Kazakhtelecom and Smart Cities decided to develop cloud technologies in Kazakhstan jointly

2023-12-07 13:14

The#nbsp;largest telecom operator Kazakhtelecom and#nbsp;Smart Cities, a#nbsp;member of#nbsp;BTS Digital's AITU digital ecosystem, have signed an#nbsp;agreement on#nbsp;cooperation in#nbsp;developing cloud technologies in#nbsp;Kazakhstan and#nbsp;expanding the#nbsp;line of#nbsp;cloud solutions and#nbsp;products. The#nbsp;first few joint cloud services have#nbsp;already been presented on#nbsp;Kazakhtelecom's business portal ismet.kz.

Users of the portal can already connect Aitu.Cloud solutions in full digital format within minutes and without contacting a manager or sending documents. Currently, such Aitu.Cloud services such as virtual computing resources (IaaS) and S3 object storage are presented on ismet.kz from the product portfolio of Smart Cities LLP.

Kazakhtelecom intends to connect its infrastructure to the partner company's cloud products at the next stage. This will combine the high reliability and security of data provided by Kazakhtelecom based on its network of data centers with high quality and prompt service "Smart Cities." Already next year, within the partnership framework, the companies intend to expand the cloud products and services range through joint developments.

Photo: Marat Abdildabekov, General Director of the Information Technology Division of Kazakhtelecom JSC (left) and Mikhail Minkin, Deputy General Director of Smart Cities LLP (right)

"To#nbsp;date, Kazakhtelecom maintains a#nbsp;network of#nbsp;27 data#nbsp;centers in#nbsp;major cities and#nbsp;regional centers of#nbsp;the#nbsp;republic, where about 1600 racks are#nbsp;placed. High capacity, a#nbsp;serious degree of#nbsp;protection, and#nbsp;an#nbsp;increased level of#nbsp;fault tolerance of#nbsp;our#nbsp;data centers allow customers to#nbsp;economically and#nbsp;promptly deploy their digital projects on#nbsp;the#nbsp;virtual capacities of#nbsp;Kazakhtelecom. We have all#nbsp;the#nbsp;necessary infrastructure, and#nbsp;our#nbsp;cooperation with#nbsp; the#nbsp;leading specialized company "Smart Cities" is#nbsp;another excellent opportunity to#nbsp;supplement the#nbsp;product portfolio of#nbsp;Kazakhtelecom's cloud and#nbsp;digital projects with#nbsp;demanded cloud services. Shortly we#nbsp;plan to#nbsp;launch joint cloud products for#nbsp;IT developers: Kubernetes as#nbsp;a#nbsp;Service and#nbsp;analytics service - Database as#nbsp;a#nbsp;Service, and#nbsp;by#nbsp;2025 our#nbsp;joint range of#nbsp;services will increase at#nbsp;least three times", - noted Marat Abdildabekov, Director General of#nbsp;the#nbsp;Information Technologies Division of#nbsp;Kazakhtelecom JSC.

Currently, three primary data centers of#nbsp;Kazakhtelecom are#nbsp;already involved in#nbsp;developing virtual and#nbsp;cloud services. These are#nbsp;the#nbsp;data center in#nbsp;Pavlodar city, certified according to#nbsp;the#nbsp;international standard Tier3, the#nbsp;data center in#nbsp;Akkol city, and#nbsp;the#nbsp;modular data center in#nbsp;Almaty city.

Due to#nbsp;the growing demand for#nbsp;virtual computing resources in#nbsp;the#nbsp;Kazakhstan market, the#nbsp;telecom operator plans to#nbsp;increase the#nbsp;capacity of#nbsp;its#nbsp;data centers to#nbsp;provide cloud services. Thus, about 50% of#nbsp;future data#nbsp;center resources Kazakhtelecom intends to#nbsp;use for#nbsp;cloud development.

"We are#nbsp;pleased to#nbsp;offer a#nbsp;wide range of#nbsp;cloud solutions developed in#nbsp;strategic partnership with#nbsp;Kazakhtelecom based on#nbsp;our#nbsp;Aitu.Cloud platform.

Why is#nbsp;this#nbsp;important for#nbsp;businesses? The faster a#nbsp;company adapts its#nbsp;digital services to#nbsp;the#nbsp;market, the#nbsp;more new#nbsp;and#nbsp;loyal customers it#nbsp;will#nbsp;have. With#nbsp;cloud-based tools, the#nbsp;time to#nbsp;develop or#nbsp;launch new#nbsp;services/applications and#nbsp;scale them is#nbsp;reduced many times over.

It#nbsp;also saves on#nbsp;infrastructure administration and reduces the#nbsp;company's need for#nbsp;highly specialized specialists because the#nbsp; provider will#nbsp;maintain the#nbsp;infrastructure. In#nbsp;addition, unlike traditional IT infrastructure, cloud services are#nbsp;charged only for#nbsp;those resources and#nbsp;the#nbsp;time the#nbsp;company requires them. At#nbsp;the#nbsp;same time, according to#nbsp;the#nbsp;legislation of#nbsp;the#nbsp;Republic of#nbsp;Kazakhstan, the#nbsp;data will#nbsp;be#nbsp;securely stored on#nbsp;the#nbsp;republic's territory.

Our#nbsp;solutions will#nbsp;help to#nbsp;significantly reduce the#nbsp;cost and#nbsp;time of#nbsp;bringing new#nbsp;products or#nbsp;projects to#nbsp;market, giving a#nbsp;competitive advantage to#nbsp;domestic businesses," said Mikhail Minkin, Deputy General Director of#nbsp;Smart Cities LLP.

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Smart Cities LLP is#nbsp;part of#nbsp;the#nbsp;BTS Digital group of#nbsp;companies. The group of#nbsp;companies has#nbsp;successfully implemented several large-scale socially essential projects, including Digital ID digital identification, Aitu Passport, Aitu Superapp platform, Instant Payment System, and#nbsp;e-Otinish service.

"Kazakhtelecom," possessing the#nbsp;largest network of#nbsp;data centers in#nbsp;the country, today provides such cloud solutions for#nbsp;business as#nbsp;lease of#nbsp;virtual servers and#nbsp;virtual data centers, Anti-DDoS, anti-virus software, virtual hosting, domain names, and#nbsp;intelligent telephony. The#nbsp; services implemented based on#nbsp;the#nbsp;company's data centers allow the#nbsp;deployment of#nbsp;a #nbsp;project of#nbsp;any#nbsp;complexity for#nbsp;government and#nbsp;banking structures, as#nbsp;well as#nbsp;representatives of#nbsp;large businesses. Today the#nbsp;operator's data centers are#nbsp;chosen by #nbsp;state companies and#nbsp;large domestic and#nbsp;foreign businesses. Kazakhtelecom's data centers host the#nbsp;infrastructure of#nbsp;giants such as#nbsp;Google, Facebook, Akamai, Youtube, Megogo, Wargaming, etc.