KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): Celcom Axiata Bhd has acquired cloud and datacentre consulting company Infront Consulting Group (M) Sdn Bhd to strengthen its cloud services and managed networks capabilities to cater to Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In a statement, the Axiata Group Bhd unit said it will leverage Infront’s field expertise to bring innovative and affordable one-stop cloud-based digital kits for local micro-businesses and SMEs to digitally transform their businesses.

Celcom, however, did not disclose the financial terms of the venture in the statement.

Celcom said following its recent affiliation with Microsoft in Azure cloud service, the acquisition of Infront — which operates as a cloud consulting specialist for Microsoft — will provide an opportunity for Celcom to effectively compete in offering Azure cloud services and solutions to the Malaysian market.

“This will be further solidified by Infront’s Insuite offerings that provide operational efficiency tools to help businesses grow exponentially,” it added.

Celcom chief executive officer (CEO) Idham Nawawi said the acquisition further complements Celcom’s strength as a connectivity and solutions provider for Malaysian businesses.

He added that by leveraging the strengths of both companies with cloud technology, SMEs will soon be able to have access to an affordable one-stop solutions kit for all their business functions.

“Furthermore, with the upcoming 5G, Celcom will continue to collaborate with the right digital players and invest for the best digital solutions and services.

“Upholding our role as a digital advocate, we want to help local businesses thrive digitally and enable them to sustainably operate within the new norm,” Idham said.

According to Celcom, Infront was established in 2003 as a systems management and virtualisation specialist, with a focus on cloud technology capability and expertise since 2015. The company is built upon three main service pillars, namely cloud adoption consulting, app and security managed services, and data and AI development.

Shares of Axiata closed three sen or 0.78% lower at RM3.82 on Wednesday, valuing the group at RM35.04 billion.