Vodafone has announced an investment of $1.5B in collaboration with Microsoft. This decade-long venture targets the development of various sectors including artificial intelligence (AI), digital payments, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
- AI-Enabled Customer Service: As part of the agreement, Vodafone is set to employ OpenAI technology on Azure to improve its customer service operations. This includes the enhancement of its consumer chatbot, providing a more seamless and efficient customer experience.
- Employee Empowerment: Vodafone employees will gain access to Microsoft Copilot, which is expected to streamline company operations and boost productivity.
- Broader Microsoft Services Integration: The agreement allows Vodafone to expand its offering of Microsoft services to business clients, including Azure and Teams. This will also enable the telecom operator to transition from using its own data centers to Azure, marking a significant shift in its operations.
- Boost in IoT Division: Microsoft plans to inject an undisclosed investment into Vodafone’s Internet of Things division, which the UK-based carrier aims to spin off by April. Vodafone intends to invite other partners for investment while retaining a majority stake in the business.
- Benefiting from AI: The integration of AI is set to launch a slew of new applications, ranging from customer service enhancements to making software engineers more effective.
Vodafone also announced that its popular mobile money service M-Pesa would be run on Azure. This shift will enable the launch of new cloud-based apps, further expanding the capabilities of M-Pesa.
