NTT DATA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shigeki Yamaguchi; hereinafter, “the Company”) today announced the launch of SPARK (Strategic Perspectives on AI Research and Knowledge), an AI-powered consulting service for knowledge workers engaged in strategic and other business activities. The Company is also launching AI Foresight & Intelligence, the first offering under SPARK, effective today.
SPARK comprises the following three offerings, providing end-to-end support—from identifying changes in the external environment and leveraging internal knowledge to transforming business operations with AI.
- AI Foresight & Intelligence (Available Today)
Continuously identifies emerging developments through AI and incorporates human judgment into a learning loop to assess their potential impact on business opportunities and risks.
- AI-era Knowledge Management (Planned)
Organizes and structures knowledge dispersed across the enterprise, transforming it into institutional knowledge that can be reused by AI and in business operations.
- Agentic AI Adoption Practice (Planned)
Redesigns business processes and decision-making around AI agents and supports proof-of-concept testing and implementation.
The Company plans to roll out all three offerings in phases.
Background
As uncertainty in the business environment continues to grow, the ability to identify early signals of leading-edge global developments and make sound, evidence-based decisions has become a critical source of corporate competitiveness.
However, up-to-date external expertise and internal knowledge and experience are often dispersed across multiple sources. Even when signals of change are detected, it remains difficult to assess them holistically and translate them into concrete decisions and action.
Advances in AI are now making it possible to extract meaningful signals from vast volumes of information and incorporate human judgment into the learning process, supporting decision-making with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
About SPARK
SPARK comprises the following three offerings:
- AI Foresight & Intelligence (Available Today)
Identifies the latest developments in AI, digital technologies, markets, competitors, industries, regulations, and public policy, and analyzes the resulting business opportunities, risks, and potential business impact.
- AI-era Knowledge Management (Planned)
Uses AI agents to organize and structure the knowledge, expertise, and experience accumulated across the enterprise, transforming them into institutional knowledge that can be reused in business operations.
- Agentic AI Adoption Practice (Planned)
Assesses where AI agents can create value, redesigns business processes and decision-making accordingly, and supports proof-of-concept testing, implementation, and enterprise-wide deployment. It also uses AI to automate post-implementation monitoring and governance processes.
Together, these three offerings provide end-to-end support in fast-moving and highly uncertain competitive environments— from identifying changes in the external environment and leveraging internal knowledge to transforming business operations with AI.
Figure 1: Overview of SPARK
(Based on the Dynamic Capabilities Framework)
Overview of AI Foresight & Intelligence
AI Foresight & Intelligence combines continuous AI-driven monitoring with expert input, field research, and human judgment to translate future developments into strategic decision-making.
A learning loop that feeds implementation outcomes and feedback back into the process—from detecting signals of change through decision-making—enables continuous improvement.
Key Features
1. Continuously Identifies Signals of Change
Continuously monitors market, technology, regulatory, competitive, and other developments using AI to detect at an early stage signals that could affect management or business operations.
2. Validates Information Through Primary Research and Human Judgment
Strengthens AI-generated analysis through expert interviews and field research, while reserving critical decisions—whether to accept, revise, or reject the resulting information—for human judgment.
3. Connects Future Scenarios to Decision-Making
Develops multiple future scenarios and clarifies the opportunities, risks, and strategic options for each client, supporting forward-looking decision-making.
4. Continuously Evolves Through Feedback (Learning Loop)
Accumulates outcomes from decisions and initiatives, together with human feedback, to continuously improve the entire process from discovery through decision-making.
Figure 2: How AI Foresight & Intelligence Works
Future Development
The Company plans to launch AI-era Knowledge Management and Agentic AI Adoption Practice in phases.
Through these three offerings, the Company will support clients across the full transformation journey—from anticipating change in an uncertain era and putting knowledge to work to deploying AI and generating tangible business outcomes.
Comment from Jaivardhan Lal, Manager, Global Business Development Center
About NTT DATA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, Inc.
Since its establishment in 1991, NTT DATA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, Inc. has provided consulting services that address social challenges across a wide range of fields, including sustainability, healthcare, and regional revitalization, while supporting corporate transformation.
We work alongside our clients throughout the entire journey—from policy and strategy development to project execution, and from new business development to proof-of-concept testing—supporting sustainable growth and transformation. As the strategic consulting firm of the NTT DATA Group, we bring together diverse expertise to foster collaboration across industries and organizations, illuminate pathways to the future, and create new value together with our clients.
