Automate, visualise, analyse it tells partners
Nokia has announced a new software strategy that, it claims, will organise projects much more efficiently and save at least 40% of the time that developers waste thanks to disorderly data. The comms vendor claims it is directing its software forces to help mobile network operators secure, automate and ‘monetise’ their assets more effectively.
The whole portfolio of software commands that Nokia has produced will be organised under its AVA (Automation, Visualization, Analytics) brand. The intention is to direct the powers of operational and business support systems (OSS and BSS) and security software into a single Open Analytics framework. This should make it easier for operators to expedite artificial intelligence projects.
Nokia has complemented this initiative with the launch of IGNITE, a ‘digital ecosystem programme’ aimed at fostering a spirit of invention among project collaborators, be they telcos, technology partners or customers. It’s all about the ‘time to value’ from telecoms networks, said a Nokia statement. “We look forward to partnering with our CSP and enterprise customers along with application developers,” said Hamdy Farid, Senior Vice President, Business Applications at Nokia.
The AVA Open Analytics (AVA OA) framework, for example, will simplify the way that data is stored and used. Currently data scientists can waste 40% of their time on data wrangling and repetitive tasks that should be automated, according to industry sources, such as the Anaconda state of data science survey 2021. AVA OA’s alternative framework liberates customers from the monolithic, centralised data lakes and moves them to a hybrid data enclosure that avoids technical complexity and focuses the data scientists on their use cases. Nokia expects the framework to be fully commercially available in 2023.
The IGNITE Digital Ecosystem unites customers and application partners with an ‘ecosystem enabler‘. This somehow streamlines collaboration through secure access to the resources needed to unlock value. Nokia didn’t explain this part very clearly. The upshot is ‘on-demand product sandboxes’ in which experiments and integration can take place. More than 20 projects are already under way between customers and application providers, including the development of new machine-learning models, automation and cybersecurity incident detection and response.
“Telcos are searching for more intelligent ways to monetise their network data and Nokia is redoubling its efforts to drive innovation,” said analyst Ahmad Latif Ali, Associate VP of European Telecom Insights at IDC, who mooted that this could bring ‘5G value for CSPs and enterprises’.