MUFG, NTT DATA & NTT WEST successfully demo All-Photonics Network for data centres

By Gloria Methri

MUFG Bank, NTT DATA, and NTT WEST have successfully tested a high-speed, low-latency data centre connection using the IOWN All-Photonics Network (APN). The test demonstrated live migration of an IT system between data centres 50–100 km apart with less than one second of downtime. Additionally, it showcased synchronous database replication over long distances, connecting locations up to 2,500 km apart.

The financial services sector faces a unique range of challenges that can be addressed through digital transformation, including performance limitations, regulatory compliance, and the critical need for reliable and resilient service delivery.

Geographically dispersed data centres are one way to solve these challenges and ensure highly reliable and disaster-resistant financial systems. However, mechanisms are required to effectively utilise technical resources across multiple locations and transfer data quickly while minimising system downtime. Additionally, rapid system backups and data transfers in remote locations are necessary to facilitate swift infrastructure recovery in response to disasters. MUFG and NTT DATA have collaborated to ensure IOWN APN can meet these requirements of next-generation financial systems.

The companies published a white paper through the IOWN GF in July 2024, identifying how IOWN technology can address the financial sector’s challenges for digital transformation. A technical document released in February 2025 outlined the technology’s implementation model and served as a handbook for the proof-of-concept (PoC).

To validate the technology’s efficacy, MUFG, NTT DATA, and NTT WEST have jointly conducted two assessments based on the white paper and technical document.

The first assessment, conducted by NTT DATA and NTT WEST, ‘Live Data Migration between Data Centers’ was a live migration of a virtualised simulated financial system across multiple data centers within a 70 km radius. During the assessment, critical parameters such as data transfer time and system downtime were measured, and the results were evaluated from the perspectives of applications, databases, virtualised platforms, and networks. The results were promising, proving the effectiveness of IOWN APN with service downtime kept at under one second.

The second assessment, conducted by all three parties, ‘Long Distance Synchronous Data Replication,’ evaluated database synchronisation performance using a long-distance optical communication network, simulating distances ranging from 250 to 2,500 km. The assessment focused primarily on database synchronisation, revealing substantial reductions in synchronization delays and fluctuations. The results proved IOWN APN’s capability to achieve synchronous database replication over long distances, a feat that was previously deemed challenging.

Hidehiko Tanaka, Head of Technology and Innovation at NTT DATA, has said, “The financial industry is undergoing a rapid technological evolution, driven by the tremendous demand for next-generation financial services, and spurred by the rapid surge of technical innovation globally. Our collaboration with MUFG and NTT WEST aims to enable this transformation and make next-generation financial services a reality through the use of IOWN technology.”