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 Virtualisation
For 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 companies
And 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 courses
In 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
◈ View the newly designed micro Modular Data Center (MDC) – debuting at Mobile World Congress – and learn how you can embed compute and storage capacity at the edge where data is being generated.
◈ Re-imagine the customer edge with new universal CPE platforms and SD-WAN Ready Node solutions.
Core/Cloud Solutions
◈ How you can bring the cloud to the network with our NFV solutions and Telco Cloud offerings.
◈ Experience Dell EMC’s larger MDC capabilities with a virtual and interactive tour. Put on a headset and be transported to one of our latest MDC designs, the Flex Module.
◈ View our open and flexible rack scale infrastructure, the DSS 9000, and see how Dell EMC is enabling NEBS-compliant rack scale solutions.
IoT Solutions
◈ How Dell EMC Isilon scale-out NAS and Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) solutions provide highly efficient edge-to-core-to-cloud storage with built-in analytics to unlock the value of your IoT data.
◈ Discover how Dell IoT Gateways transform Fleet Management by eliminating machine to machine telematics silos, for more cost savings; increased customer satisfaction and safety; and improved employee performance.
◈ How Dell IoT is revolutionising the building services sector and facilities management by transforming high energy costs into savings with a powerful, integrated intelligent building solution.
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