NTT DATA and Ericsson Team Up to Scale Private 5G and Physical AI for Enterprises

Key Terms

private 5g technical

A private 5G network is a company-owned wireless system that uses 5G technology to give an organization its own fast, secure, and low-delay connection, like having a private highway for data instead of using a public road. Investors care because it can boost productivity, enable automation and new services, reduce risk from public networks, and create revenue or cost-saving opportunities for equipment makers, system integrators, and operators building or supporting these networks.

edge ai technical

Edge AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that process data directly on local devices or nearby servers rather than sending information to distant data centers. This allows for faster decision-making and real-time responses, similar to how a home security camera can instantly detect motion without needing to connect to a remote server. For investors, edge AI represents a growing trend toward more efficient, responsive technology that can create new opportunities across various industries.

physical ai technical

Physical AI combines artificial intelligence with physical devices or environments, enabling machines to interact with and adapt to the real world in a human-like way. It matters to investors because it can lead to smarter robots, autonomous vehicles, or advanced sensors that improve efficiency and open new markets, potentially creating significant business opportunities and competitive advantages.

predictive maintenance technical

Predictive maintenance involves using data and technology to monitor equipment or machinery in real time, identifying potential problems before they cause failures or breakdowns. By predicting when maintenance is needed, it helps prevent costly repairs and downtime. For investors, it highlights how companies can reduce expenses, improve efficiency, and maintain reliable operations, which can positively impact financial performance.

autonomous operations technical

Autonomous operations are business activities carried out largely by machines, software or artificial intelligence with little or no human oversight, such as self-driving vehicles, automated factories, or software that runs routine decisions. Investors care because these systems can cut labor costs, speed up production, and scale faster like a self-driving car fleet compared with human drivers, but they also introduce technology, safety and regulatory risks that affect profitability and valuation.

• Private 5G delivered as a fully managed global service with consistent security and operations worldwide
• Edge AI and physical AI embedded directly into enterprise connectivity for real-time, autonomous decision-making
• Together, the companies help enterprises move from pilots to globally scalable, production-ready solutions

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NTT DATA, a global leader in AI, digital business and technology services, and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced a multi-year strategic partnership to accelerate enterprise adoption of private 5G and unlock advanced edge AI and physical AI use cases. As organizations look to embed intelligence at the edge across global operations, the partnership will enable AI-driven, outcome-focused transformation.

NTT DATA x Ericsson

By combining Ericsson’s Private 5G and Edge platforms with NTT DATA’s full-stack enterprise network services, wireless network expertise, IT/OT security and managed services, the companies will deliver industry-ready solutions that help enterprises deploy private 5G networks and deliver business outcomes at a global scale with confidence.

The partnership will focus on four priority areas:

• Global Private 5G managed services at scale: NTT DATA will act as one of Ericsson’s key global system integration and managed services providers, delivering Private 5G as a fully managed service with consistent architecture, operations and security worldwide.
• AI embedded directly into enterprise connectivity: NTT DATA Edge AI agents will run on Ericsson’s enterprise Edge platforms, enabling real-time intelligence and autonomous decision-making where data is generated.
• Repeatable industry solutions: The companies will be able to deliver proven private 5G, edge AI and physical AI use cases across manufacturing, mining, ports, airports, energy, transportation and smart cities, helping enterprises accelerate deployment and realize measurable ROI.
• Unified global go-to-market: Joint sales, marketing and delivery will give enterprises a single, consistent path to deployment, reduce vendor complexity and speed time to value.

“Private 5G is the backbone for scaling AI in production, where autonomous systems must operate reliably and at scale, but integration complexity often remains the final hurdle,” said Alejandro Cadenas, Associate Vice-President of Worldwide Telco Research at IDC. “The combined expertise of NTT DATA and Ericsson seamlessly integrates edge AI and physical AI with enhanced connectivity, overcoming operational, scalability and accountability challenges and accelerating the deployment of AI with confidence.”

“As enterprises adopt AI at the edge, they need partners who can bring connectivity, intelligence and security together in a way that actually works in production,” said Shahid Ahmed, Global Head of Edge Services, NTT DATA, Inc. “Together with Ericsson, we can deploy these solutions faster, operate them at scale and deliver outcomes. Private 5G gives enterprises the foundation they need to achieve real, measurable impact with edge AI and physical AI deployments.”

“Ericsson has been advancing enterprise connectivity for over a decade. This extends that capability to support edge AI and physical AI at scale across industries,” said Asa Tamsons, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Enterprise Wireless Solutions, Ericsson. “By combining our global platforms with NTT DATA’s engineering and managed services, industry expertise and AI-driven operations, enterprises can move from experimentation to always-on, production-grade operations.”

The partnership will initially focus on high-impact use cases across industries, including:

• Manufacturing: Automated quality inspection, predictive maintenance and real-time safety monitoring using sensor and vision data.
• Transportation, ports and logistics: Autonomous operations driven by real-time vehicle and asset data for dynamic routing, tracking and safety.
• Energy and mining: Remote and autonomous operations, intelligent inspection and AI-driven monitoring in complex and hazardous environments.
• Smart cities: Intelligent traffic management, public safety monitoring and real-time optimization of energy and municipal services.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA is a $30+ billion business and technology services leader, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We are committed to accelerating client success and positively impacting society through responsible innovation. We are one of the world’s leading AI and digital infrastructure providers, with unmatched capabilities in enterprise-scale AI, cloud, security, connectivity, data centers and application services. Our consulting and industry solutions help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. As a Global Top Employer, we have experts in more than 70 countries. We also offer clients access to a robust ecosystem of innovation centers as well as established and start-up partners. NTT DATA is part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion each year in R&D. Visit us at nttdata.com

About Ericsson

Ericsson's high-performing networks provide connectivity for billions of people every day. For nearly 150 years, we've been pioneers in creating technology for communication. We offer mobile communication and connectivity solutions for service providers and enterprises. Together with our customers and partners, we make the digital world of tomorrow a reality. www.ericsson.com

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Media Contact

Lori.bosio@global.ntt

Source: NTT DATA