Deutsche Telekom and its business customer arm, T-Systems, are building out the public cloud on a massive scale. T-Systems is already European market leader in the private cloud segment, particularly in secured cloud services for corporate customers. IT services that are easily accessible through the public Internet, so from the public cloud, promise further growth.
Anette Bronder, head of the Digital Division, and Frank Strecker, who is in charge of the cloud business, explain how Deutsche Telekom plans to shake up the cloud market in 2016.
With Intercloud, Deutsche Telekom provides the basis for a secure, European Internet of Things.
The Intercloud with Cisco is here now, the Open Telekom Cloud will arrive in time for CeBIT, and the Microsoft offering from Biere will be on the scene in mid-2016. What role does the public cloud play in your strategy for 2016?
Anette Bronder: The market for public cloud offerings is growing apace, by more than 20 percent per year. We are therefore investing in this area and expanding our partner network with Cisco, Huawei and Microsoft, for example. This enables us to provide our customers with the cloud technology that suits them best. The highly scalable nature of public clouds also make them an ideal basis for real-time services, something we are pushing in the Digital Division.
Can you give us some examples?
Anette Bronder: Connected Car, Health, Energy, or the field of "smart cities," which combines all these areas. All this is gathering a huge amount of momentum. Even automotive groups like Audi are currently testing scenarios in test cities. Two things are indispensable for such real-time analyses: maximum availability and scalability. That is exactly why Cisco is a key partner. The Intercloud network is almost infinitely scalable. There are no load limits. With Intercloud, Deutsche Telekom provides the basis for a secure, European Internet of Things.
We can guarantee that customer data will not leave Germany.
What makes the German public cloud so special?
Frank Strecker: The public cloud is the simplest and most cost-effective way for companies to purchase IT services, be they computing, storage or services such as e-mail. Customers get everything they need with a few clicks via the Internet, without incurring investment costs for software and hardware, or for maintaining and operating their IT. However, current public cloud offerings are deemed to be insecure, especially in terms of data protection. With Cisco, we are offering a secure, German alternative. We can guarantee that customer data will not leave Germany. Data protection and data security are simply a top priority for our customers. Microsoft knew what it was doing when it commissioned us with the role of data trustee for its public cloud service.
Apart from smart cities, what does the public cloud offer companies?
Frank Strecker: Access to a gigantic, global, hybrid cloud. The Intercloud infrastructure is accessible worldwide, for example, and it can also build bridges to all cloud solutions, which are currently found in companies' IT landscapes like remote islands. For customers, this makes using the cloud substantially simpler. Our own solutions can also be combined Group-wide on the Intercloud platform. And there is always the fact that our location in Germany is a benefit, which is a novelty.
We want to offer the broadest possible range of services. And that is also what our customers expect.
Getting back to Microsoft and Huawei: Will the three future German public cloud offerings not cannibalize each other?
Frank Strecker: The offerings differ significantly in terms of technology and contract design. From mid-2016, Microsoft will offer a selection of its own products from Biere, effectively as a German product variant. We are data trustees, but we do not operate the products ourselves. We operate and market the Intercloud exclusively for Europe, while remaining part of Cisco's global Intercloud infrastructure, with access to the global network. In the first half of 2016, further Intercloud services are on the agenda, such as software solutions for the Internet of Things.
The Open Telekom Cloud, based on Huawei technology, is in turn a public cloud offering with which we will stand up to Amazon and Google. Here too we will constantly bring new offerings to market for corporate customers.
Anette Bronder: Precisely this cloud mix is the core of our strategy: We want to offer the broadest possible range of services. And that is also what our customers expect – they want a wide choice from a single source. The days of small corner shops where the choice was limited and the prices high are long gone. Demand determines supply. Look at the success of Amazon as the world's biggest mixed goods retailer. When it comes to IT, there is also the factor that companies need a neutral advisor to help them manage increasingly complex IT landscapes securely. To do this, you also have to have a broad base yourself.Our aim is to be Europe's cloud leader. This will only be possible with strong partners. Only with partners can we grow and thus ultimately offer better prices on the market. Scalability is also part of our strategy.