MTN is set to go live with its bouquet of cloud services this month; following what the mobile operator says was a "highly successful" four-month trial, in six of its major African markets.
MTN Business unveiled a pilot project for its MTN Cloud bouquet of services, piloting the Cloud Service Brokerage model on the continent, in December. The launch targeted SMEs in in SA, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda.
The Cloud Service Brokerage model entails the centralisation of access to services where a third party - in this case MTN - acts as the single point of contact for customers.
Farhad Khan, executive for MTN's group enterprise business unit, says the response to the MTN Cloud trial was positive. "What the pilot project confirmed is that our offerings are on the mark. There is great appetite for ICT solutions that are relevant, customised and affordable."
The operator goes live with MTN Cloud in Ghana and Nigeria tomorrow, with other markets to follow "later in the year".
Trial upshot
As part of the MTN Cloud trial, participating companies were offered access to Office Desktop, an e-mail and collaborative software; Mozypro, a backup service for the management of files and servers; and Dialcom, an on-demand video conferencing offering.
Also on offer were McAfee, anti-virus and anti-spam security software; Averiware, used for companies' HR, accounting, finance and sales force automation needs; and Microsoft SharePoint, a staff and cross-functional collaborative tool. This is in addition to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a customer relations management tool.
MTN says the most popular of the MTN Cloud solutions during the trial were Averiware, MozyPro Online Backup, and McAfee SaaS.
Companies that participated in the pilot ranged from SMEs in the IT, manufacturing and hospitality sectors, in Ghana, to those in media and advertising, in Nigeria.
In line with its new commercial offering, says MTN, business customers will receive a 30-day trial of MTN Cloud. "Customers who subscribe to MTN Cloud, through MTN Business, in the different markets, will also be able to pay for services using airtime."
Plans are also under way to enable businesses to utilise MTN Mobile Money to pay for MTN Cloud services, says MTN.
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