NTT Data Beefs Up Cloud Native App Dev With Nexient Acquisition

‘We really like the fact that Nexient is 100-percent focused on agile software development, and 100-percent on cloud-native app development. A lot of companies came to market in other areas and gradually evolved to the cloud. Nexient was always in cloud-native app development,’ says Eric Clark, NTT Data’s chief digital and strategy officer.

Global services provider NTT Data Services on Tuesday said it has acquired Nexient, a provider of cloud-native application development, in a move to expand its cloud-native capabilities.

The acquisition of Newark, Calif.-based Nexient will strengthen NTT Data’s growing cloud-native application development business, said Eric Clark, chief digital and strategy officer at NTT Data Services, with U.S.-based headquarters in Plano, Texas.

“We really like the fact that Nexient is 100 percent focused on agile software development, and 100 percent on cloud-native app development,” Clark told CRN. “A lot of companies came to market in other areas and gradually evolved to the cloud. Nexient was always in cloud-native app development.”

[Related: Ensono Acquires Amido In Cloud-native App Development Play]

NTT Data Services is ranked No. 7 on CRN’s 2020 Solution Provider 500.

Nexient has a U.S. focus in helping clients get full efficiency from the cloud, and also has a mature process for hiring, training, and retention of developers, Clark said.

“Nexient brings us more strength and scale in the U.S. with delivery centers in Michigan and Ohio,” he said. “And they bring us scale in training. Their delivery centers are surrounded by several universities.”

The acquisition comes as the cloud application development market is growing at between 20 percent and 30 percent annually, Clark said, citing statistics from analyst firm Gartner. This, he said, compares to a non-cloud application market that is increasing annually at less than 2 percent.

NTT Data has had a focus on cloud app development for some time, and Nexient gives it the chance to strengthen its capabilities, Clark said. It is also where observers can expect further acquisitions, he said.

“This is an area where we are looking for an opportunity to accelerate our development capabilities,” he said. “We are watching for companies that can help us do so. We’re constantly combing the market for opportunities.”

NTT Data declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal for Nexient.

Nexient is the latest in a string of acquisition aimed at expanding NTT Data’s digital transformation capabilities.

The company in January acquired My Supply Chain Group, a U.S.-based SAP consultant. A month earlier, it unveiled the acquisition of Hashmap, a premier Snowflake partner with expertise in developing modern data platforms to support analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. The company in August also acquired Acorio, a ServiceNow elite partner.

The new acquisitions, including Nexient, are part of a new organization within NTT Data, the consulting and digital transformation business unit, Clark said.

Nexient will initially be a stand-alone organization, but will eventually become part of the application development and modernization consulting team in that business unit, he said.