IBM said it signed a multi-million-dollar five-year agreement with Vodafone Idea Limited in India for customer services and IT management. The collaboration will provide Vodafone Idea with a hybrid cloud-based digital platform to enable engagement with its over 387 million subscribers.

IBM will deliver services for Vodafone Idea leveraging its prior capabilities with Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. It will consolidate applications, and infrastructure including data centers, disaster recovery centers, and further accelerate existing cloud usage. Solutions deployed by Vodafone India Limited and Idea Cellular Limited earlier will be merged and big data capabilities will be enhanced.

Vodafone Idea will also leverage dynamic automation and robotic process automation to drive efficiency and standardization across IT operations. AI and machine learning based Cognitive Solutions aim to provide Vodafone Idea with a secure environment ensuring regulatory compliance, intelligent threat detection, and data protection.

IBM is also supporting Vodafone Idea with an option of extended flexible payment plan structure for the term of the contract through IBM Global Financing, its wholly owned subsidiary.

Vodafone Idea is collaborating with leading global technology partners including IBM to deploy new age technologies with built-in customizations and novel innovations. The use of IBM's hybrid and multicloud, analytics and AI security capabilities will assist in pushing Vodafone Idea's progression to an open, agile and secure IT environment. It will also provide a platform for fast-track joint initiatives in AI and IOT, said IBM.

Vodafone Idea's customers, from consumers to enterprises, will have to embrace the challenge of digital disruption over the next years. We believe that this agreement builds the foundation for both companies to address these emerging opportunities while ensuring a continued high level of service for its customers, said IBM.

“Consumers have come to expect mobile networks that effortlessly meet their data demands providing the consistency and flexibility required in today's era of interconnectedness,” said Juan Zufiria, IBM Senior Vice president of Global Technology Services. “Our collaboration with Vodafone Idea will take advantage of Hybrid and multicloud, Analytics and AI, to enable Vodafone Idea to further differentiate itself in the market, including by leveraging the convergence of Network and IT in the Cloud.”