Alibaba is in partnership talks with BT to take on Amazon Web Services in the UK

Alibaba is eyeing up a presence in Europe after US paranoia grows 
Alibaba's CEO Jack Ma
Alibaba
Amelia Heathman9 July 2018

Chinese internet giant Alibaba is reportedly in talks with BT to offer its cloud services in the UK.

A partnership between the two companies could see Alibaba taking on Amazon’s cloud platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and improving its access to Europe.

Cloud computing may not always sound like the most exciting thing, but it’s actually really important to how many internet companies function.

Instead of building vast server rooms, companies such as challenger bank Starling use Amazon’s cloud to host its IT infrastructure. As well as helping the bank to securely collect, store and analyse data, it also helps it to innovate faster.

AWS is the leading global provider of cloud infrastructure, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the market, along with Microsoft’s Azure platform and Google, according to Synergy Research Group.

Alibaba, however, is closely encroaching on these companies, now placed fourth in Synergy’s global rankings. However, in terms of Europe, the Chinese firm doesn’t even make the top five.

But, with the paranoia around Chinese firms such as Huawei growing in the US, it makes sense that Alibaba’s reach into Europe is starting to expand.

In 2016, Alibaba launched a partnership in Germany with Vodafone. Through this, it established its first European data centre in Frankfurt, which allowed Vodafone to offer Alibaba Cloud services including analytics and data storage.

It’s since launched a similar partnership in France with the transport and communications company Bollore SA, though this deal will also incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into the mix.

Alibaba’s deal with BT looks like it will follow a similar path to the Vodafone agreement, a source told Bloomberg. A spokesperson for BT confirmed talks were happening with Alibaba Cloud, but declined to reveal any details.

However, the publication says the deal between Alibaba and BT could boost the UK corporation’s cloud computing and big data skills.

With BT’s Global Services department already working with Amazon, Microsoft and Cisco, it will be interesting to see if an Alibaba partnership comes to fruition.

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