Telenor and Google Cloud have come together to digitalise the telecom operations and are looking for ways to offer services to customers together, both companies said in a statement. The firms will not only use Google Cloud’s services to expand Telenor’s own IT and network but will also partner to provide customers with digital tools, their chief executives said.

The digitalisation project will be a significant change for Telenor, but they aim to find new revenue streams. Telenor’s CEO Sigve Brekke said that “I think the future for telcos is to look beyond connectivity and to build value to connect customers.” With networks more reliant on software, Telenor needs to build a cloud-based business, and Google’s expertise in providing data management knowledge, machine learning and artificial intelligence makes it a good fit, he added.

Digitalising the primary operations of a telecom firm like Telenor is new to Google Cloud, and so are the joint customer offerings, Thomas Kurian, CEO at Google Cloud, said. Among the first services, we are thinking to provide a common platform to help small and medium-sized enterprises transform into digital operations, he added.