NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks have signed a multi-year strategic alliance aimed at helping organizations adopt AI securely while modernizing their cybersecurity operations. The agreement, announced Tuesday, targets $1 billion in joint business by the end of 2029 and marks Palo Alto Networks’ first strategic alliance of this kind with a global systems integrator.
The partnership combines Palo Alto Networks’ AI-powered security platforms with NTT DATA’s consulting, engineering, and managed services. Joint engineering teams will work on co-innovation and coordinated global delivery to help clients assess cyber risk, deploy AI safely, and continuously optimize their security posture.
A $1 Billion Bet on Secure AI Adoption
The alliance builds on the companies’ existing Frontier AI collaboration. It brings together Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 threat intelligence with NTT DATA’s cybersecurity expertise, AI governance framework, and managed services capabilities. More than 2,000 certified experts and dedicated Forward Deployed Engineers will support the initiative.
NTT DATA will get early access to new platform features through direct engineering collaboration, which the companies say will speed up delivery of AI security services to clients. The financial target of $1 billion in joint business by 2029 is ambitious, and whether it holds will depend on how quickly enterprise customers move past pilot projects into full-scale AI deployments.
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Initial solutions will focus on six strategic transformation areas: autonomous security operations centers, AI governance, identity security, Zero Trust and SASE architecture, resilient cloud infrastructure, and firewall modernization. These areas target highly regulated industries including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and the public sector.
What the Alliance Actually Delivers
The autonomous SOC offering uses agentic AI and managed services to help organizations detect, investigate, and respond to machine-speed cyber threats. The AI governance piece embeds security and risk management throughout the AI lifecycle, giving organizations more accountability and control over their AI initiatives.
Identity security will protect human, machine, and AI agent identities through a framework designed to discover, manage, and govern identities across the enterprise. The Zero Trust and SASE offering secures users, applications, and data across complex attack surfaces using AI-driven threat detection.
For cloud environments, the alliance promises improved visibility, compliance, and autonomous risk reduction across multi-cloud setups. Firewall modernization rounds out the portfolio, aimed at reducing complexity and strengthening enterprise security.
For the customers caught between board-level pressure to deploy AI and security teams worried about what that means for their attack surface, this kind of bundled offering could simplify procurement. Rather than stitching together point solutions from multiple vendors, enterprises get a single integrated approach from strategy through implementation and ongoing management.
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Leadership Weighs In on the Partnership
“AI is reshaping both business and cybersecurity, making deep ecosystem collaboration more important than ever,” said Nikesh Arora, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Palo Alto Networks. “Expanding our alliance with NTT DATA allows us to operationalize platformization at true global scale, helping enterprises eliminate legacy complexity and move fast without sacrificing safety.”
Abhijit Dubey, Chief Executive Officer and Chief AI Officer of NTT DATA, Inc., said the threat environment is changing at an unprecedented pace. “Organizations need a new approach to cyber resilience that combines AI-driven security, deep industry expertise and global scale,” he said. “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.”
NTT DATA brings over 7,500 cybersecurity professionals, more than 70 delivery centers, and 20+ Cyber Defense Centers to the collaboration. Palo Alto Networks reports 70,000+ customers using its platforms, which include network, cloud, security operations, AI, and identity solutions.
The companies did not disclose specific investment amounts or a timeline for when the first joint solutions would be commercially available. What’s clear is that both firms are positioning themselves for the next wave of enterprise spending on AI security, and they’re betting that customers will want one throat to choke when something goes wrong.
