New Delhi, October 15 (Daily Kiran): Bharti Airtel has announced a strategic partnership with IBM to enhance its recently launched Airtel Cloud platform. The collaboration will combine Airtel’s secure, scalable, and compliant cloud infrastructure with IBM’s advanced hybrid cloud and AI technologies, helping enterprises in regulated sectors modernise and manage AI workloads more efficiently.
Airtel and IBM Join Forces
According to Airtel, the partnership will bring together Airtel Cloud’s telco-grade reliability and data security with IBM’s leadership in industry-specific cloud and AI solutions. “This collaboration will deliver advanced infrastructure and software technologies designed for AI inferencing,” Airtel said in an exchange filing on Wednesday.
Powering Regulated Industries
Under this partnership, Airtel Cloud customers will be able to use the IBM Power Systems portfolio as-a-Service, including the latest IBM Power11 AI-ready servers for mission-critical applications across banking, healthcare, and government sectors. The hybrid platform will support workloads such as IBM Power AIX, IBM i, Linux, and SAP Cloud ERP.
The move will also help SAP customers using IBM Power to advance their ERP transformation to SAP Cloud ERP on IBM Power Virtual Server.
Leadership Remarks
Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, said the collaboration will strengthen Airtel Cloud’s ability to meet the digital transformation needs of highly regulated industries.
“With this partnership, we are adding significant capabilities to our cloud platform to address the unique needs of industries that demand AI readiness and compliance,” Vittal said.
He added that Airtel is expanding its availability zones in India from four to ten, hosted in its next-generation sustainable data centres, and plans to set up two new Multizone Regions (MZRs) in Mumbai and Chennai.
Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of IBM, said the partnership will help Indian enterprises balance modernisation with regulatory and AI requirements.
“Through this partnership, clients across India can leverage IBM’s cloud offerings to address industry-specific requirements and strategic business priorities in the era of AI,” he noted.
Driving AI Readiness
The partnership will integrate IBM’s AI software stack built on watsonx and Red Hat OpenShift AI, enabling customers to run AI inference across hybrid environments. Clients will gain access to Red Hat’s suite of hybrid cloud solutions like OpenShift Virtualisation and OpenShift AI, ensuring smooth interoperability across on-premise, cloud, and edge infrastructures.
According to a joint statement, IBM’s hybrid cloud architecture will help Indian enterprises accelerate generative AI adoption and future innovation, including in quantum computing.
Expanding Airtel Cloud’s Reach
The establishment of Airtel Multi Zone Regions (MZRs) will enhance operational resilience, ensure data residency compliance, and maintain high availability for critical enterprise applications. Both companies aim to enable regulated industries to scale AI workloads efficiently while maintaining interoperability across multiple environments.
My name is Bhupendra Singh Chundawat. I am an experienced content writer with several years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including technology, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
