Is Orange the leading telco cloud market player in Asia Pacific?
But BT, Lumen, NTT Ltd and Telstra are all trailing close behind. Credit: Dreamstime  Orange Business Services has been assessed as the leader in the Asia Pacific (APAC) telecom cloud market, edging out competitors including BT, Lumen, NTT Ltd, Telstra and Singtel, according to new analysis by data and analytics firm GlobalData. In GlobalDatas opinion, outlined in its recent Telco Cloud Services (Asia) Competitive Landscape Assessment report, Orange has earned its position thanks to wide product capabilities combined with strong professional services and solid performances in the APAC region. First, it should be noted that GlobalDatas study assessed the cloud capabilities of just six of the leading global telcos based on four main categories including product portfolio, data centre footprint, software-defined infrastructure and supplemental services in the region. On the matter of product portfolio, GlobalData pointed out that Orange offers a full range of services from managed applications to managed infrastructure through its Flexible Engine as well as a strong ecosystem with global players including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Google, VMware and many more. Looking at software-defined infrastructure, GlobalData said Orange also offers Next Gen Hub, a cloud-native platform, to enhance its multi-cloud capabilities and enable tighter integration with other technology domains such as software-defined network (SDN) and security. Finally, in terms of supplemental services in the region, GlobalData noted that Oranges services are delivered through its comprehensive professional service framework and 2,400 cloud experts to support enterprises diverse needs. Moreover, the companys multi-sourcing service integration provides a single pane of glass across multiple services and minimizes customers integration challenges in a multi-vendor environment. The strong cloud adoption in APAC is driving the service providers to expand their capabilities to capture the high growth opportunity, said Alfie Amir, principal analyst at GlobalData. While competition is increasing, Orange edges out other players with its wide portfolio, a multi-cloud play with strong professional services on the ground across the APAC region.  While Orange stands supreme, at least in GlobalDatas eyes, the analyst firm conceded that the companys closest competitors in the telco cloud space were not far behind, with BT, Lumen, NTT Ltd and Telstra all trailing close behind. These providers have a very strong cloud portfolio but lag behind Orange in certain areas, GlobalData said. For BT and Lumen, although the pair claim comparable cloud services and ecosystem partners to Orange, they have a smaller presence in the region, according to the analyst firm. Meanwhile, NTT has extensive data centre footprints in Asia and professional services, but is afflicted by inconsistent branding and go-to-market initiatives across the region. Carrier-neutral facilities also tend to be best positioned for cloud on-ramps, GlobalData noted, adding that Telstra has a well-balanced strength from product to footprint and software-defined infrastructure and is narrowing down the gap with other global carriers in some areas. GlobalDatas latest analysis comes as the APAC cloud continues to stand as an an enabler for enterprises to continue their operations during the pandemic, with the cloud market in APAC expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8 per cent, from US$128 billion in 2019 to US$279 billion in 2024. Additionally, there is growing demand in the application layer and value-added services, on top of the infrastructure solutions, which is driving providers to enhance their offerings in areas such as multi-cloud, network integration and professional services. The pandemic has accelerated the cloud adoption in the APAC as the technology enables businesses to cope with COVID-19-related challenges, including customer engagement, internal process, digital commerce and supply chain, Amir said. The increase in demand is also changing the market from supply-driven to demand-led and pushing the service providers to innovate faster to grab their share. Telcos are leveraging their network advantage to enhance edge computing and multi-cloud capabilities to differentiate in the market, he added. Late last year, AWS partnered with Orange Business Services to fast-track customers cloud migration and workforce modernisation. Orange was also added to the AWS Channel Reseller Program, allowing it to resell AWS services to its customers as part of its value-added services and solutions. The two companies planned to use the partnership to develop a fleet of new solutions for modernisation and migration, data analytics and security. The agreement also included a Cloud Centre of Excellence to be built on AWS, which was slated to serve as a training and certification platform for more than 3,000 Orange Business Services cloud, cyber security, digital and data employees.