Giant Telecommunications company Vodafone has signed a 10-year $1.5 billion partnership deal with Microsoft, to offer scaled digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organizations, and consumers across Europe and Africa.
Through this partnership, both companies will collaborate to transform Vodafone’s customer experience using Microsoft’s generative AI; hyperscale Vodafone’s leading managed IoT connectivity platform; develop new digital and financial services for businesses, particularly SMEs across Europe and Africa; and overhaul its global data center cloud strategy.
Vodafone will invest $1.5 billion over the next 10 years in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed in conjunction with Microsoft. Also, Microsoft will use Vodafone’s fixed and mobile connectivity services.
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Additionally, Microsoft intends to invest in Vodafone’s managed IoT connectivity platform, which will become a separate, standalone business by April 2024. The new company will attract new partners and customers, driving growth in applications and expanding the platform to connect more devices, vehicles and machines.
The digital services generated by the new partnership will use the latest generative AI technology to provide a highly personalized and differentiated customer experience across multiple channels. They will be built on unbiased and ethical privacy and security policies under Vodafone’s established framework for responsible AI.
Speaking on the partnership, Vodafone Group chief executive, Margherita Della Valle said,
“Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers”.
Also speaking on the partnership deal, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella said,
“This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organization and every industry around the world. We are delighted that together with Vodafone we will apply the latest cloud and AI technology to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the company’s transition to the cloud.”
Both companies noted that they have identified five key areas of collaboration which include Generative AI, Scaling IoT, Africa Digital Acceleration, Enterprise Growth, and Cloud Transformation.
Through African digital acceleration, Microsoft disclosed its intention to help further scale M-Pesa, Africa’s largest financial technology platform, by housing it on Azure and enabling the launch of new cloud-native applications.
Notably, Microsoft and Vodafone are also launching a purpose-led program that seeks to enrich the lives of 100 million consumers and 1 million SMEs across the African continent.
The goal is to enhance digital literacy, skilling and youth outreach programs, as well as offer digital services to the underserved SME market.