AWS and NTT Data team up to drive legacy IT modernization in Europe

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and NTT Data have announced a new partnership aimed at modernizing legacy systems for enterprises across Europe.

The multi-year deal will see the duo team up to support enterprise IT overhauls across the region, with the goal of supercharging cloud adoption and agentic AI innovation.

Abhijit Dubey, President and CEO of NTT Data, said the agreement will help enterprises “move beyond experimentation” with technologies such as AI, allowing them to scale “impactfully and responsibly”.

"Cloud and AI are central to enterprise transformation," Dubey commented.

"This collaboration underscores our commitment to deliver secure, industry-specific solutions that create tangible business value for our clients worldwide."

Four priorities for European cloud

The agreement has four priorities, the duo said. The first is AI-driven cloud transformation, which focuses on migrating and modernizing on-premises workloads on AWS, using generative and agentic AI to create new ways of doing business.

The second is delivering consistent, reliable industry cloud solutions via AWS, taking advantage of NTT Data’s Industry Cloud. The latter aims to develop dozens of new cloud solutions using AI for specific industries and sectors, including finance, healthcare, public sector, and manufacturing.

Elsewhere, the partnership aims to spur AI and data innovation in secure, compliant cloud environments. This will see the launch of new sandboxes and innovation labs to help develop new solutions.

Sovereign cloud for Europe

The fourth priority lies in digital sovereignty via AWS’ European Sovereign Cloud, with NTT Data as a launch partner. Alongside that, NTT Data has formed a dedicated AWS business group and will certify an additional 10,000 AWS experts over the next three years, doubling the existing number.

"This collaboration will help more enterprise organizations unlock the potential of the cloud and AI to modernize their operations and accelerate innovation," said Greg Pearson, VP AWS Global Sales.

"Through industry-aligned architecture platforms, agentic AI ecosystems, AI-driven customer experience and support in meeting evolving regulatory requirements through the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, we’re enhancing their ability to transform legacy workloads and build the next generation of digital experiences on AWS."

Data sovereignty in the spotlight

Companies are increasingly shifting to local data centers for cloud and AI roll-outs amid a wider push for digital sovereignty. This has been a long-running trend that’s gained significant traction over the last 18 months, largely due to geopolitical conditions.

A recent survey of British tech professionals showed many have grown concerned about US cloud providers cutting access to services at the behest of the Trump administration.

The research noted that six-in-ten respondents believe data sovereignty is now a strategic priority.

Earlier this month, AWS announced general availability of its European Sovereign Cloud, revealing plans for a wider expansion across the continent. Microsoft and SAP have announced similar projects.

Like Microsoft in early 2025, AWS has had to confirm that its European Sovereign Cloud would be truly European – and even promised it would be fully operated by EU citizens with no crucial dependencies on non-EU infrastructure.

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