Vodafone has partnered with Google Cloud to build a big data platform as part of its digital transformation programme.

This is a customised data analytics platform called ‘Vodafone Neuron’ that the telecoms giant said will act as a brain and driver for AI and business intelligence for its global business.

Vodafone has been migrating its global data into Google’s public cloud to create this custom platform. The hope is that it provides data performance that lets disparate data from across the organisation be aggregated into a ‘data ocean’ – rather than multiple data lakes.

Once this is complete, the speed with which Vodafone will be able to run queries will enable it to gain real-time insights, providing new levels of agility, scalability and cost-effectiveness, the company said.

Google Cloud tools have been integrated into the ‘Neuron’ platform, which is in the process of rolling out to 11 countries. The insights from Neuron are being used to support a range of applications, such as Vodafone’s ‘Gigabit Networks’.

«Neuron serves as the foundation for Vodafone’s data ocean and the brains of our business as we transform ourselves into a digital tech company,» said Simon Harris, group head of big data delivery at Vodafone.

«Not only will we be able to gain real-time analytics capabilities across Vodafone products and services, but it will also allow us to arrive at insights faster, which can then be used to offer more personalised product offerings to customers and to raise the bar on service.»

The company recently announced an agreement to expand its Gigafast Broadband throughout the UK by building upon Openreach’s infrastructure – namely its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. A key part of the deal is that it’s tied to Openreach’s own expansion and provides the option for further expansion later on.