Inking a decade-long strategic partnership, Vodafone and Microsoft are set to introduce generative AI, cloud services, and digital solutions to over 300 million businesses and customers across Europe and Africa. With Vodafone committing a $1.5 billion investment over the next 10 years in collaborative cloud and customer-centric AI services, the partnership will see Microsoft leveraging Vodafone’s fixed and mobile connectivity services. The alliance will revamp Vodafone’s customer experience through generative AI and enhance its global data center cloud strategy. Additionally, Microsoft plans to invest in Vodafone’s managed IoT connectivity platform, set to operate as a standalone business by April 2024.

Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone Group, said, “Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers.” 

In his comments, Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, of Microsoft said, “This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organisation and every industry around the world. We are delighted that together with Vodafone we will apply the latest cloud and AI technology to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the company’s transition to the cloud.”

Vodafone and Microsoft have outlined five key areas of collaboration, focusing on Generative AI, IoT scalability, digital acceleration in Africa, enterprise growth, and Cloud transformation.