As one of the world’s largest data center providers, NTT Global Data Centers, a division of NTT DATA, operates more than 160 data center facilities across 20+ countries. Our mission is to deliver secure, scalable, and sustainable AI-ready data centers for hyperscalers, enterprises, and public-sector clients. As digital transformation accelerates globally, we enable secure, high-density computing environments that support the connection of billions of devices, platforms, and applications.
But behind the technology is something even more critical: our people. For us, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is more than a corporate buzzword, it is a strategic imperative. The challenge is building a unified DEI standard that reflects our global identity while honoring the cultural nuances of the regions we operate in.
Our DEI strategy began with a simple principle: listen first. From the outset, we knew a global strategy could not be dictated from the top down. Instead, it needed to be co-created with the voices of our employees. Through surveys, focus groups, and a global strategy workshop, we invited employees to share their experiences and shape the framework.
The result was our BRIDGE program – Building Relationships for Inclusion, Diversity, Growth, and Equity. From its inception, our BRIDGE program was created with a human first approach that prioritizes curiosity and seeks to understand the diverse lived experiences of our global workforce. BRIDGE is more than just a program, it’s a mindset that informs how we work, hire, and grow together.
BRIDGE, and our overall DEI strategy, is built on five key strategic pillars.
These DEI pillars include:
- Awareness and Education – providing resources and training to build cultural competence.
- Communication & Transparency – ensuring open dialogue and clear reporting on progress.
- Inclusion & Belonging through Community – creating spaces where employees feel valued and connected.
- Equitable People Experience – embedding fairness in hiring, development, and recognition.
- Foundational Pillar: Accountability and Leadership – driving ownership at every level – from executives to ERG leaders.
These pillars serve as our north star, guiding every initiative globally. Yet, while the DEI strategy was established as a global guidance, consideration of actions supporting cultural and regional nuances are built in. We recognize that inclusion looks different in Tokyo than it does in Frankfurt or Phoenix. That’s where localization comes in.
Global Standards, Local Activation
While the framework is global, its execution is intentionally flexible. We embed regional considerations into every initiative – whether it’s inclusive global communication platforms and event design across time zones, or culturally relevant programming through the Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
Some examples include:
- Global ERGs with local initiatives: Our global Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) comprise global leadership teams with an intent and developing plan to focus on regional and local engagement opportunities for their members. Together these elements provide one clear global standard with local activation so every region can bring the strategy to life in ways that fit its context while staying aligned to a common purpose.
- Two-way communication platforms: Employees can share feedbaack in their native language, ensuring that every voice is heard.
- Inclusive celebrations – global events like International Women’s Day are complemented by region-specific observances that reflect local traditions.
Of course, an integral part of a successful DEI program is deep alignment with our company values:
Respect every voice.
We grow by listening. We invite different viewpoints, honor every background, and encourage sharing perspective to learn from one another.
Think big. Be bold.
We stretch beyond what’s expected. Curiosity fuels us, ambition drives us, and innovation is how we push boundaries to shape the future.
Deliver the outcome.
We build trust by keeping our word. We act with integrity and hold ourselves accountable – always choosing to do the right thing.
Win together.
We lift each other up. We collaborate across borders, share openly, and succeed as one global team.
Our BRIDGE program brings these values to life every day: respecting every voice has been ever-present in our program since the co-authoring of the DEI strategy and continues through the work of our ERGs that hold the diverse perspectives of our employees in culturally responsive environments. We think big and take bold steps every day by implementing inclusive initiatives that reach our global workforce within their local environments. We deliver the outcome by holding ourselves accountable through clear governance with a global BRIDGE Council, ERG leadership teams, and encouraging championing active involvement from senior leadership in our program. And last but not least, we win together by empowering our employees to bring their authentic selves to work, and enabling global platforms where our people can be themselves, learn, connect, and thrive as one united team.
Mostly importantly, we promote curiosity every day. Seeking to understand enables expansive thinking, which fuels innovation. As a company equally as committed to delivering cutting edge services to its clients, as it is to fostering an empowering workplace for its people, curiosity is the basic building block that allows us to meet our people where they are, and inspire them to come along. Our power is our people.
