Not quite the headline you’d maybe expect to see from a company that is big into promoting open standards but let me explain. It’s true that we continue to see a massive shift in the industry away from proprietary, expensive IT equipment to standardised, cost-efficient computing blocks. Within the industry, Dell EMC OEM is now regarded as an essential infrastructure partner, providing the IT foundational platform upon which the telco solution is built. However, that doesn’t mean that specialist companies have gone away and are no longer required. On the contrary, their skills continue to be highly relevant and in demand. Network VirtualisationFor example, take network virtualisation. A hot topic for some time, this has featured prominently in labs work and proof of concept designs, but we are now seeing service providers deploying network virtualisation infrastructure in the field. As you know, deploying a network involves everything from antennae, base stations, edge computing, IoT, core switching, transmission, operations support, business support, analytics, performance management, customer experience and more. While there are lots of component parts, each of these elements needs to work together in tandem plus the network must be always available. Given this complexity, it’s obvious that rolling out a network is a specialist activity. The important role of specialist companiesAnd so, while network infrastructure costs are reducing thanks to the use of standardised IT components, I firmly believe that installation, support and SLA will continue to be the domain of specialist companies. After all, it’s not just a question of installing a server and software and off you go – each installation must be supported with an SLA functional guarantee. Specialist companies such as Ericsson and Nokia have huge expertise in installing and supporting networks. These specialist skills will continue to be in demand as virtual networks continue to be built out, using standard compute infrastructure. Horses for coursesIn fact, Dell EMC OEM is already deeply involved in supporting Ericsson and Nokia in the deployment of virtualised networks, based on standard infrastructure components. I see these relationships as key to the successful roll out of modern telecommunications networks. No-one vendor can deliver all – we need horses for courses and each party brings value-add to the table. The important word is partnership. On that note, I’m looking forward this week to meeting representatives from the entire telecoms ecosystem, including service providers, telecom equipment manufacturers and network equipment providers. I’d love to hear your comments and predictions about the future of the industry. Do visit our booth in Hall 3, Stand 3K10 where we are showcasing the following solutions: Edge Solutions
Core/Cloud Solutions
IoT Solutions
Learn more about Dell EMC OEM at https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/oem/telecom2.htm |
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ENCLOSURE:https://blog.dellemc.com/uploads/2018/02/James-Hole-blog-pic-1000-X500.jpg |
Source: Dell Blog
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