Supporting an Autonomous, Decentralized, and Cooperative Society While Keeping an ATM Mindset—Akaruku (Be Cheerful), Tanoshiku (Have Fun), and Mae-muki (Be Positive)

Creating new value as a platform provider for industrial and regional digital transformation

—How do you feel about NTT Communications changing its name to NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS?

This change of our company name is not just a change of name; it is a major turning point in the way we do business. When NTT was split into separate companies in 1999, NTT Communications was established to take over the NTT’s long-distance communications business. Since then, NTT Communications has taken on the challenge of launching a series of businesses—including international operations, solutions, datacenters, and security—that are now at the core of the NTT Group.

In 2020, we merged with NTT DOCOMO’s corporate sales organization, reorganized our branches nationwide, and began full-scale expansion into small and medium-sized enterprises and locally rooted businesses. We have provided services mainly to several-thousand large enterprises; however, we now have over 600,000 customers, who include small and medium-sized enterprises. Many of these customers use mobile-based services, and our new management challenge is how to provide added value, such as digital transformation (DX), to these customers.

Against this backdrop, we changed our company name to NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS. The name “DOCOMO” brings the advantage of being familiar to customers in non-urban areas and resonating well with people in regard to expanding our business. Naturally, this name change came as a surprise to our employees. When it was announced, some expressed confusion and disappointment, but we carefully explained the meaning of our challenge and our outlook for the future through five dialogue sessions and other means.

As a result, we were able to gain the understanding and empathy of our employees. Nearly 90% of the feedback was positive, with comments such as, “I feel sad, but I want to take on new challenges in a positive way,” and I am supported by such words as I run the company. Currently, we are aiming to create new value and build a prosperous society as an industrial and regional DX platform provider that supports an autonomous, decentralized, and cooperative society in which companies and regions can grow sustainably.

—Would you tell us about the business environment and performance of NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS in that environment, your goals for fiscal 2025, and your vision for fiscal 2026?

Our business is comprised of two main pillars: one is business concerning large enterprises (which NTT Communications previously handled); the other is business concerning small and medium-sized enterprises and local communities (which we inherited from NTT DOCOMO).

Regarding the business for large enterprises, mobile accounts for around 10%, of which solutions and networks are the main focus. As for the business for small and medium-sized enterprises, mobile accounts for nearly 60%. The mobile-centric business is highly competitive, and it is prone to the issue of price wars because it is based on selling individual products. In fact, since the reorganization in 2022, our business for small and medium-sized enterprises has been sluggish and on a downward trend.

To reverse that trend, over the past year, we have been strengthening our market segmentation strategy and implementing rapid PDCA cycles (plan-do-check-act). With a large number of customers, we have established a system for conducting detailed analyses tailored to each industry and scale and then quickly implementing improvements and applying the analysis results.

The results of our efforts are evident in our sales figures. Our overall revenue growth in fiscal 2024 was approximately 1%. Our business for large enterprises grew approximately 5%, but, unfortunately, our business for small and medium-sized enterprises decreased approximately 3%. In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, both segments turned positive, with business for large enterprises recording growth of approximately 10% and that for small and medium-sized enterprises recording growth of approximately 4%.

Considering that the average annual growth of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry is about 6%, I feel that our efforts are steadily leading to results. Our goal for fiscal 2025 is to achieve sales of 2 trillion yen in the enterprises business as a whole. That figure was also the mid-term goal set when NTT DOCOMO, NTT Communications, and NTT COMWARE were reorganized in 2022. Currently, all employees of NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS are working together to achieve this goal.

Our quantitative goal is to maintain a growth rate of 6% or more over fiscal 2026. To achieve this goal in regard to the large-enterprise business, we will first consider how we can create business in conjunction with our customers, and what kind of platform we can provide to achieve that goal. From this perspective, we will place emphasis on further improving the quality of our sales.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, we will be introducing a new mobile business plan. This plan will be an enterprise-only service that was not available during the NTT DOCOMO era. It will solidify our mobile foundation and add value to it with artificial intelligence (AI) and DX. For example, we have developed “Stella AI for Biz,” which is an AI-based tool developed for small and medium-sized enterprises, as a useful tool for improving business efficiency and supporting management. We will also begin offering “BUSINESS LOAN,” which will support corporate growth from a financial perspective.

Building the future with AI, IoT, DX, and IOWN

—What areas NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS focuses on?

We are focusing on four key areas: digital business process outsourcing (BPO), AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and DX for small and medium-sized enterprises.

As for digital BPO, we are working to develop the market through a strategic partnership with transcosmos inc. formed in 2024. We are currently proposing four solution models and are seeing results in this area. In addition to providing solutions that improve the efficiency of our customers’ non-core operations, we will further increase the added value of our services by using AI and data.

Regarding AI, we are not simply providing AI; we aim to build an ICT platform suited to the AI era. To that end, we have come up with the concept of an “AI-centric ICT platform.” This platform will enable customers to control network bandwidth on a minute-by-minute basis via a portal in accordance with their AI usage, enable high-speed processing (for autonomous driving, etc.) in nearby edge datacenters using multi-access edge computing, and introduce container datacenters for small-scale AI use. We hope to provide a variety of flexible and efficient AI-usage environments.

I believe that IoT is the area that has evolved most symbolically since the merger of NTT DOCOMO’s corporate sales organization and NTT Communications. We have launched IoT projects for each industry with the goal of reaching a market-leader position within the next few years. We have achieved results in the smart-meter and automotive fields, and we will continue to challenge ourselves with new sales methods.

As I mentioned earlier, in regard to DX for small and medium-sized enterprises, using mobile as the starting point, we will support our customers in improving their business efficiency and management by combining added value such as AI, IoT, and DX.

Regarding the promising next-generation infrastructure, the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN), we intend to lead the way in implementing it both domestically and internationally. Demand for connectivity between datacenters is already growing, and in the future, we want to use IOWN for AI learning and analysis. We are also making moves to introduce IOWN as an infrastructure to support regional development and industry. In Hokkaido, with the founding of Lapidus, semiconductor-related companies have been congregating in the surrounding area, and under the business concept of the HOKKAIDO IOWN CAMPUS, we are working with the local community to implement futuristic infrastructure.

—Would you tell us about your journey since joining NTT? Was there a turning point that led you to your current way of thinking?

On joining NTT in 1989, I was initially assigned to the sales support department handling sales of landline telephones. After being in charge of telephone sales for a year, I was transferred to the systems development department and engaged in the development of systems. Although it was not my first choice, it seems I was assigned to the department on the basis of the results of my aptitude test. I then gained experience in planning and human resources, after which I returned to sales, where I worked in the field as a sales representative for an automobile company and learned to interact with customers. To be honest, I didn’t like sales work; for example, I was sometimes reprimanded on behalf of the company when a problem arose, and that bothered me.

A turning point came for me when I was dealing with a problem at an automobile company. One morning, I was exhausted after I had been up all night dealing with the problem, and an executive from the customer said to me, “Thank you, Mr. Kojima. You did your best and didn’t give up.” Those kind words really struck a chord with me. From then on, I became keenly aware of the importance of listening to what customers had to say and turning their needs into reality.

By the way, the way I see things has changed dramatically since I took on the perspective of a top executive. Now I think more than ever before from a multifaceted perspective, including the company as a whole, our position in the Japanese economy, and our contribution to society. Looking back, I realize that having been in charge of a variety of industries, understanding the characteristics of each industry, and fostering personal connections have been extremely helpful in regard to my current management tasks. I was extremely fortunate to have been able to have a perspective that allows me to see the whole picture.

However, making decisions can be fraught with uncertainty. One-hundred-percent information coverage is never available. It is thus important to have a basis for judgment. What I value is whether a decision will lead to the growth of the company, whether it will maintain our integrity, and whether I can look into the eyes of my employees and sense their motivation. I have to see sincerity and passion in their eyes. I believe that our final efforts depend on the feelings of the employees on the front lines, so I place great importance on communication. I continue to make efforts to close gaps between us by visiting branch offices and workplaces and holding “coffee with Kojii (my nickname)” events, where I serve coffee directly to employees and chat with them.

Creating a business portfolio that inspires our dreams, delivering surprise and excitement to our customers, and creating an exciting workplace

—What do you think is the mission of the top management?

I believe our mission is to identify dreams and inspire hope for the company’s future. We live in an age where employees work to achieve what they want to do, so the company must be an attractive place to work. I believe it is the responsibility of top management to paint a picture of a future that makes employees think, “I want to work at this company” and “I want to grow at this company.”

When I became president, I conveyed three messages at my first management meeting. First, I said, “I want to create a business portfolio that inspires dreams.” I want to create a business that gives employees hope that our business will continue to grow and makes them excited about the future. Second, I said, “I want to deliver surprise and excitement to our customers.” That means providing a service that exceeds expectations. We must aim to make proposals that anticipate customer needs and provide services that resonate with customers. Third, I said, “We must create an exciting workplace for employees.” I believe that a fun, positive, and smiling workplace will help employees to reach their full potential. I often use the phrase “ATM mindset.” ATM is an acronym (where each letter represents a Japanese word) that stands for akaruku (be cheerful), tanoshiku (have fun), and mae-muki (be positive). ATM is something I practice consciously every day; that is, no matter how difficult a situation may be, I tell myself, “It’s going to be okay” in my heart, keep smiling, and tackle things with a positive attitude.

—Finally, would you give a message to customers, employees, and partners?

At NTT DOCOMO BUSINESS, we want to evolve into a platform provider for industrial and regional DX in the society of the future. Utilizing AI, IoT, IOWN, and more, we will support the growth of companies and contribute to the revitalization of local communities. We want to build this future together with our employees, partners, and customers.

The NTT Group has many researchers and engineers working on cutting-edge research. Our role is to deliver this research to society; in other words, we transform research results into services that can be used in society. I would be delighted if they would join us in thinking about this transformation process.

To all our employees, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude for the hard work you put in at your respective positions every day. Although we faced many challenges last fiscal year, thanks to your efforts, our profits have recovered. Let’s continue to work hard together with an “ATM mindset” in supporting our customers’ businesses and delivering surprise and excitement to them.

To our partners, I’d like to say your collaboration is essential to solving social issues. In June, we launched a new partner program through which we are establishing a system that allows us to collaborate with even more companies. Its name, OPEN HUB Park, provides a space for co-creation where we can create new value together.