Microsoft signs 2 billion deal with AT&T

Microsoft will provide a cloud infrastructure and productivity services to U.S. telecom operator AT&T. These services are part of a multi-year deal that both companies have announced today, says SiliconAngle. The agreement is worth more than $2 billion.

The announcement comes a day after AT&T had already announced another multi-billion-dollar agreement with IBM for cloud infrastructure and professional services. However, the two deals concern different parts of the work of the American operator. IBM will mainly work with the business division AT&T Business Solutions, while Microsoft will provide its services to AT&T Communications. The latter branch is the parent company of all of AT&T’s telecom activities. However, the recently acquired WarnerMedia group does not fall under this category.

Details

The agreement stipulates that Microsoft Azure will be AT&T’s preferred cloud platform for workloads that are not otherwise related to the network infrastructure. In addition, a large proportion of the telecom operator’s 250,000 employees are transferred to Microsoft 365, the bundle containing Windows 10, Office 365 and a number of cybersecurity tools. “Together, we will use the power of Azure and Microsoft 365 to change the way AT&T employees work together and shape the future of media and communications for people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Both companies also intend to jointly develop solutions that will link Azure to AT&T’s network services. In particular, the focus will be on the 5G infrastructure that the operator is currently deploying.

The AT&T agreement represents a major expansion of Microsoft’s presence in the telecommunications market. Other cloud clients of the tech giant in this sector include the Swedish mobile provider Telia and the Spanish Telefónica, one of the largest providers in the world.