NTT Com jointly tests cloud platform

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NTT Communications (NTT Com) announced Wednesday that it has begun jointly field-testing a network-based PC desktop environment on a cloud platform that NTT Com expects to launch within the current fiscal year ending next March. The test is planned to last until August.

The envisioned cloud platform is named 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 platform will provide operating systems, storage and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, including AdventNet KK’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, with no loss in quality compared to real desktop environments. Productivity application software, web mail and groupware are available as SaaS applications. Mashup applications combining multiple functions are also possible, such as editing and sending the files via different applications. Highly secure access to the platform is ensured with multifactor authentication technologies.

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

Cloud computing is the use of server-stored computing services provided via the Internet to access information and applications conventionally stored in a computer. Corporations have been eyeing such platforms as a way to introduce IT systems more easily and reduce system operating costs.

NTT Com will leverage its position as a trusted carrier to provide a cloud platform that encompasses everything from applications to networks, with a focus on high quality, high reliability and high added value. 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. 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 basis for global access anyplace, anytime. 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 plan includes the use of open interfaces for compatibility with a broad range of SaaS applications.