Telefónica pitches plug and play GenAI platformTelefónica pitches plug and play GenAI platform

Its Telefónica Tech unit and its Altostratus cloud consultancy division have created a platform that gives enterprises access to a range of advanced large language models (LLMs) and a suite of tools to integrate them into their data, comms and business applications.

It can then be used to create tailored virtual assistants that can answer complex queries, automate repetitive tasks, and optimise internal processes, and by extension help enterprises improve their customer service, anticipate trends, and increase productivity.

Customers are also able to compare the performance, cost and latency of different LLM set-ups and pick the one that suits.

It is also designed to safeguard sensitive corporate data – which remains stored on the customer's own infrastructure – and to comply with rules governing AI development and usage at EU level as well as in individual markets.

It has echoes of the GenAI platform being developed by UK incumbent BT and AWS. But while BT's is focused on leveraging AI to revamp its own internal processes, Telefónica's is designed to revamp those of its customers.

The aim is to package up GenAI into an easy-to-consume, plug and play offering – it's very much in keeping with the telco tradition of providing customers with an on-ramp into new technologies beyond connectivity and communication.

For the avoidance of any doubt among prospective clients as to what this thing is, Telefónica has opted for the Ronseal approach and called it the Telefónica Tech GenAI Platform.

"This new platform was created with the aim of boosting the use of Generative AI in all types of organisations, regardless of the size and technical level of the users, and to popularise the use of personalised virtual assistants to transform businesses and make them more efficient and resilient," said Elena Gil Lizasoain, director of AI and data at Telefónica Tech for Spain and the Americas.

There's no mention of how – or if – the Telefónica Tech GenAI Platform interacts with Telefónica Tech's other enterprise AI initiative, in partnership with IBM.

Launched in June and limited to Spain, it is a consultative effort that aims solve whatever digital transformation obstacles that enterprises might come up against.

Right at the top of the billing is data analytics and AI integration, with IBM noting at the time that nearly half of Spanish enterprises that already use AI had increased their spending on it during the last two years.

To capitalise on the opportunity, Telefónica Tech and IBM have developed a platform called Shark.X – which sounds way more exciting than Telefónica Tech GenAI Platform – that incorporates a whole host of IBM solutions including watsonx AI, and can be used to develop and deploy enterprise AI apps.

There appears to be a fair amount of overlap here and it will be interesting to see if there is room for these two approaches – one that's simple to set up and focused on virtual assistants, and another that's more consultative and tailored – in Telefónica Tech's portfolio.