Dell Technologies and Ericsson have announced a strategic partnership to combine their industry expertise with telecom software, solutions and support, to guide communications service providers (CSPs) through their radio access network (RAN) cloud transformation journeys.

A study by MeriTalk found that 96 per cent of communications service providers say their network transformation strategy is lagging, which Dell and Ericsson aim to address with this new partnership.

“Communications service providers have a crucial window of opportunity to lay the foundation for network cloud transformation and drive business growth. Our collaboration with Ericsson, combined with our decades of digital transformation expertise, will provide network operators the full plan and technologies they need to accelerate their network and operation transformations to positively impact the trajectory of their businesses,” said Dennis Hoffman, senior vice president and general manager, Telecom Systems Business, Dell Technologies. 

Through the new agreement, Dell and Ericsson plan to collaborate and develop network cloud transformation plans and advise CSPs on network architectures and operating models, while also reducing the risks associated with deploying on open, multi-vendor environments.

The companies further plan to co-create solutions that drive energy efficiencies and innovate Cloud RAN infrastructure operations. They also want to commercially introduce Ericsson Cloud RAN software on Dell PowerEdge servers. The solution will offer continuous integration testing and lifecycle management to speed deployment and de-risk day-2 operations around updates and upgrades, with Dell as a solution partner. 

There are plans to also co-develop services that simplify the deployment process from factory validation to installation and ongoing operational management, backed by Dell and Ericsson’s joint support for any integrated solution.

“Working closer with Dell Technologies will help further develop cloud-native programmable networks that bring new ideas and practices to the telecom market. Building upon years of collaboration, this strategic partnership will strengthen our cloudification efforts as we gear up to launch Open RAN-based commercial solutions.

The cloud-native network will enable frequent updates and the rollout of new features using continuous deployment. It will ease the adoption of Cloud RAN technologies and prepare both companies’ portfolios for new markets,” said Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks, Ericsson. 

(With inputs from bl intern Nivasini Azagappan)

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