VMware, M1 new cloud offering targets digital start-ups and SMEs
Singaporean communications company M1 Limited and software and services provider VMware announced a new cloud offering Tuesday made for digital start-ups, and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). According to the companies, the service will enable budding tech businesses to develop software-based products quickly in addition to growing their business without an expensive infrastructure expenditure.
M1 said it is improving its next-generation software-defined data center (SDDC), which is powered by VMware cloud provider program, with container support from Pivotal Container Service (PKS). The new cloud offering by the companies provides access to production-grade automation system Kubernetes and natively-supported toolkits. The companies said this allows containerized workloads to be deployed faster across both public and private clouds, enabling start-ups and SEMs to accelerate time-to-market innovations, while saving on investment in on-premises infrastructure.
“We are inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of made-in-Singaporedigital start-ups. We want to help advance their growth ambitions by offering them access to enterprise-grade, best-in-class tools that they may not have the resources to procure independently,” said Alex Tan, M1 chief innovation officer.
“M1 offers an integrated suite of on-demand compute, storage, networking and security services through SDDC. In addition, this will be supplemented by native container support and cloud interoperability, allowing businesses to innovate in best-in-class customer experiences and challenge the status quo,” he added.
The cost-efficient cloud offering is intended to help Singapore’s digital start-ups gain a competitive edge in an already competitive market. Embracing cloud services is seen as pivotal in an era of virtualization, allowing businesses to accelerate their digital transformation efforts. According to a report by research firm IDC, approximately 50% of the Global 2000 will see the bulk of their business rely on their ability to produce digitally-enhanced products, services and experiences.
“Cloud lies at the heart of all business transformation, regardless of company size or sector. Start-ups need a reliable cloud infrastructure to compete and offer a differentiated customer experience,” said Ron Goh, president, Southeast Asia and Korea, VMware. “As a proud partner of M1’s next generation SDDC, we are confident that this complete network and security virtualization platform will be a vital infrastructure supporting the business goals of M1’s start-up customers.”
