NTT DATA will open an AI Factory Lab in Riyadh later this month, giving Saudi organizations a physical space to test and validate AI use cases before committing to full-scale deployments. The lab addresses a common executive challenge: moving AI from isolated experiments to production systems that deliver measurable business outcomes.
What the lab offers
The facility will host executive briefings, AI strategy workshops, and hands-on sessions designed to help companies identify high-impact use cases and validate business results. Demonstrations will cover employee productivity, customer experience, intelligent operations, cybersecurity, networking, software development, and industry-specific processes. Organizations can explore how agentic AI automates workflows, improves decision-making, and extracts more value from enterprise data.
The lab also shows how to build, deploy, secure, govern, and scale AI workloads on enterprise-grade infrastructure. The experience focuses on the data, security, and governance capabilities needed to maintain visibility, compliance, and operational resilience when moving AI into production.
Leadership perspective
"While interest in AI continues to grow, many organizations are looking for a practical path from experimentation to business outcomes," said Hani Nofal, Executive Head of Infrastructure Solutions in Middle East and Africa at NTT DATA. "The AI Factory Lab brings together the expertise, technologies and ecosystem partnerships needed to help clients identify the right use cases, deploy AI securely and scale with confidence."
Technology partnerships
The lab's technology stack is built on collaboration with Cisco and NVIDIA. Cisco provides the AI infrastructure foundation, while NVIDIA supplies the computing platform and AI software for generative AI, agentic AI, computer vision, and digital twin workloads. The setup creates what Cisco calls a "secure, validated sandbox" where customers can test and refine AI strategies before making full-scale commitments.
Dirk Barfuss, Director of EMEA channel at NVIDIA, said: "Through the AI Factory Lab in Riyadh, customers can experience the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA firsthand, helping them validate high-impact use cases and move from experimentation to practical business outcomes with confidence."
Why this matters for executives and strategy
The lab model reflects a shift in how enterprise AI adoption is sold and supported. Instead of PowerPoint decks and vendor promises, NTT DATA is betting that hands-on validation will close deals faster and reduce the risk of stalled or failed AI initiatives. For executives, the immediate takeaway is practical: if your organization is evaluating AI investments, facilities like this offer a lower-risk way to pressure-test use cases against your own data and operational constraints before budget is committed at scale. For leaders building their own AI fluency, structured learning paths like the AI Learning Path for CEOs can complement this kind of hands-on evaluation by grounding strategic decisions in a clearer understanding of what production AI requires. More broadly, the lab's focus on governance, security, and operational resilience aligns with what strategy leaders need to assess when moving beyond pilots - topics explored across AI for Executives & Strategy resources.
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