NTT invests in the backbone of digital transformation:People
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. Headquartered in Tokyo, they employ over 330,000 people and encompass many subsidiary companies.
Over many years, NTT's IT architecture grew significantly. This created technology sprawl, with many different applications and processes being used across different teams and companies under the NTT umbrella in Japan.
"We had more than 115 companies, 85 systems, and over 1,000 interfaces. Managing everything manually was simply not feasible," said Risa Masuda, Communications Manager at NTT.
NTT decided to embark on an ambitious digital transformation of many processes. However, in order to properly plan and manage such a large-scale transformation, they needed a single view of their technology and processes, and they needed to understand all dependencies and how everything interconnected.
"As our architecture grew, it became nearly impossible to maintain a comprehensive overview using just Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations," Masuda explained.
Managing change and keeping people on board with the changes was even more of a challenge for NTT than digitization.
"Standardizing technology and processes was complex, but the most challenging aspect of our transformation was managing change, especially in terms of shifting people’s mindsets," said Masuda. "Getting people comfortable with new tools and processes was critical to our success."
"At the beginning of transformation, people weren't used to using new, standardized tools, because we had been relying on older systems for so long," Masuda said. "Now, after a year, I think people are much more accepting of the changes. After seeing how much more efficient operations are, they're embracing the new global standards we've implemented to keep us competitive."
Investing in people pays dividends, when asked what advice she would give to other organizations going through digital transformation, Masuda remarked.
"People are the true backbone of digital transformation. SAP LeanIX and SAP Signavio understand the human element of transformation and recognize the need to get everyone on board."