With the launch of a cloud communications platform – Airtel IQ, Bharti Airtel has entered the $1 billion market. The network provider’s in-house engineering teams fully developed the new platform, which has been integrated into telco grade infrastructure and built by digital experts in the company.
The Indian cloud communications market is estimated to be worth $ 1 billion and is growing about 20 per cent annually. The India cloud market is witnessing a visible impact in the probable and pessimistic scenario in terms of heightened adoption with public cloud leading the forefront of all infra-related investments. According to IDC’s COVID-19 impact on IT spending Survey – May 2020, as a result of the pandemic, 64 per cent of the organizations in India are expected to increase demand for cloud computing while 56 per cent for cloud software to support the new normal. Rishu Sharma, Prinicpal Analyst Cloud and Artificial Intelligence, IDC India said they expect an accelerated adoption of cloud, as organizations explore testing of many new initiatives natively on cloud. Sharma said that as industries move away from infrastructure of ownership, pay-per-use models likely to see an accelerated demand; public cloud services will be among the few technologies that are positively impacted by the COVID-19.
Bharti Airtel said businesses, with just a code, can embed communication services such as voice, SMS, IVR (interactive voice response) system in their applications and digital properties across desktop and mobile, all through a unified platform. Moreover, the company has signed up companies – Justdial, Swiggy, Dr Lal Path Labs, Havells India Ltd, Urban Company and Rapido for its beta phase. Adarsh Nair, Airtel’s chief product officer, said the newly launched platform is first amongst several game changing products that we will be bringing to the market. “Businesses are increasingly looking to cloud-based digital platforms to engage with consumers and Airtel IQ is built to raise the bar when it comes to brands delighting consumers,” he said. “As companies shifted to remote working due to COVID-19, they wanted a cloud-based digital solutions to engage with customers. Vivek Sunder, chief operating officer (COO) Swiggy, said that with Airtel IQ, the company has been able to deliver seamless and highly intuitive communication between all parties across their platform in a privacy contained and simplified fashion.
Airtel is India’s largest player in the business-to-business space and provides connectivity, cloud, security and collaboration and data center solutions.
