Michelle Sangiuliano, vice president of civilian programs and operations at NTT Data, recently spoke with ExecutiveBiz about the business side of innovation and addressing challenges to drive technology from other aspects of the federal sector rather than just the technical part during the latest Executive Spotlight interview.
In addition, Sangiuliano discussed the work NTT Data is also doing for the wider community to make a difference for the various charities and people they support as well as his overall growth strategy for the company to promote. its success for the rest of 2022 during the latest Executive Spotlight interview.
“At NTT Data, we have a very strong focus on promoting empowerment for all our employees. We have a dedicated team focused on diversity inclusion in our organization and we have formed many networking and mentoring groups within that team to increase visibility and equality within NTT Data. ”
You can read the full interview with Michelle Sangiuliano below:
ExecutiveBiz: What can you tell us about the implementation of recent acquisitions you have made and how they have benefited your portfolio, technical capabilities and driven value for your company and customers?
Michelle Sangiuliano: “NTT DATA is focused on growth. We have expanded our business both organically and by acquiring, starting with Dell Services in 2016, which enhances our commercial and federal practices. We have also successfully expanded our capabilities to government consulting, by acquiring Cognosante Consulting in 2019.
In 2019, we also expanded our Federal Civilian business into the public health space with the acquisition of NET eSolutions. Traditionally, NTT DATA has had a strong client base with both CDC and NIH but at NETE we have expanded other health care agencies with new capabilities and offerings, which is surprising.
We have also greatly expanded our technical capabilities by acquiring, we are focused on areas that can greatly benefit our clients. In December of 2019, we acquired Flux 7, an AWS Premier Consulting Partner to expand our already extensive offerings in cloud implementation and migration, as well as in automation and DevOps consulting.
We acquired Acorio, a ServiceNow Elite Partner, to expand our capacity to drive change (8/2020). In May of this year, we acquired Nexient, the largest 100% US-based digital product development service provider, to expand our application development and modernization capabilities — something that is very important to government today.
And recently, Chainalytics joined the NTT DATA family to round out our supply chain consulting and analytics capabilities.
We have been able to position ourselves very well in my sector to help government agencies emerge from the pandemic stronger and better. NTT DATA works on doing more with a minimal mindset. With our strategy and these acquisitions under our belt, NTT DATA is now pursuing larger and larger consulting and advanced technological service opportunities. “
ExecutiveBiz: What are your strategic goals for the coming year? What do you hope to accomplish and any new markets you are monitoring in the federal sector?
Michelle Sangiuliano: “Our focus going forward is to help my clients emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever, positioned to take full advantage of technological advances. as they enter the market and continue to do so in the future.
Clearly, a lot has changed in how we do business over the past two years. Many of our employees work remotely. There are so many great opportunities for improving operations through virtual interaction. At NTT DATA, we work diligently with our clients to develop the platforms necessary to enable a productive virtual work environment.
It is very important for NTT DATA to remain flexible with our customers and our workers. We want our company to be an agent of change by helping our government client accept cultural change. That will be critical as we move forward.
I believe these capabilities will continue to evolve now that they have become so important to how we do business. NTT DATA stands ready to help our clients take full advantage of these technologies and assist in ongoing modernization efforts. Our continued investment in R&D means we are at the forefront of new technologies, driving operational changes and cost reductions throughout the year.
Within the federal client base, our focus is on technical areas driving innovation and development in areas such as cloud-based solutions, AI, and data analytics. We are starting to see bigger changes towards as-a-service models, many more to come. The last two years have been just “tip of the iceberg”.
ExecutiveBiz: We often discuss innovation from a technical or capability aspect. What are some of the unique challenges you’ve seen on the business side of change that haven’t been addressed or discussed enough?
Michelle Sangiuliano: “Our government clients want to innovate. The issue is that, fundamentally and historically, government tends to be risk averse. Change in many cases equals risk, pushing the envelope, stepping out of the comfort zone; usually this is not something that is comfortable happening in government agencies. Many are slow to embrace change and of course there are cultural and budget issues that prevent change.
And, honestly, the government doesn’t always have the budget to drive innovation. There is a cost to change. But what we see may be there is a greater cost to doing nothing. We saw this during the pandemic, and our government should always have a technical advantage over our opponents.
Most of our clients are faced with keeping their legacy systems working while also trying to make improvements throughout the enterprise. For obvious reasons, that is very complex and a delicate balance, keeping critical systems running while implementing new technologies, security and improvements. That’s where a top 10 global system integrator like NTT DATA will come in — we can draw from a wealth of commercial and government best practices and also support legacy systems.
When it comes to innovation, agencies are often too focused on strategy or process than on the technology at hand. From the business side, our goals are simple; implement new processes, services or products that boost efficiency and solve real business problems.
We see more opportunities for an agile approach to design thinking. There is a noticeable change on the business side of innovation that requires a consulting approach. We have seen many companies set up innovation labs to drive business ideas as a result of these sessions. Often the best ideas are generated through collaboration, entering a room and disposing of ideas.
ExecutiveBiz: An important part of a company with strong business ethics in the federal sector is about helping and giving back to the larger community. Can you talk to various charities and collaborate with other organizations that your company is working on to make a difference and how people can engage?
Michelle Sangiuliano: “At NTT DATA, we do a bit of charity work, and focus on diversity. We have friendly competition in our various offices with seasonal donation pursuits. Everyone is happy and ultimately the charities benefit from the generosity of NTT DATA employees.
NTT DATA is highly committed to raising funds for the families of fallen agents. Each year we champion and sponsor several golf tournaments that raise funds for the families of fallen agents within our law enforcement community. Many of our team are former agents and enthusiastically devote time to a variety of causes. On a personal note, every year I work with the Meredith Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament with the DEA- it’s one of the most rewarding parts of my job.
I am also very passionate about encouraging women in STEM. I am a mother and I look forward to seeing my daughters, nieces and nephews interacting with talented technology role models to realize their potential and do whatever they want.
At NTT DATA, we have a very strong focus on employee empowerment. We have a dedicated team dedicated to integrating diversity. We have created and supported many networking and mentoring groups within that team to increase awareness, understanding and equality within NTT DATA. ”