MTN and Microsoft are in the process of delivering a programme of work that will see the latest technologies deployed for the benefit of MTN’s customers, following the signing of a five-year partnership agreement last year
Starting with customers in South Africa and Nigeria, the core of the programme will focus on migrating BSS and OSS applications to the Microsoft Azure cloud, aiming to realise operational benefits and cost efficiencies. Work has already begun with the establishment of MTN Group Cloud Centre of Excellence and Project Nephos to migrate business application that have been carefully selected across to Azure.
MTN and Microsoft will work closely with Accenture, who will provide technology implementation, integration and support services to successfully enable the migration. One of the cornerstone elements of the programme is the migration of EVA, MTN’s extensive big data platform, to Azure, in order to further evolve its common data model to enable use cases that bridge divides across network, IT, and commercial domains, and take advantage of Azures capabilities in machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Nikos Angelopoulos, MTN Group chief information officer, said, “Our strategic partnership with Microsoft will enable us to transform the way we deliver products and services to our customers. We will bring the power of cloud computing to life driving development and innovation with speed, flexibility and predictable investments and operations. We remain focused on nurturing the digital skills within MTN and in the societies we operate in and building digital platforms to drive digital transformation across Africa and the Middle East.”
Nitesh Singh, communications, media and technology lead for Accenture Africa, commented, “Harnessing the power of MTN, Microsoft and Accenture, we will be working closely together to build the next wave of compressed digital transformation across the continent. We see this program becoming a global standard in the industry for years to come.”
MTN’s core belief is that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. Hundreds of MTN employees in Nigeria and South Africa have already benefitted from the Microsoft Enterprise Skills Initiative (ESI), which provides hands-on technical training and certification in Microsoft Azure technologies.
