Vodafone plans to invest £1.2 billion to advance its cloud and customer services using AI over the next 10 years. It will be supported by
Microsoft’s OpenAI and Azure technologies, while employees will also have access to Microsoft Copilot.
Under the new partnership, Vodafone will replace its physical data centres with cheaper and scalable Azure cloud services.
Microsoft will also invest equity in Vodafone’s IoT platform, which is due to become a standalone business by April 2024. In return,
Microsoft will be allowed to use Vodafone’s fixed and mobile connectivity services.
Vodafone is aiming to support 300 million businesses and consumers across its European and African markets as a result of the collaboration.
Vodafone Group chief executive, Margherita Della Valle, said, “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.”
Microsoft chair and CEO, 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 business.”