Palo Alto Networks and NTT DATA forge $1 billion AI security alliance targeting 2029

Palo Alto Networks and NTT DATA target $1B in AI security sales by 2029

Palo Alto Networks and NTT DATA target $1B in AI security sales by 2029 Palo Alto Networks Inc. and NTT DATA Group Corp. today signed a multiyear global alliance that targets $1 billion in joint business by the end of 2029. Palo Alto Networks said it is the first alliance of its kind it has struck with a global systems integrator. The deal puts the security vendor's platforms in front of NTT DATA's consulting, engineering and managed services customers, backed by investment from both sides. The partnership is not new. The two launched a joint managed cybersecurity service in 2024. Palo Alto Networks then convened the Frontier AI Alliance in April, with NTT DATA among five founding members. Membership has since passed a dozen. The agreement announced today goes considerably further. It sets up a dedicated go-to-market model, a shared engineering roadmap and early access for NTT DATA to platform features before they ship. Palo Alto Networks is assigning forward-deployed engineers to the work. Six areas are in scope at launch. The one both companies pushed hardest is the autonomous security operations center, pairing agentic artificial intelligence tooling with NTT DATA's managed detection and response staff. Identity security runs on Idira, the platform Palo Alto Networks built out of its $25 billion purchase of CyberArk Software Ltd. and released in May. AI governance, multicloud posture management, firewall modernization and a combined zero-trust and secure edge architecture fill out the list. Financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector are where the first joint offerings will land. Nikesh Arora, chairman and chief executive of Palo Alto Networks, said in the announcement that expanding the alliance "allows us to operationalize platformization at true global scale, helping enterprises eliminate legacy complexity and move fast without sacrificing safety." Abhijit Dubey, chief executive and chief AI officer at NTT DATA, Inc., said AI is reshaping the threat landscape "at unprecedented speed" and that customers need resilience built on AI-driven security, industry knowledge and global reach. The alliance is not exclusive and NTT DATA continues to resell rival platforms, including CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.'s Falcon. The $1 billion target covers contracts and orders on both sets of books over three years, mixing product, subscription and services revenue.

Palo Alto Networks and NTT DATA team up on a $1 billion AI security push

The companies are expanding their partnership to automate security operations and bring Palo Alto's identity tools deeper into large enterprises. An AI agent deployed inside a bank or hospital system does not sit still. It queries databases, moves files, and calls other software on its own schedule. To do any of that, it needs credentials, just like an employee does. In February, Palo Alto Networks put the ratio at more than 80 machine accounts for every human one inside a typical enterprise. Most security teams cannot produce a full list of them, so they cannot say who or what has access to their most sensitive systems. NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks are offering a fix. The two companies announced on Thursday a multiyear global alliance targeting $1 billion in joint business by the end of 2029, pairing Palo Alto's security platforms with NTT DATA's consulting and managed services to help clients assess cyber risk, deploy AI securely, and manage the controls afterward. Asked directly, NTT DATA said the figure represents the total value of customer contracts and orders the two companies sell together over the period, blending product and subscription revenue with services, integration, and managed services. The company said it does not break out further details. Palo Alto Networks confirmed the definition and declined to provide additional financial specifics, citing the quiet period ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, due September 1. That is a combined sales target across the two companies' books rather than new revenue for either one, and neither would say what the joint business is worth today. The release separately describes the alliance as backed by "joint investments," though neither company would say how much. Palo Alto Networks alone guided to roughly $11.4 billion in revenue for its 2026 fiscal year. Split across three years and two balance sheets, $1 billion tells you what the companies intend to chase, not what either one has won. WHAT CHANGED SINCE APRIL The two firms were already working together. NTT DATA was one of five launch partners in Palo Alto's Frontier AI Alliance in April, alongside Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, and PwC. The group has since grown to more than a dozen firms, including Infosys, Wipro, TCS, and McKinsey. Palo Alto Networks said the earlier alliance was narrowly focused on securing AI deployments and frontier models, while this agreement spans its full portfolio globally. Chairman and CEO Nikesh Arora said the expanded alliance lets the company "operationalize platformization at true global scale," industry shorthand for pushing customers off a patchwork of security tools and onto one vendor's stack. NTT DATA described it as a step further, saying the Frontier AI Alliance created the ecosystem while this agreement creates a dedicated go-to-market and delivery model between the two companies. Being one of thirteen partners is not the same as having a joint engineering roadmap, early access to unreleased platform features, and a shared revenue target.

Palo Alto Networks, NTT DATA Target $1B in Strategic AI Alliance - Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) shares are down Thursday as the broader market faces a slight downturn with S&P 500 futures down 0.5%. Today, the company formed its first strategic alliance of this kind with a global systems integrator, NTT DATA. It targets $1 billion in combined business by the end of 2029. The partnership marks a significant step in enhancing cybersecurity solutions through AI. * Palo Alto Networks shares are under pressure. Why are PANW shares declining? AI Security Alliance The company aims to combine AI-powered security innovations with enterprise-scale consulting and managed services to help organizations navigate Frontier AI with integrated governance. This alliance is designed to provide comprehensive support for organizations looking to implement advanced security measures in their operations. The partnership integrates Palo Alto Networks' AI-driven cybersecurity platforms with NTT DATA's consulting, engineering and managed services, supported by joint engineering, co-innovation and coordinated global delivery to help customers evaluate cyber risks, deploy AI securely and continuously enhance their security posture through an integrated strategy, implementation and managed-services model. With joint investments, more than 2,000 certified experts and dedicated Forward Deployed Engineers, the companies aim to simplify deployments and accelerate customer results. PANW Technical Outlook: Trend, Momentum and Key Levels From a technical perspective, Palo Alto Networks is currently trading at $353.01, which positions it 0.6% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) of $355.13. The stock is also trading 6.3% above its 50-day SMA of $332.16, indicating a strong upward trend over the medium term. The 12-month performance shows a remarkable gain of 95.07%, reflecting robust growth in the past year. Momentum indicators reveal the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 52.49, suggesting a neutral stance in the current market conditions. This indicates that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold, allowing for potential movement in either direction. The 50-day SMA has recently crossed above the 200-day SMA, forming a golden cross, which is typically seen as a bullish signal for future price movements. Key Resistance: $368.50 -- Nearby level where rebounds can stall, aligning with recent pivot zones. Key Support: $315 -- Nearby level where buyers previously stepped in, tied to the 52-week low zone. PANW Earnings Preview and Analyst Price Targets The countdown is on: Palo Alto is set to report earnings on Sept. 1 (confirmed). * EPS Estimate: 88 cents (Down from 95 cents) * Revenue Estimate: $3.35 billion (Up from $2.54 billion) * Valuation: P/E of 312.8x (Indicates premium valuation) Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with a consensus price forecast of $346.79. Recent analyst moves include: * Mizuho: Outperform (Raises target to $415 on Aug. 19) * Stifel: Buy (Raises target to $415 on Aug. 19) * UBS: Neutral (Raises target to $390 on Aug. 19) Markets Palo Alto Networks' Key Test Is Whether Fiscal 2027 NGS ARR Guidance Can Beat Expectations: Analyst Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its price target on Palo Alto Networks stock to $425 from $340 ahead of the company's fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 earnings, pointing to the fiscal 2027 NGS ARR guide as the metric that will determine the stock's next move. 2 min read Read this article How PANW Ranks On Value, Growth and Momentum Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Palo Alto Networks, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market: * Value: 3.09 -- Trading at a steep premium relative to peers. * Growth: 75.18 -- Indicates strong growth potential. * Momentum: 97.05 -- Stock is outperforming the broader market. Latest Private Market Opportunities Join 400,000+ Investors The Verdict: Palo Alto Networks' Benzinga Edge signal reveals a growth-heavy profile with strong momentum indicators. However, the value score suggests the stock is trading at a premium compared to its peers, which may warrant caution for value-focused investors. PANW ETF Exposure and Passive Fund Flow Risk * Amplify HYG High Yield 10% Target Income ETF (NYSE:HYG): 8.44% Weight * First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ:CIBR): 9.43% Weight * Segall Bryant & Hamill Select Equity ETF (NYSE:USSE): 6.80% Weight Significance: Because Palo Alto Networks carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. PANW Stock Price Action In Premarket Trading PANW Stock Price Activity: Palo Alto Networks shares were down 1.88% at $353.01 at publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo via Shutterstock This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks Forge Global Alliance to Accelerate Secure AI Adoption

Initial solutions will address the most pressing cybersecurity challenges facing clients in highly regulated and critical industries, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector, across six strategic transformation areas: Autonomous Security Operations Center (SOC) - Modernize security operations with Agentic AI and managed services that help organizations detect, investigate and respond faster to increasingly sophisticated, machine-speed cyber threats while reducing operational complexity. AI governance - Embed governance, security and risk management throughout the AI lifecycle, helping organizations manage emerging AI risks and confidently scale AI innovation with greater accountability, transparency and control. Identity security - Protect human, machine and AI agent identities, including workloads and devices, through an Identity Security Framework designed to discover, manage, secure and govern identities across the enterprise. Zero Trust & SASE - Helps secure users, applications and data across an increasingly complex attack surface through a unified Zero trust and secure edge architecture, leveraging AI-driven threat detection and prevention. Resilient cloud - Enables organizations to improve visibility, compliance and autonomous risk reduction across multi-cloud environments with AI-enabled security posture management and stronger governance. Firewall modernization - Modernize firewall environments to reduce complexity, improve visibility and strengthen enterprise security.

NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks Sign Global Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Secure AI Transformation

NTT DATA and Palo Alto Networks today announced a multi-year strategic alliance designed to help organizations securely adopt AI, modernize cybersecurity, simplify complex technology environments and build cyber resilience for the AI era. As Palo Alto Networks first strategic alliance of this kind with a global systems integrator, the agreement, which targets $1 billion in joint business by the end of three years (2029), combines Palo Alto Networks AI-powered cybersecurity platforms with NTT DATA's consulting, engineering and managed services. Leveraging joint engineering, co-innovation and coordinated global delivery, the alliance will help clients assess cyber risk, deploy AI securely and continuously optimize security. Through these joint solutions, clients will gain a unified approach that seamlessly spans cybersecurity strategy, implementation and managed services. Building on the companies' Frontier AI collaboration, the alliance brings together Palo Alto Networks Unit 42® threat intelligence with NTT DATA's global cybersecurity expertise, AI governance and managed services. Backed by joint investments, more than 2,000 certified experts, as well as dedicated Forward Deployed Engineers, the alliance will deliver a seamless approach to streamline deployments and speed client outcomes. Through direct engineering collaboration, NTT DATA will gain early access to new platform features -- further accelerating the delivery of AI security services to clients. Initial solutions will address the most pressing cybersecurity challenges facing clients in highly regulated and critical industries, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector, across six strategic transformation areas: * Autonomous Security Operations Center (SOC) - Modernize security operations with Agentic AI and managed services that help organizations detect, investigate and respond faster to increasingly sophisticated, machine-speed cyber threats while reducing operational complexity. * AI governance - Embed governance, security and risk management throughout the AI lifecycle, helping organizations manage emerging AI risks and confidently scale AI innovation with greater accountability, transparency and control. * Identity security - Protect human, machine and AI agent identities, including workloads and devices, through an Identity Security Framework designed to discover, manage, secure and govern identities across the enterprise. * Zero Trust & SASE - Helps secure users, applications and data across an increasingly complex attack surface through a unified Zero trust and secure edge architecture, leveraging AI-driven threat detection and prevention. * Resilient cloud - Enables organizations to improve visibility, compliance and autonomous risk reduction across multi-cloud environments with AI-enabled security posture management and stronger governance. * Firewall modernization - Modernize firewall environments to reduce complexity, improve visibility and strengthen enterprise security. "AI is reshaping both business and cybersecurity, making deep ecosystem collaboration more important than ever," said Nikesh Arora, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Palo Alto Networks. "Expanding our alliance with NTT DATA allows us to operationalize platformization at true global scale, helping enterprises eliminate legacy complexity and move fast without sacrificing safety." "AI is redefining every aspect of the enterprise, but it is also transforming the threat landscape at unprecedented speed. Organizations need a new approach to cyber resilience that combines AI-driven security, deep industry expertise and global scale," said Abhijit Dubey, Chief Executive Officer and Chief AI Officer, NTT DATA, Inc. "Together with Palo Alto Networks, we're bringing AI-powered cybersecurity innovation together with NTT DATA's consulting, engineering and managed services capabilities to help clients securely accelerate AI adoption and stay ahead of evolving threats." NTT DATA brings world-class cybersecurity expertise to the collaboration, backed by over 7,500 cybersecurity professionals, 70+ delivery centers and 20+ Autonomous Cyber Defense Centers. Paired with Palo Alto Networks AI-powered platforms and Unit 42 threat intelligence, the alliance delivers the technology, expertise and global reach enterprise organizations need to securely deploy AI across complex environments.