vol. 11 No. 9

View from the Top

• John McCain, Chief Executive Officer, NTT DATA, Inc.

  

  Overview
  NTT DATA, Inc., founded in 2012, under Global One NTT DATA system, provides a wide range of IT services focused on the North American market from its base in the United States. It’s business endeavors include application development and support, business-process outsourcing, cloud services and staffing for a broad set of industries including financial services and insurance, manufacturing, life sciences and healthcare, and the public sector including federal, state, and local governments. We asked CEO John McCain to tell us about the objectives he has set for the company during his tenure, his specific strategies to generate profits and invest in human resources, and his core beliefs as head of NTT DATA, Inc.

Feature Articles: Activities Toward Service Incubation to Speed Up R&D of Service Systems

• Service Visualization to Achieve Faster Service Creation

  

  Abstract
  As part of efforts to improve our research and development (R&D) activities, we need to speed up our service-related R&D. These Feature Articles introduce various approaches for this, from visualizing services to conducting trials on XFARM (R&D cloud environment) that NTT Service Evolution Laboratories is working on.

• Wi-Fi LBS: Information Delivery Services Using Wi-Fi Access Point Location

  

  Abstract
  Wi-Fi location-based services (LBS) enable location-based information delivery and user monitoring for smartphone users by using Wi-Fi access point positioning data to reconfigure terminal and sensor data stored in the cloud. This article reports on Wi-Fi LBS which includes functions for service visualization, automatic (push-type) delivery of travel information, and communication for assumed application to tourist information services.

• Office in the Cloud: Providing Office ICT Environments through a Single Web Browser

  

  Abstract
  The spread of cloud computing in recent years and the introduction of HTML5 (hypertext markup language version 5) and WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) peripheral technologies have heightened expectations for a new application platform on the World Wide Web. This article introduces Office in the Cloud as a new cloud service visualized by NTT Service Evolution Laboratories to provide diverse office information and communication technology environments on a single terminal equipped with a web browser.

• Sweet Digital Home: Enhancing Family Life with HIKARI and Cloud

  

  Abstract
  To promote the further spread of the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network typified by the FLET’S HIKARI optical broadband service, there is a need for home services that can demonstrate the appeal of FTTH to general customers and persuade them to use HIKARI services over the long term. This article introduces the Sweet Digital Home (SDH) concept of visualizing and creating diverse home services to create a more comfortable family life. The goal here is to achieve advanced home services that are easy enough for anyone in the family to use based on a family cloud connected to the home via FTTH. This cloud will enable a wide range of family-related information to be collected and used across many services.

• SightX: Obtaining Information on a Scene by Pointing a Camera

  

  Abstract
  This article describes the SightX communication service, which gives the user access to information without requiring the use of language. SightX allows users to obtain information about objects that they see in front of them when they do not know the name of the object or when they feel uncomfortable speaking into a device for information retrieval. With SightX, the user simply points the camera of a smart device at an object to retrieve information about it.

• The XFARM Platform for Faster Service Creation

  

  Abstract
  The NTT Service Innovation Laboratory Group is cooperating with Group companies to construct a research and development (R&D) cloud platform called XFARM (pronounced “cross farm”) that is equipped with a set of service prototypes and a set of components such as processing engines to provide an environment for conducting demonstrations and trials outside the research laboratory. This is intended to achieve rapid implementation and verification of R&D technology trials. This article describes the XFARM platform for creating services on the cloud.

Global Standardization Activities

• Cloud Standardization Trends and Inter-cloud Techniques in ITU-T

  

  Abstract
  Study Group 13 (SG13) of the International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is reviewing architectures such as those of Future Networks and drawing up cloud standardization specifications in order to design the optimal network when providing services. This article introduces the ITU-T SG13 Recommendations that have been completed through cloud linkages and gives an overview of draft reports that are under review. Additionally, the concepts and specification details of inter-cloud techniques for implementing highly reliable cloud infrastructures being promoted, centering on Japan, are described.

Global Activities of NTT Group

• NTT DATA, Inc.

  

  Abstract
  On January 1, 2012, NTT DATA, Inc. integrated several companies under its brand name, including Keane, Intelligroup, MISI Company, The Revere Group, and Vertex. This move is aimed at enhancing the global brand the company has established in the markets of the United States, Europe, and India. This article presents the business fields in which the company is involved and shows case studies for them.