Nokia has opened a Global Cloud Design Centre in the United Kingdom aimed to help the deployment of multi-vendor cloud networks.
Located in Fleet, Greater London, the centre will serve as a showcase for the benefits of cloud technology, network design and systems integration.
The vendor is also launching a new service, which will span the design and build of open, standardised and multi vendor cloud networks according to an operator’s needs.
The Fleet centre will include an integrated multi-vendor IT and telco cloud platform that will be used to test, validate and demonstrate new services. The vendor said cloud delivery will be handled at regional centres.
In addition, Nokia said it was launching “care services” for the cloud, which will offer validation and testing to ensure an operator’s network is not affected as it shifts to the cloud.
The services also include cloud monitoring, analytics and troubleshooting handled by Nokia’s Global Delivery Centres or a cloud-based “expert as a service” at the operator’s premises.
Finally, the vendor said it was extending its Cloud Transformation Consulting Service to include all aspects of virtualisation. Nokia said it wants to help operators deliver a structured and end-to-end cloud transformation that makes networks IoT and 5G ready.
Chris Antlitz, Telecom Senior Analyst, Technology Business Research, said: “Operators’ migration to software-mediated technologies delivered within cloud-centric environments is a radical change from the way networks have been architected and provisioned historically, and this shift requires new competencies and support models. Nokia’s new cloud-related services, therefore, fill a critical need in the market.”
Deepak Harie, Head of Systems Integration Services at Nokia, said: “The level of complexity in an operator’s network is increasing as new technology, services and software are introduced. Nokia has a long history of systems integration and deep network services expertise. In addition, we are investing in IT, cloud and data centre capabilities to address the challenges for operators as they deploy and manage their cloud networks and to prepare them for the evolution to IoT and 5G.”