HCL Technologies and Proximus form strategic partnership

HCL will help Proximus and its internal business achieve a significantly higher flexibility and reliance as the foundation to drive future business innovation and accelerate growth in the Belgium and Netherlands market. HCL will launch a Hybrid Next-Generation Cloud portfolio to support Proximus’ large customer base and more than 11,000 employees. In addition, the Benelux region’s mid-market and government businesses will gain access to joint solution offerings from HCL and Proximus.

The deal furthers Proximus’ commitment to “act for a green and digital society,” as the cloud platform will use the latest green data center technology to minimize its CO2 footprint. HCL will invest in a dedicated innovation lab, providing Proximus with exclusive access to its IP, product and partner ecosystem. This will enable Proximus to use HCL’s extensive telecom and technology domain expertise to develop innovative 5G, Edge and IoT solutions. Together, HCL and Proximus will leverage the innovation lab to upskill employees in AI-led operations, automation, agile infrastructure management and cloud-native development.

“I am very pleased with this agreement between Proximus and HCL that will bring us economies of scale, knowledge, best practices, tools, experience and expertise,” said Guillaume Boutin, CEO of the Proximus Group. “This IT infrastructure partnership will not only allow us to assure the development of the best customer offer, but it will also make sure that we’re able to retain strong strategic influence in the cloud domain.”

“This is a groundbreaking collaboration between HCL and Proximus,” said C Vijayakumar, CEO and Managing Director, HCL Technologies. “Together, we look forward to developing a competitive cloud environment and digital offerings for the Belgian market. HCL’s investment in a dedicated lab will not only drive innovation and growth at Proximus, but it will also support its endeavors to develop the next generation of digital talent in Belgium.”

“Our strategic partnership with Proximus builds upon our longstanding relationship and underscores HCL’s commitment to the Benelux region,” said Ashish Gupta, Senior Corporate Vice President and Head of EMEA, HCL Technologies. “We are excited about the joint go-to-market opportunities the partnership presents. The next-generation cloud platform will give us a true market advantage, enabling us to offer a portfolio of futuristic and competitive cloud offerings to clients.”