AI-powered Software-Defined Infrastructure – SDI from NTT DATA and Cisco is designed to give overstretched IT teams a faster, surer way to modernise their estates without tearing out what already works. By embedding advanced analytics and large-language-model automation directly into Cisco networks, data-centre fabrics and collaboration tools, the service keeps infrastructure aligned with changing business needs instead of the other way round.
Why it matters
Most organisations still depend on ageing, manually maintained assets that limit agility. Recent industry surveys show eight in ten leaders believe legacy systems slow innovation. While only 13 percent feel ready to exploit AI fully. SDI tackles both issues at once. It lets companies layer AI intelligence across existing hardware and software. By doing so, they can move toward an AI-ready posture without a disruptive rip-and-replace project.
Core capabilities
- Outcome-based success plans. Each engagement starts with measurable business goals and shared accountability. This ensure the technology is judged on the value it delivers rather than on uptime statistics alone.
- AI-driven reliability. Machine-learning models watch device logs, telemetry and user patterns to predict failures, automate fixes and schedule maintenance before issues escalate.
- Smart licence management. Continuous entitlement tracking prevents over-spend and compliance gaps by automatically matching licences to actual consumption.
- Business-focused governance. Policy engines translate strategic goals, security, customer experience, innovation into enforceable rules that remain consistent across clouds and on-premises assets.
- Seamless digital access. A secure web and mobile portal gives stakeholders a real-time view of risks, requests, costs and AI-generated improvement insights.
What clients gain
- Up to 30 percent lower operational costs through automated incident resolution and optimised resource usage.
- Faster deployment of new digital services because network, compute and security settings are orchestrated as code rather than configured device by device.
- Continuous compliance with regulatory and cyber-security requirements, backed by auditable AI recommendations.
- An incremental path to AI adoption, organisations can pilot automation in one domain, prove its value, then extend coverage across the estate at their own pace.
After three decades of collaboration, NTT DATA and Cisco have recast their joint services to meet today’s urgency for AI-ready, software-defined foundations. The new SDI offering is available worldwide, giving enterprises a pragmatic route to modern infrastructure and the competitive edge that comes with it in around 350 well-spent words.
