Bharti Airtel has partnered with IBM to enhance its Airtel Cloud. This collaboration aims to integrate Airtel’s reliability and security with IBM’s cloud solutions and AI technologies. The partnership will enable enterprises to scale AI workloads efficiently and deploy IBM Power systems. The partnership will also expand Airtel’s availability zones in India and establish new Multizone Regions in Mumbai and Chennai.
Airtel and IBM Join Forces
Bharti Airtel and IBM have announced a strategic partnership focused on enhancing Airtel Cloud. The collaboration aims to bring together Airtel’s telecommunications infrastructure with IBM’s expertise in cloud solutions and AI inferencing. This will allow enterprises in regulated industries to scale AI workloads more efficiently.
Key Partnership Objectives
The partnership between Airtel and IBM is expected to focus on:
- Enabling enterprises to scale AI workloads efficiently across various infrastructures.
- Deploying IBM Power systems portfolio as-a-Service for Airtel Cloud customers.
- Supporting critical enterprise workloads, including IBM Power AIX, IBM i, Linux, and SAP Cloud ERP.
- Expanding Airtel’s availability zones in India from four to ten.
- Establishing new Multizone Regions (MZRs) in Mumbai and Chennai.
IBM Power Systems Deployment
Airtel Cloud customers will gain the ability to deploy the IBM Power systems portfolio, including the latest-generation IBM Power11 autonomous, AI-ready servers. These servers are designed for mission-critical applications in sectors like banking, healthcare, and government. This deployment will also support critical enterprise workloads such as IBM Power AIX and SAP Cloud ERP.
Executive Perspectives
Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, stated that the IBM partnership will add substantial capabilities to the Airtel Cloud platform, addressing the unique needs of industries requiring migration from IBM Power Systems and AI readiness.
Rob Thomas, SVP and Chief Commercial Officer at IBM, commented on the need for enterprises to balance modernization with growing regulatory and AI requirements. He highlighted that the partnership will allow clients across India to leverage IBM’s cloud offerings.
AI Capabilities
The collaboration will leverage IBM’s software stack for AI inferencing, built on IBM watsonx and Red Hat OpenShift AI. This will enable clients in India to run AI inference across hybrid cloud environments. The partnership includes access to Red Hat’s hybrid cloud solutions, such as Red Hat OpenShift Virtualisation.
Source: BSE