Kyndryl’s Japanese subsidiary has announced a strategic partnership with Japanese telco SoftBank, which focuses on multi-cloud enablement, systems integration and 5G networking to “drive digital transformation projects” for Japan-based customers, the two companies said in a release.
Under the terms of the deal, Kyndryl and SoftBank said they will support the “digital evolution of companies and organizations … by utilizing public clouds, managed service provider (MSP) services, security solutions and communication networks provided by SoftBank, and Kyndryl’s system consulting and advanced technology services expertise.”
In addition to cloud and system integration, the companies will also utilize 5G and IoT technologies to work together on providing specialized solutions for industries.
Under its “Multicloud Strategy”, SoftBank provides various public clouds, security solutions, communication networks, and also support from consulting to implementation support and operation in the introduction of major public clouds. In addition to providing solutions that collect and visualize data using IoT and video analysis solutions that utilize AI, SoftBank said it plans to provide a private 5G managed service for corporations in the future.
Kyndryl began operations in September 2021 with the spin-off of IBM’s managed infrastructure services business. The company recently struck a partnership with Nokia to jointly sell and develop private networking and edge computing solutions for the Industry 4.0 market. That partnership emerged from a joint private 5G innovation project, geared for Industry 4.0, plus a number of joint installations and proofs for chemicals company Dow Inc.
Kyndryl claims to serve three quarters of Fortune 100 companies.
Kyndryl and SoftBank say they will leverage their combined strengths and technological capabilities to collaborate on cloud and system integration to support the following industries and use cases:
-Financial industry: Kyndryl and SoftBank will propose a combination of Kyndryl’s IT consulting and IT infrastructure design, construction and operation, as well as the introduction of support and security services of Microsoft 365 by SoftBank.
-Non-iron metal industry: SoftBank’s MSP services and Kyndryl’s IT consultation and design know-how will turn outdated system platforms into a hybrid multicloud platform that can respond to digital transformation project demands.
-Manufacturing industry: In this field, Kyndryl will propose the design and building of the entire IT system in the factory while building a network within the factory, leveraging SoftBank’s private 5G.
Going forward, the parties said they plan to work together with member companies and organizations of SoftBank’s 5G Consortium ecosystem to engage in efforts to drive digital transformation, especially for manufacturers.
