Jun Sawada - CEO, NTT Inc
Japanese technology services provider NTT is set to bring its advanced IT expertise to Sydney’s Tech Central initiative, aimed at providing up to 50,000 square metres of affordable space for start-ups and scale-ups in the heart of Sydney.
In June last year, the NSW Government flagged $48.2 million in funding towards the Tech Central precinct, which will feature Atlassian as its anchor tenant.
The precinct will feature 250,000 square metres of office space, stretching from Sydney’s Central Station to Camperdown, including South Eveleigh, and is predicted to bring up to 25,000 new jobs to NSW.
With Tech Central, the NSW Government hopes to create the biggest technology hub of its kind in Australia.
Now, the state government has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with NTT Corporation, looking to leverage the Japanese tech giant’s global capacity as a leader in digital transformation, hopefully cementing Tech Central as a new smart city of note.
Specifically, the MoU will see the government work with NTT to become an additional anchor tenant at Tech Central, extending its already substantial cyber security footprint in Australia.
From April 2021, NTT will look to establish a Cyber Security Centre of Excellence, leveraging local expertise and small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) partners to industrialise and commercialise research and technology.
NTT will also look to extend its partnership with the cyber security industries by launching CyRise bootcamp programs across the state to attract talent to cyber security start-ups.
President and CEO of NTT Jun Sawada said the business was focused on making communities and cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
"NTT has a strong collaboration record for smart innovation with many leading cities and states worldwide," Sawada said.
“NSW and NTT will promote and accelerate open collaborations and innovations, leveraging smart solutions and ICT platforms that will realise smart buildings, campuses and cities in a secure way.
“NTT will also contribute to thought leadership on smart city and smart world together with NSW,” he added.
NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the agreement reaffirmed NSW as a technology hub in Asia Pacific.
“We’re powering ahead and turbocharging our tech industries through Tech Central, with a focus on areas such as urban development, transportation, cyber security, virtual environment, energy and agriculture technology,” Ayres said.
“Through this MoU we would look to support the jobs of tomorrow and develop innovative ecosystems for cyber security start-ups and scale-ups at Tech Central, laying the foundation for new industries that drive our economic recovery,” he added.
