Google joins battle to capture India’s growing cloud market

Google pens cloud deal with India’s third-largest telco

Google is the latest major cloud provider to set its sights on the thriving Indian market, joining fellow “big three” players AWS & Azure in stepping up commercial efforts in the country.

The technology giant’s cloud arm has penned a deal with Airtel which will see India’s third-largest telco offer G Suite’s cloud-based applications to small and medium businesses.

The telco, which boasts over 325 million subscribers, currently serves over 500,000 small and medium-sized businesses and startups in the country, in addition to 2,500 large businesses.

Google Cloud’s chief executive Thomas Kurian commented:

“Indian companies are making a massive transformation to the cloud and we’re thrilled to partner with Airtel to support this transition. The combination of G Suite’s collaboration and productivity tools with Airtel’s digital business offerings will help accelerate digital innovations for thousands of Indian businesses.”

Microsoft Azure struck a similar deal with India’s largest telco Reliance Jio last August. Under the 10-year deal, Jio is to sell Azure services to small businesses and construct Azure-hosted data centres across the country.

Cloud market leader AWS has no active deals with Indian telcos, although it previously partnered with Airtel to guarantee customers dedicated cloud connections. Last week, Amazon announced it was investing $1 billion into its India operations to bring more of the country’s merchants online.

As India offers some of the world’s cheapest mobile internet, the majority of the country’s small and medium businesses rely on cellular plans for connectivity. Cloud giants keen to make a mark in the country have therefore identified telco providers as the key to expanding customer bases in the country.

In addition, India’s tech-savvy merchants are increasingly seeking out digital tools, storage services and online payments services. It is these customers who represent the low hanging fruit for the major cloud providers in their bid to conquer the Indian cloud market, which is estimated to be worth more than $7bn by 2023, according to Nasscom.

• Via TechCrunch