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NTT To launch cloud services before end-March 2010

Tony Chan | June 22, 2009 | 0 Comments

NTT is currently testing a new network-based PC desktop environment on a cloud platform which the operator is calling Setten, the Japanese word for ‘contact point’ or ‘interface.’

A total of 15 organizations, including logistics companies, educational institutes, non-profit organizations and other global operators, are jointly testing the platform as an alternative to conventional PC-embedded desktop environments. The aim is to provide a globally accessible, network-based desktop environment for greater efficiency, convenience and system availability, the company said.

The announcement comes a month after Green Telecom Live revealed the Japanese government’s plan to build a massive cloud infrastructure for e-government called the Kasumigaseki Cloud.

The NTT trial is expected to continue until August with full commercial services planned for before the end of NTT’s fiscal year ending 31 March.

The platform will provide operating systems, storage and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, including AdventNet K.K.’s Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, Zoho Show, Zoho Mail and NTT Resonant’s Business goo. The virtual desktop environment uses the Internet to provide access to office Web systems, email and file servers, and does it without and degradation of quality compared to real desktop environments, NTT said. The service will also offer access to productivity application software, Web mail and groupware as SaaS applications, and will also provide cross-applications features, such as editing and sending files from different applications. The company says the platform is also highly secure, featuring multiple authentication technologies.

The field test will also confirm system operability, identify any difficulties and study candidate SaaS applications.

NTT Com is looking to leverage its position as a major carrier to provide an end-to-end cloud platform, including the network and applications hosting infrastructure. According to the company, the Setten platform will be accessible from anywhere using a Web-enabled communication device. NTT Com believes that Setten’s launch later this fiscal year will spur the development of a market for cloud in Japan.

“Corporate customers are expected to use the platform to enhance the usage of their existing networks and resources, as well as to reduce new IT investments and operating costs,” the operator said. “NTT Com’s one-stop management of Setten’s virtual environment will reduce the IT operational management burdens on the customer side. In addition, the platform will facilitate closer collaboration with business partners by providing mutual on-demand access to a common network environment.”

Pending the successful completion of the field test, NTT Com intends to launch Setten under the company’s “BizCITY” concept of secure enterprise services provided on a SaaS platform. Starting with a selected range of services, the platform’s scale will be gradually expanded by adding new cloud technologies currently being developed by NTT, such as Web-based operating systems, multifactor authentication and open source gateways, and related technologies from general developers, the operator said. The plan includes the use of open interfaces for compatibility with a broad range of SaaS applications.

According to Japanese news agency, Nikkei, NTT is planning to invest as much as US$470 million into cloud computing research over the next three years.

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