Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison is making a big impact in Indonesia’s tech ecosystem

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison recently signed a partnership with Cisco on cybersecurity as well as Nokia and NVIDIA to deploy AI-RAN.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (Indosat) has made strong partnerships is 5G and cybersecurity as the AI-driven telco company looks to make a big impact in Indonesia’s tech ecosystem. The Indonesian tech ecosystem is one of the biggest in the world and businesses are continuing to invest heavily in emerging technologies.

At the heart of the tech journey is the need to have a strong support from local service and infrastructure providers. Given this need, Indosat has signed partnerships with key vendors to ensure they can deliver the best products and services that meets the needs of Indonesian businesses.

With cybersecurity imperative in any business strategy, Indonesian businesses are looking to have a comprehensive solution that can ensure their businesses are well secure and protected. According to Cisco’s 2024 Cybersecurity Readiness Index, only 12% of Indonesian organizations possess a "mature" level of readiness against cyber threats, underscoring the need for enhanced cyber resilience.

As such, Indosat - through its subsidiary, Lintasarta, have developed a strategic joint go-to-market initiative with Cisco. Leveraging Cisco’s expertise in networking and security with Indosat’s deep understanding of the local market, Indonesian enterprises will have access to tailored cybersecurity solutions.

The offerings include a comprehensive suite of consulting, advisory and managed service solutions comprising Firewall, SSE, XDR, Multi-Factor Authentication as well as Splunk’s market-leading security solutions. These solutions empower customers to proactively prevent issues, swiftly remediate them, and gain the visibility and insights necessary for timely adaptation. By utilizing XDR, customers can detect and respond to threats in real time, leveraging network and endpoint telemetry for unmatched visibility into lateral threats across the network.

"As digital adoption accelerates, cybersecurity becomes essential in building a trusted and resilient digital ecosystem,” stated Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison. "Our partnership with Cisco will enhance security resilience for Indonesian businesses, empowering them to operate securely and confidently in the digital landscape.”

"As digital threats continue to evolve, our partnership with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Lintasarta is pivotal in creating a resilient cybersecurity infrastructure that benefits Indonesian companies across all sectors," said Dave West, President, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China, Cisco. "This partnership is set to transform Indonesia's cybersecurity landscape and strengthen its economic resilience."

To ensure that cybersecurity capabilities across the country keep pace with digital adoption, Indosat and Cisco, will also be providing digital and cybersecurity skills training to empower Indonesia’s workforce and close the widening skills gap in the country. Cisco’s Networking Academy has trained more than 520,000 students in Indonesia since its inception, via in-kind contribution of tools, resources, and instructors.

From cybersecurity to AI

Indosat is also ensuring that it provides strong connectivity to its customers. With AI promising better prospects for businesses, Indosat announced a landmark initiative to deploy AI-RAN (Artificial Intelligence Radio Access Network) infrastructure across Indonesia, with Nokia and NVIDIA (pictured above).

As the first operator in Southeast Asia and the third globally to build a commercial AI-RAN network, the integration brings together Nokia's cutting-edge 5G Cloud RAN solution and the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform, to create a unified accelerated computing infrastructure for hosting both AI and RAN workloads.

This innovative approach will enable Indosat to revolutionize its network capabilities and business model. By sharing infrastructure costs across multiple applications, Indosat can maximize its return on investment while unlocking new revenue streams through a wide range of AI-driven services. The deployment will achieve transformative gains in network performance, spectral efficiency, and energy consumption, setting the stage for a software-driven 6G upgrade.

“This collaboration marks a transformative milestone for Indonesia’s telecommunications industry. By embedding AI into our radio access network, we’re not just enhancing connectivity—we’re building a nationwide AI-powered ecosystem that will fuel innovation across industries. This aligns seamlessly with our mission to connect and empower every Indonesian,” said Sinha.

Indosat will take a phased approach in deployed. This starts with the of a 5G AI-RAN lab in Surabaya in early 2025 for joint development, testing and validation. A small-scale commercial pilot of AI Inferencing workloads running on NVIDIA AI-RAN infrastructure is planned in the second half of 2025. Further expansion of this solution deployment will happen in 2026.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, commented, “Nokia is proud to work on this groundbreaking initiative with our partner, Indosat to deploy transformative AI-RAN infrastructure across Indonesia. When you combine AI with RAN, you create an engine for future innovation. With our 5G Cloud RAN platform, Indosat can transform its network into a multi-purpose computing grid that leverages the synergies of AI-accelerated computing,”

Uitto added that with Nokia’s AI-powered products, Indosat will be able to augment RAN capabilities for enhanced performance, operational efficiency, advanced automation and optimized energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, Ronnie Vasishta, SVP Telecoms at NVIDIA, added, "AI-RAN has completely transformed the telecom industry. The combination of Indosat’s vision for a nationwide AI grid and NVIDIA AI expertise and full-stack software and hardware platform will catalyze AI adoption and innovation across Indonesia, creating a new playbook for telecom operators worldwide.”