Cloud Innovation: M1, VMware align to launch cloud offering for start-ups

M1 Limited and VMware Inc. have launched a new cloud offering designed to empower Singapore’s digital start-ups and SMEs.

This initiative will enable them to rapidly develop software-based products and grow their business without hefty up-front infrastructure expenditure. M1 is enhancing its next-generation Software-Defined Data Centre (SDDC) portfolio, powered by the VMware Cloud Provider™ program, with container support through Pivotal Container Service™ (PKS).

The new cloud offering allows access to production-grade Kubernetes and natively-supported toolkits, which offers faster deployment of containerized workloads across private and public clouds, enabling digital start-ups to innovate quickly and go to market faster, while saving on investment in on-premises infrastructure.

“We are inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of made-in-Singapore digital start-ups. We want to help advance their growth ambitions by offering them access to enterprise-grade, best-in-class tools that they may not have the resources to procure independently. M1 offers an integrated suite of on-demand compute, storage, networking and security services through SDDC. In addition, this will be supplemented by native container support and cloud interoperability, allowing businesses to innovate in best-in-class customer experiences and challenge the status quo,” said Alex Tan, Chief Innovation Officer, M1.

Singapore’s digital start-ups face intense competition with not only their peers but global giants arriving at Southeast Asia’s shores. M1’s extensive local experience and advanced VMware cloud solutions, coupled with Pivotal’s open container platform, will give businesses a competitive advantage to respond to market opportunities and challenges with speed, agility and scale.

Enterprises and digital start-ups from verticals such as retail and F&B, FinTech, hospitality and transportation can now scale their infrastructure on-demand and utilize enterprise tools and services easily in a cost-efficient manner. M1’s SDDC reduces the burden for infrastructure management and total cost of IT ownership, which is crucial for digital start-ups and SMEs operating with lean resources.

“Cloud lies at the heart of all business transformation, regardless of company size or sector. Start-ups need a reliable cloud infrastructure to compete and offer a differentiated customer experience. As a proud partner of M1’s next generation SDDC, we are confident that this complete network and security virtualization platform will be a vital infrastructure supporting the business goals of M1’s start-up customers,” said Ron Goh, President, Southeast Asia and Korea, VMware.