NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks have expanded their partnership into a three-year global strategic alliance focused on AI security and managed services, targeting $1 billion in joint business by 2029.
The agreement, Palo Alto Networks’ first strategic alliance of its kind with a global systems integrator, will combine the vendor’s cybersecurity platforms and Unit 42 threat intelligence with NTT DATA’s consulting, engineering and managed services capabilities.
Alliance centers on AI security and managed services
Under the agreement, NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks plan to jointly engineer and deliver security offerings spanning strategy, implementation and ongoing managed services.
More than 2,000 Palo Alto Networks-certified professionals will support the initiative alongside dedicated Forward Deployed Engineers.
NTT DATA will also receive early access to new Palo Alto Networks platform features through direct engineering collaboration, potentially allowing the services provider to bring new AI security capabilities to customers more quickly.
“AI is reshaping both business and cybersecurity, making deep ecosystem collaboration more important than ever,” Palo Alto Networks Chairman and CEO Nikesh Arora said.
NTT DATA brings a broader cybersecurity workforce of more than 7,500 professionals to the partnership, supported by more than 70 delivery centers and over 20 Autonomous Cyber Defense Centers globally.
Six security priorities target enterprise AI transformation
Initial offerings will focus on customers in highly regulated and critical sectors, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector.
The companies identified six primary transformation areas:
- autonomous security operations centers
- AI governance
- identity security
- Zero Trust and SASE
- resilient cloud environments
- firewall modernization
NTT DATA brings global cybersecurity scale to partnership
The offerings are intended to address security challenges created by increasingly complex infrastructure as enterprises introduce AI applications and autonomous agents.
“AI is redefining every aspect of the enterprise, but it is also transforming the threat landscape at unprecedented speed. Organizations need a new approach to cyber resilience that combines AI-driven security, deep industry expertise and global scale,” said Abhijit Dubey, CEO and chief AI officer, NTT DATA, Inc.
“Together with Palo Alto Networks, we’re bringing AI-powered cybersecurity innovation together with NTT DATA’s consulting, engineering and managed services capabilities to help clients securely accelerate AI adoption and stay ahead of evolving threats.”
The alliance also builds on the companies’ existing Frontier AI collaboration, bringing NTT DATA’s AI governance and managed services capabilities together with Unit 42 threat intelligence.
Integrators and service providers take advantage of new opportunities
For the channel, the deal underscores the growing convergence of cybersecurity platforms, AI governance and managed services.
Large systems integrators and service providers are increasingly positioned not simply to deploy security products, but to help enterprises govern AI deployments and manage the resulting security environments over time.
That is opening a new avenue for partners of all sizes to go deeper with existing customers and market a differentiated approach to new business as well.