NTT Global Data Centers: Secure Colocation & Hybrid Cloud Solutions

This buying guide provides an in-depth evaluation of NTT Global Data Centers, a premier provider of colocation and wholesale data center solutions. As the world’s third-largest data center operator, NTT offers a vast global footprint spanning North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. This guide is designed to help IT leaders, infrastructure architects, and procurement professionals understand where NTT excels in the competitive colocation landscape. You will learn about their hyperscale capabilities, robust connectivity options, and the specific business requirements needed to leverage their global platform. Whether you are looking to consolidate on-premises servers or build a globally distributed hybrid cloud architecture, this guide details the technical and operational considerations essential for an informed decision.

• Global Footprint and Scale: Access to over 500,000 square meters of colocation space across 20+ countries, ensuring data residency and proximity to major markets.
• Hyperscale Infrastructure: Purpose-built facilities designed to support high-density workloads (up to 30kW+ per rack) with advanced cooling technologies.
• Carrier-Neutral Connectivity: A vast ecosystem of network providers and the NTT Global IP Network, providing superior transit options and reduced latency.
• Operational Excellence and SLAs: Industry-leading 99.999% uptime guarantees on power and environmental systems, backed by standardized global operational procedures.
• Sustainable Data Centers: Commitment to renewable energy sourcing and high PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) ratings to help customers meet ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals.
• Smart Hands Services: 24/7 on-site technical support for hardware installations, cable management, and troubleshooting, reducing the need for customer travel.
• Advanced Security: Multi-layered physical security including 24/7 CCTV, biometric scanners, and rigorous access control protocols.

• Financial Services Low-Latency Trading: A global investment bank utilizes NTT’s London and Tokyo facilities to host high-frequency trading platforms, benefiting from direct proximity to major financial exchanges and ultra-low latency fiber.
• Media & Content Delivery: A streaming service provider uses NTT’s edge locations to cache content closer to end-users, leveraging NTT’s massive IP backbone to handle traffic spikes during major releases.
• Disaster Recovery (DR) and Continuity: A healthcare provider maintains their primary production environment in an NTT Dallas facility with a synchronous DR site in NTT’s Chicago data center, ensuring zero data loss and high availability.
• AI/ML Research: A technology firm deploys high-density liquid-cooled racks in an NTT wholesale suite to support GPU-intensive AI training models, utilizing the facility’s high power-per-sq-ft capabilities.

NTT typically employs a transparent, enterprise-grade pricing structure:

• Space (Monthly Recurring): Charges based on the number of racks, square footage of a private cage, or dedicated wholesale suite.
• Power (Consumption or Fixed): Pricing is usually based on a "Power Draw" model (kW) or "Metered Power," where customers pay for actual electricity used plus a multiplier for cooling and infrastructure.
• Cross-Connects: Flat monthly fees for physical connections to carriers, other tenants, or cloud on-ramps.
• Set-up/NRC (Non-Recurring Costs): Initial fees for cage construction, rack installation, and initial cabling.
• Smart Hands: Available as a monthly retainer (discounted rate) or on-demand hourly billing for technical tasks.
• Contract Terms: Standard contracts are 3–5 years, with wholesale/hyperscale agreements often extending to 10+ years.

Before deploying hardware within an NTT facility, customers must verify the following:

• Rack Compatibility: Standard 19-inch racks are typical, but custom dimensions must be cleared for floor load capacity and airflow management.
• Power Requirements: Specification of A+B redundant power feeds (e.g., 208V, 415V) and plug types (e.g., L6-30P).
• Cooling Needs: Alignment with ASHRAE standards; customers must ensure equipment is configured for front-to-back airflow (hot aisle/cold aisle containment).
• Cabling Standards: Use of specific fiber (OM4/OS2) or copper (Cat6A) grades for internal cross-connects.
• Network Equipment: Routers and switches must support the handoffs provided by NTT’s GDCI or chosen carriers (e.g., 10G/100G Ethernet).

To successfully partner with NTT, organizations should ensure the following business prerequisites are met:

• Capacity Planning Expertise: Organizations need internal facilities or IT infrastructure teams capable of projecting long-term power and rack-space requirements to avoid over-provisioning or mid-contract expansion friction.
• Vendor Management: Ability to manage a global master service agreement (MSA) while coordinating with local site contacts for physical access and equipment delivery.
• Financial Readiness: Budgetary approval for long-term capital or operational expenditure, as colocation contracts typically span 3 to 10 years.
• Logistics Coordination: A defined process for "Smart Hands" coordination, ensuring that remote teams can effectively communicate technical instructions to on-site NTT technicians.
• Governance and Compliance Alignment: Internal legal and audit teams must be prepared to review NTT’s SOC and ISO reports to ensure they meet the organization’s specific risk management frameworks.

A typical implementation for a new colocation footprint follows this timeline:

• Phase 1: Discovery & Design (2–4 Weeks): Evaluation of power density (kW per rack), cooling requirements, and network topology. Selection of specific data center halls and cage layouts.
• Phase 2: Contracting & Procurement (4–8 Weeks): Legal review of the MSA and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Finalizing power pricing and space commitments.
• Phase 3: Fit-Out & Setup (4–12 Weeks): Installation of physical racks, cages, and structured cabling. This phase varies significantly based on the complexity of the custom build-out.
• Phase 4: Connectivity & Migration (2–6 Weeks): Establishing cross-connects to carriers and cloud on-ramps. Physical migration of hardware (lift-and-shift) or deployment of new equipment.
• Phase 5: Go-Live & Handover (1 Week): Final testing of redundant power feeds, environmental monitoring setup, and training on the customer portal.

NTT provides a tiered support structure designed for mission-critical operations:

• Global Service Desk (GSD): A centralized, 24/7/365 point of contact for incidents, service requests, and facility information.
• Customer Portal: A comprehensive digital platform for managing access lists, viewing real-time power/environmental metrics, and raising support tickets.
• Smart Hands & Eyes: On-site technicians capable of performing physical tasks like racking/stacking, power cycling, and patch cabling.
• Project Management: Dedicated project managers for large-scale migrations or custom build-outs.
• Professional Services: Consulting services for network design, cloud migration strategy, and infrastructure optimization.
• Documentation: Extensive facility specifications, compliance reports, and "as-built" documentation provided upon handover.

Integration with NTT focuses on both physical and digital connectivity:

• Global Data Center Interconnect (GDCI): A software-defined platform allowing customers to provision private connections to cloud providers and other NTT locations globally.
• Carrier-Neutral Ecosystem: Access to hundreds of Tier-1 and Tier-2 carriers via physical cross-connects (Fiber, Coax, or Copper).
• API Access: NTT provides APIs for their customer portal, allowing enterprises to integrate power consumption data and ticketing systems into their own DCIM (Data Center Infrastructure Management) or ITSM tools.
• Internet Exchange (IX) Points: Direct integration with major global internet exchanges to reduce latency and transit costs.
• Cloud On-Ramps: Pre-provisioned, low-latency paths to AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, and Google Cloud Interconnect.

NTT Global Data Centers maintains some of the highest security standards in the industry:

• Physical Security: 24/7 on-site security staff, perimeter fencing, vehicle barriers, mantraps, and multi-factor biometric access at all entry points.
• Compliance Certifications: Facilities are typically certified for ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, and PCI DSS.
• Regional Standards: Adherence to HIPAA (US), FISC (Japan), and GDPR (Europe) requirements depending on the specific site location.
• Environmental Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of temperature, humidity, and leak detection to ensure hardware longevity and performance.
• Fire Suppression: Advanced VESDA (Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus) and dual-interlock pre-action dry pipe fire suppression systems.