Hani Nofal on Aligning Global IT Innovation with the UAE’s AI Vision
NTT DATA brings deep global technology expertise while operating in highly diverse local markets. How do you adapt global practices, platforms, and partnerships to meet the Middle East’s regulatory, cultural, and business needs?
NTT DATA combines its global expertise with strong regional capabilities to address the regulatory, cultural, and business requirements of the Middle East. Leveraging sovereign-by-design cloud foundations and compliance-focused architectures through its AWS Strategic Collaboration Agreement, NTT DATA is able to serve regulated industries effectively while aligning with local priorities.
The acquisition of Zero&One enhances NTT DATA’s local relevance, bringing in deep Middle Eastern cloud expertise and AWS specialization. This ensures that global best practices are effectively adapted to local regulatory and business requirements.
As the UAE accelerates its national AI strategy, how is NTT DATA leveraging its global data center expertise to meet growing demands for AI compute and advanced digital services?
As the UAE accelerates its national AI strategy, NTT DATA supports the growing demand for AI compute and digital infrastructure through AI-ready cloud and data center foundations built in collaboration with AWS.
These architectures are designed for high availability, scalability, and compliance, ensuring they can handle complex AI workloads and deliver national-scale digital services reliably and securely.
How does the Zero&One acquisition accelerate NTT DATA’s cloud modernization and AI-ready hybrid cloud strategy in the region?
This acquisition is part of our inorganic growth strategy, enabling us to rapidly build the cloud capabilities required for the region’s next phase.
Zero&One, a Dubai-born startup, brings proven local AWS expertise. By integrating it with NTT DATA’s global platforms, we accelerate modernization across the region as AWS expands its presence. At the same time, this move demonstrates our commitment to invest in UAE talent and strengthen the local technology ecosystem, while delivering global-grade services.
What are the most strategic technology priorities shaping boardroom agendas today, particularly around AI, cloud, and data?
Boardroom agendas today focus on four strategic technology priorities.
First, AI-driven cloud transformation: Enterprises are modernizing legacy systems using generative and agentic AI to unlock new business models and operational efficiencies.
Second, industry cloud platforms: These enable faster, compliant digital transformation through prebuilt components tailored to specific sectors such as healthcare, finance, and government.
Third, data sovereignty and regulated cloud models: Organizations are increasingly prioritizing privacy, cross-border data management, and compliance requirements to ensure trust and governance in digital operations.
Fourth, AI-enabled customer experience modernization: Organizations are investing in intelligent, automated CX platforms, such as Amazon Connect, to enhance engagement and efficiency.
How is NTT DATA helping Middle East enterprises strengthen cybersecurity while meeting growing data protection requirements?
NTT DATA enhances the cybersecurity posture of Middle Eastern enterprises through secure-by-design cloud architectures developed under its AWS partnership, delivering compliant and scalable environments for sensitive workloads.
It also addresses stringent data protection requirements through sovereign cloud models that ensure data residency, autonomy, and regulatory adherence—a critical capability for sectors such as government, financial services, and healthcare.
NTT DATA’s managed services integrate continuous security, compliance, and AI-driven monitoring across operations. Additionally, Zero&One’s regional expertise further strengthens secure cloud migration, modernization, and operational capabilities throughout the Middle East.
