to ensure sophisticated security while equipping staff with PCs that be used stress-free and comfortably both inside and outside the company,”explained Seiji Kuno, Director, Systems System 3 at NTT Communications.Realizing the heightened need to pursue work style innovation within the company, NTT Communications deployed new PCs and embarked on construction of a new environment. The result has been the “Secured PC” which will be described more fully in the following. At the same time, while reforming various work systems including amending rules to permit all employees to take advantage of remote work and a flex time system, NTT has also created a foundation for work style innovation through improvements in the IT environment.

PC environment featuring ultra-lightweight terminals, ease of use, and the security of multilayered protection.

The “Secured PC” environment was constructed based on the concept of ensuring the same robust level of security outside the office as experienced on company premises while providing enjoyable ease of use. While using “fat PCs” as the base, this structure delivers multi-level protection such as a network that provides secure connections to internal corporate systems and the internet from inside and outside the company, and strong endpoint security. Takashi Dohbeta, Manager of Systems System 3 explained.“When connecting with internal systems from outside the company, the PC automat-

ically connects via SSL-VPN, and communications to the internet use a cloud proxy, further bolstering security. In addition, a variety of security measures are utilized including biometric authentication at the endpoint, antimalware, disk encryption, and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response).”For the support of smooth execution of work, the introduction of Office 365 together with the “Secured PCs”integrated the work environment of e-mail, file sharing, business chat and web conferencing. Fujitsu’s ultra-lightweight and slim mobile PC “LIFEBOOK U938/S” (hereafter, “U938/S) was adopted for its excellent portability and

ease of use.

40% increase in PC work productivity.

Prior to company-wide deployment of new PC terminals, NTT Communications conducted an experiment to measure time (productivity) performing the same work on a conventional thin client versus the new “Secured PC”. Maki Ikezawa, another member of Systems System 3 described the experiment.“We conducted the experiment comparing the performance of the same work such

as document preparation on the Tokaido Shinkansen train where the network is unstable. The result was that it took 40% less time to do the same work on a “Secured PC” than a conventional thin client. Because the “Secured PC” was a “fat

client”, the performance was not only more nimble for a comfortable work experience, but also the ability to perform offline work with data securely kept on the PC was another big factor contributing to the result.”Also in the stable communications environment of the office, the “Secured PC”delivered 24% savings in work time compared with a conventional thin client, demonstrating how this approach contributed to our company’s improved work productivity everywhere – both inside and outside the office.

Favorable evaluation by 98% of the employees participating in the trial.

NTT Communications also conducted a “Secured PC” trial and recruited 100 employ-ees from departments across the company. After the trial, participants answered a questionnaire with over 98% responding positively – a highly favorable evaluation.“Many employees in the trial who actually used the ‘Secured PC’ made a variety of

favorable observations such as ‘Startup was quick, and it was easy to get immediate-ly to work’, ‘Work on the move was stress-free’, and ‘Using the Secured PC was a comfortable experience’. For me, this initiative which brought satisfaction to so many people was quite worthwhile,” commented Ms. Ikezawa.For the construction of this “Secured PC” environment, the U938/S was selected. Previously NTT Communications used a mixture of PCs from various manufacturers, but many employees, especially the female employees, expressed the view that an

“easy to carry and lightweight PC was desirable”, leading to the current selection. Speaking for Systems System 3 – the section principally responsible for model selection, Yoshinao Takabe remarked the following:“The light weight of 799g of the U938/S is, of course, one reason for its selection, but

we were amazed that the weight was under 1kg including the AC adapter for charging. A certain female employee told me that because it is about 400g lighter than the previously used PC, she can bring a PET bottle of a beverage when she is on the move.Takashi Dohbeta continued,“In addition to the lightness of the terminal, the biomet-ric authentication system in the U938/S is a point in its favor. Also, because it has acomplete interface including USB and a LAN port, employees who switched from adesktop PC to the Secured PC commented favorably, noting that it was easy to use.”In 2018, a total of 13,000 “Secured PCs”were deployed companywide, and the company plans to continue increasing the number in the future. Seiji Kuno expressed the following opinion about the key to success in the company’s work style innovation project.“Generally speaking, there is a trade-off relationship between security and

convenience. In the early stages of this project, we engaged in deep discussions with our information security department, and our tight collaborative effort was a major factor in our success. Also regarding our post-“tool deployment” measures, we were able to move forward with the creation of an environment that was easy to use for all our employees by having the management layer take the initiative in putting into practice new systems and rules for remote work and flex time.

The “Secured PC” itself directly contributes to business.

Generally the deployment of any new system is met by opposition within the compa-ny, but the Systems Department was quite satisfied to report that this transition to “Secured PC” was greeted by a largely favorable response.“I believe that in spare moments when out of the office or on the move, the ability

to start or wake up your PC and immediately begin working is quite innovative. The comfort and pleasure of the PC working environment can affect your motivation to work. The light weight and excellent security of the terminal itself have greatlyimpacted work style. Sales staff are using their PCs on visits to clients more and more. We have also observed a decrease in the consumption of paper used for printing in the office,” remarked Seiji Kuno.Developed under the work style innovation initiative of NTT Communications, the “Secured PC” is evolving and producing results beyond expectations, and not only

has an impact within the company but also is paving the way for solution proposals to client industries. Seiji Kuno remarked on the results.“We are currently showcasing this Secured PC and marketing it to customers outside

of our company. The high degree of interest shown by customers and other results are greatly contributing to our business. In the future, we would like to further broaden work style innovation which fully exploits the know-how gained in the construction of this system in our company and develop new business transforma-tion proposals.”

their work style innovation initiative, NTT Communications has deployed a thin client terminals to enable secure work outside the company premises. However, even with thin clients, there were restrictions on the scope of work due to the network environment; therefore, the company targeted the construction of a PC terminal environment with higher flexibility.“In order to support the digital transformation efforts of our customers, I feel that it

is necessary for our own company to first deploy work systems and a flexible work style capable to swiftly respond to the changes of the times. As a premise, we need

Development of Solutions to Support Digital Transformation

Established in 1999, NTT Communications Corporation is the NTT Group subsidiary responsible for long-distance and international communications services, and is one of the world’s top Tier-1 providers supporting global internet communications. Through its planet-wide network of offices and centers in countries in every region, the company supports corporate ICT infrastructure through an extensive lineup of services ranging from network to cloud solutions. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, more and more enterprises are moving forward with digital transformation initiatives with the aim of enhancing their competitiveness. NTT Communications is not an exception. They have been increasingly feeling the need to innovate their organization and systems in a way that will them a swifter grasp of their customers’ needs and enable the proposal of solutions that will leverage cutting-edge technologies to drive their digital transfor-mation.In order to achieve this, NTT Communications realized that there was necessity to begin by reinventing their own company: application of work style innovation to construct a more flexible and speedy business organization. For this purpose, the company had to realize a device environment that enable the PC work to be performed with swift connections and convenient communications anywhere and with robust security.

Aiming at a work style flexibility to empower the creation of innovative services.

In addition to promoting remote work, flex time work hours and other reforms under

Amid the growing necessity of digital transformation in every aspect of business, NTT Communications Corporation (“NTT Communications”) not only must provide customers with ICT infrastructure and other conventional services, but also provide solutions which fully exploit cutting-edge technologies. In order to support the creation of services unbound by the framework of convention, NTT Communications is focusing on work style innovation to create an “environment that facilitates work anytime and anywhere and empowers users to meet new challenges.” While promot-ing this initiative in a newly introduced “Secured PC” internal network environment, the company’s own successful experiences will serve as a basis for supporting and proposing work style innovation solutions to their customers.

Delivering higher security and comfortable convenience in telework,“Secured PC” deployment is accelerating work style innovation

CASE STUDY: Work Style Innovation@ NTT Communications Corporation

NTT Communications Corporation

FUJITSU Notebook LIFEBOOK U938/S

Solution

BUSINESS CHALLENGES SOLUTION RESULTSNECESSITY FOR WORK STYLE INNOVATION

In today’s fast-changing business environment and the growing importance of digital transformation in sharpening the competitive edge, the challenge for NTT Communications is development and provision of services which respond to the increasingly sophisticated needs of customers with the latest technologies.

In order to swiftly create innovative services always in step with the times, it is indispensable to provide an environment which empowers employees with flexibility and facilitates their ability to tackle new challenges. As NTT Communications moves forward with digital transformation within its own company, advances in work style innovation are being increasingly demanded.

Their solution was the deployment of a “Secured PC” environment which delivers both sophisticated security and ease of use. While ensuring a level of security for use outside of the company equal to security on company premises, the solution enables highly efficient pursuit of work. Also measures such as revision of rules to facilitate remote work and flex time work hours by all employees were undertaken to further strengthen the initiative from an organizational perspective.

Adoption of “Secured PC” has contributed to the creation of an anytime, anywhere, stress-free work environment. Compared with a conventional PC environment, 40% higher productivity has been achieved, accelerating the speed of business. Furthermore, based on the company’s own deployment experience, NTT Communications is proposing solutions for the PC environment of their customers and contributing to their digital transformation and work style innovation.

(from the left) Takashi Dohbeta (Manager , Systems System 3), Yoshinao Takabe (Systems System 3), Maki Ikezawa (Systems System 3), Seiji Kuno (Director, Systems System 3)

to ensure sophisticated security while equipping staff with PCs that be used stress-free and comfortably both inside and outside the company,” explained Seiji Kuno, Director, Systems System 3 at NTT Communications.Realizing the heightened need to pursue work style innovation within the company, NTT Communications deployed new PCs and embarked on construction of a new environment. The result has been the “Secured PC” which will be described more fully in the following. At the same time, while reforming various work systems including amending rules to permit all employees to take advantage of remote work and a flex time system, NTT has also created a foundation for work style innovation through improvements in the IT environment.

PC environment featuring ultra-lightweight terminals, ease of use, and the security of multilayered protection.

The “Secured PC” environment was constructed based on the concept of ensuring the same robust level of security outside the office as experienced on company premises while providing enjoyable ease of use. While using “fat PCs” as the base, this structure delivers multi-level protection such as a network that provides secure connections to internal corporate systems and the internet from inside and outside the company, and strong endpoint security. Takashi Dohbeta, Manager of Systems System 3 explained.“When connecting with internal systems from outside the company, the PC automat-

ically connects via SSL-VPN, and communications to the internet use a cloud proxy, further bolstering security. In addition, a variety of security measures are utilized including biometric authentication at the endpoint, antimalware, disk encryption, and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response).”For the support of smooth execution of work, the introduction of Office 365 together with the “Secured PCs” integrated the work environment of e-mail, file sharing, business chat and web conferencing. Fujitsu’s ultra-lightweight and slim mobile PC “LIFEBOOK U938/S” (hereafter, “U938/S) was adopted for its excellent portability and

ease of use.

40% increase in PC work productivity.

Prior to company-wide deployment of new PC terminals, NTT Communications conducted an experiment to measure time (productivity) performing the same work on a conventional thin client versus the new “Secured PC”. Maki Ikezawa, another member of Systems System 3 described the experiment.“We conducted the experiment comparing the performance of the same work such

as document preparation on the Tokaido Shinkansen train where the network is unstable. The result was that it took 40% less time to do the same work on a “Secured PC” than a conventional thin client. Because the “Secured PC” was a “fat

client”, the performance was not only more nimble for a comfortable work experience, but also the ability to perform offline work with data securely kept on the PC was another big factor contributing to the result.” Also in the stable communications environment of the office, the “Secured PC” delivered 24% savings in work time compared with a conventional thin client, demonstrating how this approach contributed to our company’s improved work productivity everywhere – both inside and outside the office.

Favorable evaluation by 98% of the employees participating in the trial.

NTT Communications also conducted a “Secured PC” trial and recruited 100 employ-ees from departments across the company. After the trial, participants answered a questionnaire with over 98% responding positively – a highly favorable evaluation.“Many employees in the trial who actually used the ‘Secured PC’ made a variety of

favorable observations such as ‘Startup was quick, and it was easy to get immediate-ly to work’, ‘Work on the move was stress-free’, and ‘Using the Secured PC was a comfortable experience’. For me, this initiative which brought satisfaction to so many people was quite worthwhile,” commented Ms. Ikezawa.For the construction of this “Secured PC” environment, the U938/S was selected. Previously NTT Communications used a mixture of PCs from various manufacturers, but many employees, especially the female employees, expressed the view that an

“easy to carry and lightweight PC was desirable”, leading to the current selection. Speaking for Systems System 3 – the section principally responsible for model selection, Yoshinao Takabe remarked the following:“The light weight of 799g of the U938/S is, of course, one reason for its selection, but

we were amazed that the weight was under 1kg including the AC adapter for charging. A certain female employee told me that because it is about 400g lighter than the previously used PC, she can bring a PET bottle of a beverage when she is on the move.Takashi Dohbeta continued, “In addition to the lightness of the terminal, the biomet-ric authentication system in the U938/S is a point in its favor. Also, because it has a complete interface including USB and a LAN port, employees who switched from a desktop PC to the Secured PC commented favorably, noting that it was easy to use.”In 2018, a total of 13,000 “Secured PCs” were deployed companywide, and the company plans to continue increasing the number in the future. Seiji Kuno expressed the following opinion about the key to success in the company’s work style innovation project.“Generally speaking, there is a trade-off relationship between security and

convenience. In the early stages of this project, we engaged in deep discussions with our information security department, and our tight collaborative effort was a major factor in our success. Also regarding our post-“tool deployment” measures, we were able to move forward with the creation of an environment that was easy to use for all our employees by having the management layer take the initiative in putting into practice new systems and rules for remote work and flex time.

The “Secured PC” itself directly contributes to business.

Generally the deployment of any new system is met by opposition within the compa-ny, but the Systems Department was quite satisfied to report that this transition to “Secured PC” was greeted by a largely favorable response.“I believe that in spare moments when out of the office or on the move, the ability

to start or wake up your PC and immediately begin working is quite innovative. The comfort and pleasure of the PC working environment can affect your motivation to work. The light weight and excellent security of the terminal itself have greatly impacted work style. Sales staff are using their PCs on visits to clients more and more. We have also observed a decrease in the consumption of paper used for printing in the office,” remarked Seiji Kuno.Developed under the work style innovation initiative of NTT Communications, the “Secured PC” is evolving and producing results beyond expectations, and not only

has an impact within the company but also is paving the way for solution proposals to client industries. Seiji Kuno remarked on the results.“We are currently showcasing this Secured PC and marketing it to customers outside

of our company. The high degree of interest shown by customers and other results are greatly contributing to our business. In the future, we would like to further broaden work style innovation which fully exploits the know-how gained in the construction of this system in our company and develop new business transforma-tion proposals.”

their work style innovation initiative, NTT Communications has deployed a thin client terminals to enable secure work outside the company premises. However, even with thin clients, there were restrictions on the scope of work due to the network environment; therefore, the company targeted the construction of a PC terminal environment with higher flexibility.“In order to support the digital transformation efforts of our customers, I feel that it

is necessary for our own company to first deploy work systems and a flexible work style capable to swiftly respond to the changes of the times. As a premise, we need

Development of Solutions to Support Digital Transformation

Established in 1999, NTT Communications Corporation is the NTT Group subsidiary responsible for long-distance and international communications services, and is one of the world’s top Tier-1 providers supporting global internet communications. Through its planet-wide network of offices and centers in countries in every region, the company supports corporate ICT infrastructure through an extensive lineup of services ranging from network to cloud solutions. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, more and more enterprises are moving forward with digital transformation initiatives with the aim of enhancing their competitiveness. NTT Communications is not an exception. They have been increasingly feeling the need to innovate their organization and systems in a way that will them a swifter grasp of their customers’ needs and enable the proposal of solutions that will leverage cutting-edge technologies to drive their digital transfor-mation.In order to achieve this, NTT Communications realized that there was necessity to begin by reinventing their own company: application of work style innovation to construct a more flexible and speedy business organization. For this purpose, the company had to realize a device environment that enable the PC work to be performed with swift connections and convenient communications anywhere and with robust security.

Aiming at a work style flexibility to empower the creation of innovative services.

In addition to promoting remote work, flex time work hours and other reforms under

　

　

CASE STUDY: Work Style Innovation @ NTT Communications Corporation

Secured PC System Overview

MailGW

SaaSPaaSIaaS

Security Management

SOC

Thin Client/ BYOD device

IntegratedSecurity

Management

Patch/softwaredistribution

Mobile ConnectServices

・Firewall・IPS・Sandbox

Thin Client

Corporate network

ProxyInternal Systems

Managing

Man

agin

g

SaaSSecurity Services

Work LogCollection

SSL-VPNAlways-on Connection

SSL-VPN

Office365Excel OneDrive

Cloud Proxy

Internet

PC(Internal use only)

FUJITSUMail: contact-pasopromo@cs.jp.fujitsu.com

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