Microsoft has signed a memorandum of understanding with one of South Korea’s biggest mobile operator. The strategic partnership is not legally binding but signals a willingness to work together on a number of emerging technologies.
“Through the strategic partnership with SK Telecom, we will play a key role in shaping the future and accelerating the digital transformation of the telecommunications industry with our world-class network and technology,” explained Jason Zander, executive vice president of Microsoft Azure.
Microsoft and SK Telecom formerly worked together to launch Microsoft Azure with Megatron, a solution designed to enable smart factory IoT operations. The expanded partnership will continue to upgrade that technology while working on a ‘new level of customer experience in the field of media enterainment’.
That’s a very vague statement, but SK telecom has committed to more concrete changes in the short term. It will bring Office 365 to employees, and eventually expand it to other IT companies under its ownership.
The companies will also cooperate on technologies like AI, 5G, and cloud, though they’re yet to announce any concrete plans in that regard. However, SK Telecom CEO Jark Jung-ho believes the MoU could give his company an edge in the 5G market.
“SK Telecom is pleased to join hands with Microsoft as collaboration with global leading companies like Microsoft is essential to gain leadership in the 5G market, where competition is already fierce,” he explained. “SK Telecom will work closely with Microsoft to create an unprecedented value by combining the strengths and capabilities of the two companies.”
