NTT Data Pushes Dallas Region Startups to Enter Open Innovation Contest

Dave Moore, Staff Writer

NTT Data’s North American headquarters is in Plano.

Yet, its Open Innovation Contests have been held on the East and West Coasts since the contests started in 2014. Many previous entrants were concentrated on those coasts as well.

2019 contest winners and judges

Enter COVID-19. This year’s contest has gone completely virtual, and NTT DATA is pushing for more entries from the Dallas Region as well as other parts of the country.

“I always think of Dallas as having… pragmatic innovation,” said Kris Fitzgerald, CTO at NTT DATA Services. “I think you get a lot of good stuff in Dallas; they’re driving market needs. They’re laying very good foundations, and that’s part of what I think we’re looking forward to leveraging. This year’s contest is focused on driving those pragmatic innovations that we can take to our clients now.”

An NTT DATA representative will speak more about the Open Innovation Contest during an Ask Me Anything session from noon to 1 PM Thursday, Sept. 3, as part of Dallas Startup Week. (Learn more about the panel and register at no cost.)

In short, the contest invites startups to compete in a sort of hackathon, working with NTT Data and its clients to build data-driven solutions. While most hackathons have one challenge constrained by certain solutions, this contest features 15- 20 challenges – in areas from smart cities to health care to exponential technology – with virtually any solution entrants can use.

According to information provided by NTT DATA Senior Director of Customer Experience and Go-To-Market Strategy Mary Leos, regional qualifying events will be held around the world, with the winners of these contests participating in the January 2021 grand finale event. The contest is intended to generate new business through cooperation with NTT Data.

Learn more and enter the NTT Data Open Innovation Contest 11.