Airtel has formed a strategic alliance with IBM to enhance its newly launched Airtel Cloud. This collaboration is anticipated to combine Airtel Cloud's telecom-grade dependability, high security, and data residency with IBM’s expertise in cloud solutions, cutting-edge infrastructure, and software technologies tailored for AI inferencing.
As stated by the telecom provider, Airtel and IBM will focus on empowering enterprises within regulated sectors to scale their AI workloads more effectively, ensuring interoperability across various infrastructures, including on-premise, in the cloud, across different clouds, and at the edge.
Airtel Cloud users will benefit from IBM's Power systems as-a-Service, featuring IBM Power11 AI-ready servers for critical applications in sectors like banking and healthcare, Airtel said. The hybrid platform supports enterprise workloads, including IBM AIX, IBM i, Linux, and SAP Cloud ERP. This partnership also aids SAP customers in transitioning to SAP Cloud ERP on IBM Power Virtual Server.
Gopal Vittal, vice chairman and managing director of Airtel, said, “With the IBM partnership, we are adding substantial capabilities to our Cloud platform to address the unique needs of several industries that require migration from IBM Power Systems and allow for AI readiness.”
“With this partnership, we are also extending the footprint of our availability zones in India from four to ten, hosting these on our own next-gen sustainable data centres. We will, together, also establish two new Multizone Regions (MZRs) in Mumbai and Chennai soon,” he added.
MZRs provide cloud infrastructure across various physical locations to ensure data and operations remain secure during regional failures. This will help Indian businesses meet data residency requirements and keep critical applications running at all times, the companies stated.
IBM’s AI inference software, based on IBM watsonx and Red Hat OpenShift AI, allows clients in India to perform AI inference in hybrid cloud environments. It includes advanced IaaS and PaaS solutions, along with automation tools for generative AI. Clients can also access Red Hat’s hybrid solutions, while IBM’s architecture supports future AI and quantum computing innovations.
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