Vodafone expands Google partnership for Vertex AI

Vodafone and Google have signed off on a ten-year expansion of their existing partnership to bolster the telecom firm’s cloud-based platforms, both internally and externally. 

The two firms will work together to expand Vodafone’s business services powered by Google Cloud, through which Vodafone already manages its analytics, business intelligence, marketing, and networking analytics. 

A key element of the deal noted that Vodafone will use Google’s Vertex AI platform, an enterprise-focused machine learning (ML) system that lets users train and deploy AI applications and large language models (LLMs). Vodafone will use Vertex to build, deploy, and scale ML models and AI applications powered by Google’s Gemini.

“This will help increase the speed and ease with which Vodafone’s operating companies in multiple countries can innovate and launch new products,” Google Cloud said. 

The hyperscaler will create a generative AI training program for Vodafone employees to enable the effective use of AI tools within the firm. Vodafone will also commit to both distributing and building upon Google’s cloud-based services. For example, Vodafone will seek to build a new cloud-native cybersecurity offering for its business customers.

Vodafone’s business customers will also gain security incident and event management, and software-based protection tools through Google Cloud’s Security Operations platform. 

“This partnership will help the continuous evolution of our internal cybersecurity defences and enable us to provide our customers with advanced tools to help them proactively combat cyber threats,” Emma Smith, cybersecurity and technology strategy director at Vodafone, said. 

“Vodafone as a leading global connectivity provider will benefit not only in terms of their own security, but in their ability to customize and democratize these cyber defense solutions via a cloud-native security operations platform to other organizations,” Sunil Potti, VP and GM of Google Cloud Security, added. 

Experts from both firms will build products and scale use cases for digital, IT, and network teams to automate fault detection and streamline back-office operations, among other things.

“I’m excited to see how Vodafone’s consumers, small businesses, and governments, will use generative AI and Google Cloud to transform the way they work and access information,” Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai said.