Telefonica also said it is currently using Google Cloud internally to advance in its own digital transformation
Spanish carrier Telefonica and Google Cloud announced the renewal and extension of their partnership to help businesses accelerate their digital transformations.
The European operator noted that the agreement includes the expansion of Google Cloud services offered by Telefónica Tech for the B2B market, cloud adoption by Telefónica for its own business as well as the strengthening of collaboration in key areas of innovation, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI).
Telefonica also said it is currently using Google Cloud internally to advance in its own digital transformation, leveraging Google Cloud’s technologies in areas such as IT. Telefónica added that it has accelerated the transformation of its own operations systems, improving application deployment time and optimizing infrastructure.
The partnership, which was extended for three additional years, will explore collaboration in areas such as the use of AI and data services, the use of Google Cloud’s solutions to host network functions under a telco cloud approach and the improvement of Telefónica’s network operation via automation.
Also, Telefonica Tech, the digital transformation arm of the Spanish operator, has obtained five specializations in Google Cloud: Workspace for Enterprise, Infrastructure, Application Development, Data Analytics, and Cloud Migration. Additionally, Telefónica Tech has attained Google Cloud’s Managed Service Provider status.
“This extension of the partnership reinforces Google Cloud as a key partner for Telefonica in the coming years. Many of our new services and processes will be based on the innovation, agility, scalability and flexibility that Google Cloud provides to us,” said Enrique Blanco, Telefónica Global CTIO.
Telefonica said it will explore a set of innovation projects with Google Cloud on previously agreed areas, which include AI, Gen AI, MLOps, accelerated computing infrastructure for AI, Web3, blockchain, quantum and edge computing.
Google Cloud is also working closely with Wayra, Telefonica’s corporate venture capital organization, to provide startups with technology to help them innovate their product development processes, optimize costs and support their market expansions.
Last year, Telefonica signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ericsson to accelerate the adoption towards an increasingly open network built upon Ericsson’s Cloud RAN architecture.
Under the terms of the deal, Telefónica and Ericsson said they will also explore how to deploy cloud RAN sites with a high degree of automation, adopting approaches “in line with best practice in cloud ecosystems”. This includes leveraging rApps in the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) and service management and orchestration (SMO) architecture to enhance radio access network (RAN) solutions, the partners said.
