IBM has announced new partnerships and services for telecom operators at Mobile World Congress. The company is working with Verizon on expanding 5G network services and developing with Telefonica new forms of digital transformation for businesses, all based on its hybrid cloud platforms.
Verizon and IBM have partnered to deploy 5G networks as an open hybrid cloud platform. The platform will come with automated operations and service orchestration.
IBM Global Business Services will integrate Telco Network Cloud systems into Verizon’s Service Orchestration Platform to automate and manage services more efficiently. The integration is designed to improve the service quality, predictably and automation of virtual network functions and comply with Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) interfaces.
Hybrid cloud services with Telefonica
With Telefonica Tech, Telefonica’s digital business holding, IBM has announced new hybrid cloud services aimed at helping companies digitise using artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology. The services include an AI-powered virtual assistant and a blockchain platform for enterprise assets.
The AI-powered virtual assistant streamlines customer service for enterprises and public entities. IBM Global Business Services (GBS) trained and implemented the service, which uses IBM Watson Assistant and is deployed on Telefonica Tech's Cloud Garden, a hybrid cloud platform that runs on Red Hat OpenShift. Companies can with the system have a 24x7 customer service capability that can be adapted to different use cases and securely integrated into an omnichannel environment.
Telefonica Tech and IBM built the service based on Cloud Garden’s containers as a service platform. The system also leverages the natural language processing capabilities of IBM Watson Assistant, automating frequently asked questions and common tasks such as helping with changes to customer information, billing questions or claims processing.
The new IBM Blockchain Platform is designed to help companies trace their assets throughout the supply chain. The system provides end-to-end supply chain visibility and securely enables traceability of any type of material with an open standard. The platform was built using IBM GBS’ user-centric approach and based on Red Hat OpenShift, and lets clients customise participants, transactions, locations and status of materials. The adaptable service can be used for many use cases, and deployed via any cloud or on-prem environment.
Telefonica Global Technology will be the first to use the service internally, implementing it in its asset management and supply chain ecosystem in Spain and Germany. The service will then be extended to other operators within the group and then launched commercially.
AI-powered automation software
IBM has in addition announced new hybrid cloud AI-powered automation software for communications service providers delivering 5G, with zero-touch operations. Using IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, CSPs can use the software to quickly stand up and manage networks in a wide range of environments. The service is engineered to scale new services in days, rather than months, IBM said.
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation can run in a wide range of environments on Red Hat OpenShift; it provides a suite of AI-powered automation capabilities to implement 5G and edge services by managing multi-vendor software-based network functions, supporting the evolution to autonomous operations. The software brings together advanced analytics, machine learning and AIOps to help CSPs discover patterns and trends in networking data.
After acquiring Turbonomic, IBM plans to deliver the analytics and monitoring capabilities required of virtualized, automated networks. The company has plans to deliver IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation with Turbonomic network performance management and assurance.
Expansion of IBM edge ecosystem
In addition, IBM has added more partners to the IBM Edge Application Manager launched last year. The company is now working with 30 more partners bringing edge computing to clients using hybrid cloud, AI and 5G. These include Atos, Capgemini, ClearBlade, Colt Technology, GenXComm (GXC), GK Software, FogHorn, Hivecell, HP, Lenovo, Lumen Technologies, mimik Technology, NetApp, Scale Computing, Super Micro Computer, Vantiq, Wipro and Zebra Technologies. IBM noted that many of the partners will also help bring edge computing to the IBM Maximo Enterprise Asset Management Suite.
Powered by open source project Open Horizon, IBM Edge Application Manager is a hybrid cloud system that runs on Red Hat OpenShift and allows AI, analytics, and IoT enterprise workloads to be deployed and autonomously managed through a single administrator. IBM said the system can now help enterprises process an increasing amount of data gathered at the edge through enhancements to IBM Edge Application Manager that quadruples the number of devices clients can simultaneously manage.
Working with Intel, IBM uses Secure Device Onboarding (SDO), a zero-touch system made available as open source through the Linux Foundation and designed to help enterprises securely and automatically provision the IBM Edge Application Manager agent. SDO enables multi-tenant support to help enterprises deploy and autonomously manage solutions across 40,000 devices such as smart cameras, sensors, drones, and industrial robots, helping them drive the automation of edge applications across thousands of endpoints. IBM Edge Application Manager’s integration with IBM Cloud for Telecommunications and support for IBM Cloud Satellite extends access to more than 500 data centres in over 60 metro areas and 200,000 enterprise locations.
