Telecommunications major Bharti Airtel Limited, and Amdocs, a software and services provider on Thursday announced a strategic partnership creating an innovation foundry to bring new services to Airtel's customers in India. The partnership includes a long-term contract to introduce cutting edge technologies and practices to enhance Airtel's customers' service experience.
"We are delighted to have Amdocs as a part of our ecosystem of strategic business partners and look forward to collaborating with them to build a solid innovation pipeline for the future. Amdocs' sharp focus on telecoms and their DNA of cutting edge innovation will add immense value to Airtel's digital transformation journey and help us to deliver a world class experience to our customers," said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel India.
By leveraging Amdocs innovation centres, delivery expertise, and its ecosystem of startups, Amdocs will deploy machine learning and advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies across Airtel's multiple lines of business to help pre-empt and self-heal operational issues, introduce smartbots into digital channels, and quickly launch and activate new services, thereby enabling a seamless customer experience.
"This program is at the epicenter of two innovation waves: India's fast growing and dynamic market and the communications industry's amazing pace of change. Airtel India is a pioneer and innovator, and our partnership will be an innovation engine to the industry and drive our joint success," said Eli Gelman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amdocs.
Airtel recently rolled out 'Project Next' - its digital innovation program aimed at transforming customer experience across all of its services and touch points. It plans to launch several exciting digital innovations to simplify and enhance interactivity of the Airtel customer experience. Project Next complements Airtel's massive investments in building a future ready network under Project Leap.
Airtel had previously deployed Amdocs for billing, and now they are augmenting it with Amdocs' advanced digital technologies.