Tech giant AWS cloud have announced that they have sealed a 5-year contract extension with both SAP and Symantec respectively, worth USD 1 billion. The two deals, each worth USD 500 million, aim to boost AWS’ computing power, storage and security capabilities by leveraging the offerings provided by SAP and Symantec.
According to AWS, cloud-native customers have started deploying multi-cloud strategies to boost the performance of their services. They say that this approach has put the onus on cloud providers to provide a wide array of services that can consolidate cyber security, storage, bandwidth and similar components.
By extending their partnerships with Symantec and SAP, AWS cloud claim that they will help organizations to store and process data remotely, build applications on the cloud and adopt new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. They also believe that this alliance will foster safer environments by deploying multi-cloud strategies for customers.
Sheila Jordan, CIO at Symantec chose not to reveal too much about the deal. She commented:
We do not disclose details of the agreements underlying our relationships. As our cloud business has evolved, we have continuously evaluated our business relationships with our cloud partners.
Symantec is committed to a multi-partner cloud strategy and works with partners including AWS, Azure, Oracle and other global and regional suppliers.
AWS cloud claim that this deal will also allow them to compete globally with their cloud-counterparts such as Google, Microsoft and Alibaba. They say that with this alliance, AWS cloud will aspire to be leaders in sales when it comes to cloud technology.
The tech giant says that the annual haul from the two deals – $200 million per year – is a little less than 1% of annualized revenue for AWS. They added that the alliance is also for the base layer of computing services, as well as other tools for data management and the Internet of Things.
It will be interesting to see how the race for cloud intensifies after this extension deal following Google’s fortification of AI to consolidate its cloud prowess.