The theme of this journal issue is “The Future of Digital Transformation Driven by NEC BluStellar,” and within this issue we present a systematic overview of the value creation model NEC is aiming to achieve and our practical knowledge about it. Focusing on the four key areas of AI, security, data management, and modernization, these papers provide a multifaceted and concrete explanation of NEC’s diverse digital transformation (DX) initiatives, ranging from consulting in the AI era and in-house practices, such as Client Zero, to cutting-edge technologies and thought leadership activities.

YOSHIMOTO Hiroshi
Managing Director
BluStellar Business Promotion Division

1. Introduction

This journal issue, titled “The Future of Digital Transformation Driven by NEC BluStellar: A Value Creation Model Pioneered by AI, Security, Data Management, and Modernization,” presents for the first time a systematic overview of the value creation model the NEC Group is aiming to achieve. In this issue, we focus on the four key areas of AI, security, data management, and modernization to provide a multifaceted and concrete overview of NEC’s initiatives related to NEC BluStellar, including practical case studies utilizing NEC BluStellar Scenario, insights from NEC’s own digital transformation (DX) through our Client Zero strategy, new forms of consulting enabled by human-AI collaboration, and the dissemination of future visions through thought leadership activities.

2. DX Value Creation Strategy with NEC BluStellar

NEC BluStellar, announced by NEC in 2024, is a value creation model helping to lead customers into the future based on three pillars: business model, technology, and organization and human resources. It supports customers’ DX end-to-end, from planning to implementation, starting from management agendas. With strengths in strategic planning, technologies and expertise centered on AI and security, as well as advanced DX talent development, NEC BluStellar enables customers to swiftly and reliably create new value.

The core of this model, NEC BluStellar Scenarios, is a framework that combines optimal offerings, products, and services based on NEC’s own practical know-how in our Client Zero approach, co-creation with advanced customers, and Client One, which extracts key success factors from implementation case studies. This approach provides rapid and high-quality support throughout the entire DX process—from visualizing management issues, proposing solutions, and developing roadmaps to operation—promoting digital transformation that combines innovation, safety, and speed. Furthermore, by strengthening AI governance and security and promoting global collaboration, NEC BluStellar leads the way in enhancing the competitiveness of companies and society, as well as creating social value.

3. Integration of Foundational Technologies and Practical DX Expertise Supporting NEC BluStellar

NEC BluStellar promotes the organic combination of foundational technologies centered around four key areas: AI, security, data management, and modernization. What sets it apart is not simply the introduction of technology, but the integration of strategic perspectives from management with practical know-how cultivated in the field. These efforts are systemized through the NEC BluStellar Scenario, forming the foundation for comprehensive value creation. The following sections present detailed research findings, practical case studies, and future outlooks for each of the four technology areas, clarifying NEC BluStellar’s value-creation structure from both technical and business perspectives.

3.1 The frontlines of AI: Value creation engine in the DX era

AI technology has rapidly evolved in recent years, bringing significant transformation to business and society. At NEC, we are promoting the automation of operations and applications for highly specialized tasks using generative AI and agentic AI, as well as developing AI governance and risk management technologies.

For example, in command center operations for police and fire departments, agentic AI supports operators in real time—from understanding situations to suggesting response measures—helping to reduce response times. In the development of craft beer, AI was used for consumer analysis and recipe proposal creation, contributing to the development of new products in collaboration with brewers. 

Additionally, the implementation of AI is expanding into highly specialized fields, such as providing support for preparing environmental reports. When utilizing AI, accountability, reliability, and the establishment of governance frameworks are crucial, therefore NEC is also advancing the development of technologies to verify AI outputs and enhance explainability.

Within NEC, our Client Zero strategy allows us to thoroughly implement the use of AI internally as the first customer and use the practical knowledge we gain to share in our initiatives with external stakeholders. Going forward, we will continue to aim to create new value through collaboration between AI and people, as well as technological innovation to solve social issues.

3.2 Approach to cybersecurity in the age of AI and the latest biometric authentication case studies

To address cyber threats in the AI era, NEC BluStellar is leveraging AI and data-driven approaches to sophisticate cybersecurity and solve management challenges.

We have implemented company-wide cybersecurity dashboards to visualize the status of risks, threats, and management, enabling swift action and automated follow-up based on KPIs. As a result, response speed and risk reduction effectiveness have improved significantly. Furthermore, we are working on automating security audits using generative AI and agentic AI, as well as advancing internal controls and threat intelligence.

We have achieved both enhanced security and greater convenience by introducing a new identity verification system that combines decentralized identifiers (DID), verifiable credentials (VC), and biometric authentication technologies. These technologies significantly improve safety and reliability compared to traditional authentication methods.

NEC will continue to deepen the integration of AI and security, contributing to the realization of a safe and secure digital society.

3.3 Data management & governance: The road to data-driven management

As the importance of data-driven management increases, NEC is supporting the sustainable growth of companies and society by establishing data utilization platforms and organizing AI-ready data. In the field, integrating, standardizing, and managing the quality of data dispersed across different systems and media remains a significant challenge, and through NEC BluStellar Scenarios, NEC provides consistent support from defining use cases to designing the platform and utilizing AI.

Specifically, in the case of the Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank in the financial industry, NEC helped overcome challenges such as scattered data and inconsistent formats by implementing a hybrid system structure and strengthening data governance, resulting in the transformation of customer touchpoints and business processes. Within NEC, management cockpits and dashboards are utilized to accelerate data-driven decision-making and deliver results, such as KPI management and improvement of gross profit margin.

On the technical side, NEC enhances effectiveness and efficiency in data utilization by introducing advanced tools and frameworks for tasks such as data cleansing for AI-readiness, automated feature design, data catalogs, and data virtualization. NEC also focuses on strengthening governance through specialized organizations, achieving quick wins, and pursuing continuous improvements, thus building a data management system that can flexibly respond to change.

Moving forward, NEC will continue to contribute to increasing corporate competitiveness and social value by creating value through the use of AI and data.

3.4 Realizing an intelligent cloud through the use of modernization and AI

Modernization initiatives aim to address management and social challenges in the AI era by innovating IT infrastructure and operating systems, and promoting operational DX. Using the Client Zero approach, NEC first thoroughly implements the latest technologies and operational models in-house, systematizes the accumulated knowledge as NEC BluStellar Scenarios, and then deploys it to client companies.

From a technical perspective, NEC utilizes intelligent hybrid cloud and multi-cloud environments, such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, to achieve autonomous operation and optimization through AI, seamless and standardized data management, and automated operational models. Within NEC, we are promoting initiatives such as asset categorization based on the 6R Strategy, evolution toward a NoOps model, enhancement of incident management services, and the research and development of autonomous operation agents using agentic AI, thereby achieving the unification and streamlining of our operational infrastructure.

One concrete example is Seven-Eleven Japan, where the nation’s first full migration to the cloud and adoption of microservices enabled more efficient store operations, expanded centralized terminal management to approximately 310,000 devices, and unified incident management via information technology service management (ITSM). For government agencies, NEC provides government cloud operational support services, offering rapid environment construction and security governance through Infrastructure as Code (IaC) templates.

Through these initiatives, NEC supports sustainable growth, operational efficiency, strengthened security, and flexible response to change for both businesses and government organizations, thereby contributing to the creation of sustainable social value.

4. Co-Creation Model Issue Solving and Value Creation with Human-AI Collaboration

The consulting business is rapidly evolving from the traditional human-dependent and information asymmetry model to an AI as a Service co-creation model that combines AI and specialized knowledge. The environmental changes in this age of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) along with advancements in generative AI make it necessary for companies to propose and verify solutions to challenges in a short span of time and continuously update their plans in an ongoing cycle.

At NEC, while advancing business process automation and enhancing customer care functions using AI agents and generative AI, consultants are shifting to more strategic and creative roles. By leveraging industry-specific expertise and data, we support our clients in achieving sustainable competitive advantages. Through the use of validated practices both internally and outside the company as well as co-creation projects with clients, we are creating new value through human-AI collaboration, and in doing so, we transform our relationship with customers from mere assessors to partners and co-creators, placing greater emphasis on a continuous value creation cycle.

Going forward, NEC will continue to pursue new forms of consulting using collaborative efforts between AI and people, eliminating information asymmetry and providing solid support for the transformation and growth of our customers’ businesses.

5. Co-Creation Model DX in Practice with Our Client Zero Strategy

NEC’s Client Zero strategy positions the company itself as the initial customer, thoroughly implementing DX internally first, and then systematizing the insights and know-how gained firsthand in that process to give back to customers and society. With strong management commitment, NEC captures and formalizes the real experiences of overcoming challenges unique to internal DX including conflicts of interest between divisions, resistance from the frontlines, differences in global culture, and transformation fatigue. These insights are then systematized into frameworks such as NEC BluStellar Scenario and related cutting-edge technologies.

In this strategy, the DX of work styles, core tasks, and operations serve as the three main pillars, while cross-functional capabilities, such as integrated experience, data platforms, and IT infrastructure and security drive company-wide transformation. Particularly in the area of IT operations, NEC has accumulated concrete case studies and performance indicators based on proven internal results, including autonomy through cloud infrastructure and the use of AI and agentic AI, and strengthened governance, data-driven decision-making, and increased transparency via cybersecurity dashboards.

Through the Client Zero approach, client companies can receive proposals based on NEC’s practical knowledge, enabling them to realize more realistic and relatable DX that leads to sustainable value creation.

6. Technology Supporting Future DX

The technology that supports DX is rapidly evolving. At NEC, we are conducting research and development on real-world agents that coordinate and optimize real-world devices and people. 

For example, in manufacturing environments, AI agents monitor the status of production lines in real-time, automatically adjust processes, and detect anomalies, resulting in improved quality and reduced costs. In the area of logistics, AI enables optimal route selection and automated warehouse management, significantly boosting delivery efficiency. In the IT services domain, AI agents automate system monitoring and incident response, helping to reduce operational workload and stabilize service quality. 

Furthermore, we are focusing on the practical application of quantum cryptography communication technology to prepare for the quantum computing era. NEC is building quantum cryptography communication networks for financial institutions, enabling the secure distribution of highly confidential transaction data. In addition, government agencies are moving forward with the implementation of secure information-sharing platforms utilizing quantum cryptography technology.
 
Additionally, NEC has developed security chips that comply with international standards, enabling the prevention of counterfeiting and enhanced traceability in supply chain management for the manufacturing and distribution industries. To achieve Zero Trust, we are advancing the sophistication of access control and authentication processes within enterprise networks, supporting the establishment of secure infrastructure.

These advanced technologies play a vital role in dramatically enhancing the reliability, safety, and efficiency of DX, supporting the sustainable development of our future society.

7. Thought Leadership Activities Creating the Future

The NEC Group led by the independent think tank, Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies (IISE), is actively promoting thought leadership activities. These activities emphasize not only envisioning the future but also fostering empathy and seamless process leading to social implementation. With an eye on the arrival of an AI-native society, IISE serves as a platform-type think tank that gathers knowledge from a wide range of fields—not only technology, but also ethics, philosophy, cultural anthropology, and more—bringing together participants from industry, government, academia, and various other stakeholders.

In the VUCA era, rather than a traditional “North Star” model with a single vision, a “constellation” model is required for the future--one that brings together diverse values and expertise. IISE connects knowledge and talent from around the world like a constellation, while NEC BluStellar serves as a guide pointing the way toward that constellation, taking on the challenge of solving social issues and creating new markets.

In this way, IISE and NEC present a vision of the future grounded in strong beliefs, and by working together with like-minded partners to implement these ideas in society, aim to realize a sustainable future society.

8. The Future Pioneered by NEC BluStellar and NEC’s Commitment

NEC BluStellar provides end-to-end support for management challenges through consistent NEC BluStellar Scenarios, from upstream strategic consulting to service delivery, operation, and maintenance, covering everything from visualizing and solving business issues to roadmap formulation and ongoing operations.

NEC is evolving from traditional system integration-centric approaches to become a Value Driver for customers’ value creation. By combining our own Client Zero practical knowledge, AI-driven automation, autonomy, and standardization, and templated know-how in model-driven SI, NEC continuously generates business impacts, such as higher profitability, improved quality, shorter implementation periods, and increased upselling and cross-selling opportunities.

Going forward, NEC will not only expand the sales ratio of NEC BluStellar Scenarios, but also strengthen collaboration with global partners and domestic and overseas group companies, as well as promote the creation of value chains by combining industry-common and industry-specific scenarios, leading social transformation through DX.

Through NEC BluStellar, we will continue to contribute to the sustainable growth of society, serving as a value creation engine in the AI era with advanced technology and reliability.

9. Conclusion—Into the Future with Our Customers

In this issue, we present a comprehensive, multifaceted overview of NEC BluStellar as the value creation model that guides customers into the future that NEC aspires to, depicted across four layers: strategy, technology, practice, and future vision. We hope that, through this new NEC BluStellar approach, you will gain a sense of the NEC Group’s vision for the future, moving forward together with society and our customers.

Trademarks