Axiata Group’s B2B unit inked a deal with Google Cloud to deliver an arsenal of cloud computing and collaboration tools, a move the operator believed will help nations in Asia meet growing digitalisation needs while bringing enhanced resilience, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The partnership, which is expected to address the needs of millions of Asian companies, will be split into two stages.

Within the initial phase, the group’s operations will offer Google Workspace, a productivity app bundle by the tech giant designed for SMEs, which is being deployed by Axiata’s unit in Sri Lanka in the current quarter, with its operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia in H2.

As part of the second stage, the operators will employ Google Cloud’s core compute, storage and networking services to modernise businesses’ infrastructure and “drive their digital transformation initiatives”.

Axiata Enterprise CEO Gopi Kurup highlighted the pair aimed to aid businesses “digitise and grow as they build greater resilience for the long haul”, adding now was the “critical juncture” to support SMEs in adapting to “new digital norms for survival”.

In 2020, Axiata’s XL tapped Google’s Anthos for Telecom to meet its multi-cloud computing needs, and Celcom started using Google Cloud’s infrastructure for its payment gateway.