India’s third largest software services firm said it would launch a Hybrid Next-Generation Cloud portfolio to support Proximus’ large customer base and more than 11,000 employees. In addition, the Benelux region’s mid-market and government businesses will gain access to joint solution offerings from HCL and Proximus.
“This is a ground-breaking collaboration between HCL and Proximus,” said C Vijayakumar, managing director and chief executive at HCL Technologies. “Together, we look forward to developing a competitive cloud environment and digital offerings for the Belgian market. HCL’s investment in a dedicated lab will not only drive innovation and growth at Proximus, but it will also support its endeavours to develop the next generation of digital talent in Belgium.”
The HCL-Proximus deal expands the Belgian firm’s commitment to “act for a green and digital society”, as the cloud platform will use the latest green data centre technology to minimise its carbon footprint.
HCL Technologies will invest in a dedicated innovation lab, providing Proximus with exclusive access to its IP, product and partner ecosystem. This will enable Proximus to use HCL’s extensive telecom and technology domain expertise to develop innovative 5G, Edge and IoT solutions.
HCL and Proximus will together leverage the innovation lab to upskill employees in AI-led operations, automation, agile infrastructure management and cloud-native development, the company said in a statement.
“… this agreement between Proximus and HCL…will bring us economies of scale, knowledge, best practices, tools, experience and expertise,” said Guillaume Boutin, CEO of the Proximus Group. “This IT infrastructure partnership will not only allow us to assure the development of the best customer offer, but it will also make sure that we’re able to retain strong strategic influence in the cloud domain.”
Ashish Gupta, senior corporate vice president and head of EMEA, HCL Technologies, said: “The next-generation cloud platform will give us a true market advantage, enabling us to offer a portfolio of futuristic and competitive cloud offerings to clients.”
On Wednesday, HCL Technologies shares rose 0.93% to Rs 1,281.00 apiece on the BSE while the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.43% lower at 59,413.27 points.
