NTT DATA Acquires EXAH to Expand Salesforce and AI Capabilities Across MEA

NTT DATA, a global leader in digital business and technology services, today announced its acquisition of EXAH, a leading Salesforce Consulting Partner and AI implementation specialist. This strategic move is set to deliver an end-to-end Salesforce and AI delivery experience to customers across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, enhancing NTT DATA's local expertise with EXAH's deep technical skills and proven record of customer-focused Salesforce delivery.

Salesforce plays a key role in NTT DATA’s growth strategy, providing a unified view of customer data that enables personalized experiences and efficient service delivery. AI-powered insights further enhance operations by automating workflows, predicting customer behavior, and supporting smarter decision-making. The acquisition of EXAH strengthens NTT DATA’s commitment to expanding its cloud-based customer engagement capabilities within the Salesforce ecosystem across the MEA region.

With over 20 years of partnership and more than 3,500 Salesforce projects worldwide, NTT DATA’s expertise is recognized through four consecutive Salesforce Partner Innovation Awards. This acquisition marks a strategic step toward delivering locally relevant solutions and reinforcing market leadership.

Alan Turnley-Jones, CEO of NTT DATA in Middle East and Africa, said, "EXAH’s team of experts and their strong reputation within the Salesforce partner ecosystem make them an ideal addition to NTT DATA. This acquisition allows us to provide greater value to our clients by combining EXAH’s expertise with NTT DATA’s global capabilities and strategic partnerships. Together, we are committed to meeting our clients’ needs with innovative solutions that enhance customer engagement and drive business growth.”

"Delivering exceptional customer value through innovation is our founding principle, and we’re proud to join NTT DATA’s global team to drive ever-growing value for our clients and partners across the African market and beyond," said Tiaan le Roux, Managing Director of EXAH.

Turnley-Jones continued, "Integration is everything in today’s technology landscape. In 2023, our acquisition of Apisero, a global MuleSoft consulting firm, aimed to strengthen our ability to connect clients' technology across voice, digital, and CRM channels, including Amazon Connect. With EXAH, we deepen our Salesforce expertise across all stages - from integration to post-implementation support - ensuring local expertise is always on hand for our clients."

Adding EXAH to the NTT DATA family also creates new opportunities for career growth and skill diversification within NTT DATA, especially in Salesforce and related technologies. This acquisition aligns with NTT DATA's strategic focus on customer engagement, identifying market needs, and fostering local skills development. As part of this commitment, NTT DATA has recently launched a young talent program to build grassroots Salesforce skills and mentor the next generation of experts.

With EXAH, NTT DATA is poised to bring even more robust solutions to its clients across the MEA region, combining global experience with in-country expertise for unparalleled customer service and engagement.

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 50 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

NPCI and Network International Partner to Enable Acceptance of QR Code-based UPI Payments Across Its Merchants in the UAE

• NPCI International partners with Network International to enable UPI QR payment acceptance across its merchants in the UAE
• Partnership to strengthen existing UPI merchant acceptance network in the UAE
• Facilitate seamless and secure cross-border merchant transactions for Indians travelling to the UAE

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) in partnership with Network International (Network), a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, has enabled the acceptance of QR code-based Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments via Network’s point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the UAE.

This initiative ensures seamless and secure transactions for Indian tourists and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) across Network International’s vast merchant network in the UAE. Network has over 200,000 POS terminals across 60,000+ merchants in sectors including retail, hospitality, transport, and supermarkets among others. UPI acceptance will be rolled out progressively, covering a wide range of establishments from retail stores and dining outlets, as well as tourist and leisure attractions including Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates.

The number of Indian tourists travelling to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is projected to increase to 9.8 million in 2024, with the UAE anticipating 5.29 million arrivals from India. The growth is driven by various factors including business and leisure. By enabling UPI acceptance through its POS terminals, Network will provide a QR-based safe and secure method for facilitating cross-border payments. This will allow Indian tourists and NRIs with Indian bank accounts to use UPI for payments across Network’s POS terminals in the UAE.

Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International, said, “Our partnership with Network International will deepen UPI’s presence in the UAE. By growing UPI payment acceptance across merchants in the UAE, we are not only providing Indian travellers with a seamless and familiar payment experience, but also promoting the use of innovative digital payment solutions internationally. This collaboration exemplifies our commitment to driving technological advancement and creating a more connected global payment ecosystem.”

Nandan Mer, Group CEO of Network International, said, “We are delighted to partner with NPCI International Payments Limited to strengthen the payments ecosystem for Indians visiting or working in the UAE. By enabling customers to pay in their preferred method, we are one step closer to realising our vision to empower businesses and merchants with the latest payment technologies and strengthening the vision of a digital UAE. We are confident that this partnership will drive a robust digital payments ecosystem in the country that will increase cashless transactions.”

Jamal Al Nassai, Group Managing Director for Merchant Services – Middle East and North Africa at Network International, commented, “The launch of this partnership is a milestone for our extensive merchant network, which stands to benefit immensely from the new payment method. As the leading acquirer in the region, Network will leverage its 30-years’ legacy of technological innovation to enable acceptance of UPI-based payment apps to its merchants to drive global interoperability.”

About Network International

Network International is the Middle East and Africa’s largest and leading digital payments company. Our purpose is to help businesses and economies grow by simplifying payments and commerce. We operate in 50+ countries serving governments, banks, fintechs, merchants and public sector companies. We have 2,000+ employees based in our markets serving over 200 financial institutions and 120,000+ merchants.

TO THE NEW Develops ‘Performance Smartboard’ for the Ministry of External Affairs

TO THE NEW, a leading digital technology company was recently appointed by the Ministry of External Affairs to design and develop the MEA Performance Smartboard -- https://meadashboard.gov.in/

The dashboard is an initiative of the government to provide quick insights into various citizen-centric services like visas, Pilgrims, OCI cards and even the posts of MEA across the world, in one glance.

The MEA Performance Smartboard was launched by Hon'ble Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar, on Wednesday, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan, New Delhi. The Dashboard is a major priority set by the Hon’ble PM for all the Ministries, bringing transparency and accountability across all systems of government and is a tool for performance monitoring, allowing citizens and senior officials to view the key performance indicators of MEA. It encourages users to deep dive into key metrics of the various schemes, programs, and initiatives of MEA, in one glance.

[caption id="attachment_133253" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] MEA Dashboard[/caption]

The dashboard is an integration of three types of Dashboards - Operational (for real-time monitoring), Tactical (for analysis and benchmarking) and Strategic (for tracking the achievement of strategic objectives). It further details out MEA's global and Indian footprint showcasing key information such as 'Mission and Posts', 'Iconic Projects', the number of Passport Seva Kendras pan India and lots more.

"Thanks to TO THE NEW for their services in the successful creation and launch of a wonderful and beautifully designed MEA Performance Smartboard, with many world-class features! Their razor-sharp insights into website design, technical solutions, and data analytics are truly commendable, as also their commitment to timely delivery of the Product. It was wonderful to work with and know the ever-reliable and creative team at TO THE NEW”, said Upender Singh Rawat, Joint Secretary (eG&IT&CD), MEA.

Commenting on the engagement, Mr. Deepak Mittal, CEO & Co-Founder, TO THE NEW said, “TO THE NEW joined hands with Startup India back in 2017 and since then we've had the opportunity to work with Invest India and now the Ministry of External Affairs. The Government of India has truly embarked on a Digital Transformation journey and we are glad to be an integral part of it. We are proud to be playing a critical role in the Digital India initiatives that will propel our country to the forefront of the global landscape.”

TO THE NEW has followed a rigorous experience design process to analyze the end objectives and the workflow of the website. Leveraging a time tested open source content management system, TO THE NEW has built a superior digital experience for the Ministry of External Affairs.

The superior UX design ensures that the visitor has access to a variety of information in just a couple of clicks. In the coming days, TO THE NEW also plans to offer backend data analytics and integration that will continuously enhance the user experience as well as update all data on an almost real-time basis where available.