NTT DATA Singapore (NTT DATA) and LeapThought announce strategic partnership to digitize the construction sector in Singapore

SINGAPORE, 17 June 2020

NTT DATA and LeapThought today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a strategic partnership that seeks to accelerate the pace of digital transformation in Singapore’s Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector – a key pillar of the Singapore Government’s construction Industry Transformation Map (ITM) vision.

This strategic partnership builds on the existing relationship between NTT DATA, a trusted global innovator, and LeapThought, a next generation industry solutions provider from New Zealand specializing in deep tech solutions for the AEC sector.

The partnership will establish a joint Centre of Excellence prioritizing Research and Development (R&D), advisory, and joint marketing and business development activities. It will also see the two companies use their complementary capabilities to create products and solutions that will fast-track the digital transformation in the AEC sector.

As part of the Construction ITM, the AEC sector in Singapore has gone through a steady transformation to embrace digitalization. Today, faced with the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, such as social distancing and the pausing of non-essential work, the industry is acutely aware of the need to accelerate the pace of its digital transformation to adapt to new ways of working.

Krishnappan Ramanathan, Managing Director, NTT DATA said, “The market size and relatively short time period to achieve the needed digital transformation brings a plethora of opportunities for technology players like us. Singapore’s initiative in leading this digital journey in this industry puts the nation at the forefront to establish this partnership in Singapore. With Singapore as the pivot, we intend to expand our reach to the rest of the region.”

“The focus of our partnership with LeapThought is to offer to the market state-of-the-art, future proof solutions which will have a tangible and direct impact on increasing productivity and efficiency.”

CEO of LeapThought Group, Mr Ratnakar Garikipati, said, “The building construction industry in Singapore is expected to reach S$22.5 billion by 2024, and the Government has a bold vision and robust roadmap to digitally transform this sector. Given the size of today’s infrastructure projects – be it residential, transportation, or industrial – it is imperative to use technology to digitize business operations and realise tangible cost savings.”

“We are excited to strengthen our collaboration with NTT DATA to create solutions that will enable greater digitalization in the AEC sector, offering users intelligent analysis of an entire construction project to help them build smarter and faster. By streamlining construction processes we can allow for greater automation that will ultimately ensure conformity to quality and safety standards, as well as making construction sites more efficient and more sustainable for workers.”

In Singapore, LeapThought has made significant investments to ensure its suite of products for the AEC sector, led by its flagship construction management platform Fulcrum, support digital integration and progressive collaboration within the industry, in line with the goals laid out in Singapore’s construction sector ITM. According to LeapThought, more than 200 companies in Singapore are currently using Fulcrum to collaborate on major construction projects.

Commenting on the partnership, Ashish Batra, Head of Platform and Digital Business, NTT DATA, explained, “Under the auspices of this MOU, we will soon be launching a fully feature-rich Software as a Service (SaaS) offering leveraging Fulcrum’s Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) to the AEC sector.”

“Fulcrum’s Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) capability offers end-to-end digital construction management from design through manufacturing and delivery, using Building Information Modelling (BIM) models, Virtual Design Construction (VDC) and Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) capabilities. Our global team of scientists will be involved in this initiative.”

Ken Tsuchihashi, Chairman and CEO of NTT DATA APAC, described the strategy behind the move: “Both parties have recognized that their professional symmetry would equally apply across a broad array of business opportunities in Singapore and the region and thus, chose to enter into this MOU. This strategic initiative is aligned with the Smart City initiatives of Singapore.”