Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, on Monday announced it has joined forces with Google Cloud in a long-term partnership to empower Indian businesses with advanced cloud solutions and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies. This strategic alliance aims to unlock the immense potential of the booming Indian cloud market, projected to reach a staggering $17.8 billion by 2027, according to an IDC report.
The partnership leverages the strengths of both giants. Airtel reportedly boasts a vast customer base exceeding 2,000 large enterprises and over 1 million emerging businesses. Google Cloud, on the other hand, brings its industry-leading suite of cloud solutions and expertise in GenAI.
“We are happy to partner with Google Cloud and jointly address this market opportunity with secure and scalable cloud solutions for government, enterprises, and emerging businesses,” said Bharti Airtel managing director and chief executive officer Gopal Vittal. “Together, we will also accelerate the deployment of Gen AI in the country and unlock its potential to solve problems,” he added.
The Indian telecom operator will provide a suite of cloud-managed services, enabling businesses to seamlessly migrate and modernize their operations on Google Cloud’s secure and scalable platform. Additionally, businesses can leverage Google Cloud’s marketing technology expertise to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior, perform audience segmentation, and create targeted marketing campaigns with contextual ads.
“We are committed to exploring and building transformative solutions that elevate Airtel’s customer experiences,” said Thomas Kurian, chief executive officer of Google Cloud. The two companies will further co-create cutting-edge AI/ML solutions specifically tailored for Indian businesses. These solutions will leverage Airtel’s extensive data sets to deliver functionalities like geospatial analytics, predictive capabilities, market assessment, and voice analytics for enhanced customer interactions.
Airtel further plans to utilize Google Cloud’s GenAI capabilities to transform customer experiences across its mobile, broadband, and digital TV services. Businesses can also expect to benefit from these advanced AI applications.
Underpinning this initiative is a dedicated services center established by Airtel in Pune. This center houses over 300 experts trained to champion Google Cloud services and develop innovative tech solutions.
