India’s second-largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, has partnered with IBM (NYSE:IBM) to offer the U.S software firm’s services through its recently launched cloud platform, as demand for cloud computing grows.
Airtel Cloud Gets A Boost Months After Launch
The deal will allow Airtel Cloud’s customers to leverage IBM’s offerings, including AI-ready servers for applications, particularly in regulated sectors such as banking, healthcare, and government, Bharti Airtel announced in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
The company’s digital unit Xtelify unveiled its Airtel Cloud service in August.
IBM and Airtel also intend to set up two new Multizone Regions (MZRs) in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Chennai, according to Gopal Vittal, vice chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel.
MZRs refer to cloud infrastructure spread across multiple physical locations in separate zones, designed to keep data and operations secure and uninterrupted even if one region experiences a failure.
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IBM Expands AI Reach With New Deals
IBM has been actively expanding its AI capabilities. The company announced a partnership with S&P Global earlier this month to integrate its AI framework into S&P Global's product portfolio. This was followed by another strategic collaboration with Anthropic to advance enterprise-grade AI.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced a $15 billion investment to build its largest AI data center outside the U.S. in Visakhapatnam, India, over the next five years. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Group and Bharti Airtel will also partner with the U.S. tech giant to develop the facility.
Price Action: IBM shares are up by 25.56% so far this year.
Benzinga's Edge Rankings place IBM in the 80th percentile for quality and the 63rd percentile for momentum, reflecting its mixed performance. Check the detailed report here.
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