Nokia, a major player in the technology industry, has announced a new agreement with Red Hat that will see the Finnish tech giant shift its cloud infrastructure and container operations to Red Hat.
Under this partnership, which has also resulted in the transfer of certain Nokia employees to Red Hat, the two companies will work together to integrate the Red Hat OpenStack Platform and Red Hat OpenShift with Nokia’s core network applications. This implies that IBM-owned open-source producer Red Hat will be Nokia’s principal reference platform for developing, testing, and delivering key network applications.
According to Nokia, “This agreement shows the company’s commitment to its portfolio rebalancing efforts.” Managing Director of Nokia’s Core Networks, Cloud, and Network Services Fran Heeran. Red Hat is a world leader in open-source infrastructure technologies, so combining its cloud architecture with our best-in-class core network applications will enable us to better serve our clients.
As part of the partnership, Nokia and Red Hat will maintain and enhance current Nokia Container Services (NCS) and Nokia CloudBand Infrastructure Software (CBIS) clients while also establishing a roadmap for customers to move to Red Hat’s platforms over time. In addition, Nokia will use Red Hat’s infrastructure platforms to accelerate the development and testing of Nokia’s vast core network portfolio.
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Several Nokia cloud infrastructure teams are moving to Red Hat
Nokia’s direct customer support will continue, and Red Hat will provide Nokia with upgrades, maintenance, and support for its NCS and CBIS. Red Hat and Nokia will facilitate a seamless migration to Red Hat’s platforms for clients as their cloud ambitions develop. In addition, several Nokia cloud infrastructure teams are moving to Red Hat to continue serving Nokia’s client base with roadmap evolution, deployment services, and support.
As service providers investigate 5G’s potential in areas like the core network, open RAN, multi-access edge computing (MEC), and application modernization, they’ll need more leeway in terms of where and how they deploy apps and services. Therefore, it is essential that all parts of the ecosystem work together seamlessly.
Customers of Nokia’s cloud infrastructure platform will have access to Red Hat’s game-changing 4G and 5G technologies and use cases, as well as the complete service and support of Red Hat’s open source ecosystem.
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Red Hat realizes the explosive effect of 5G
Customers will be able to convert their core network infrastructure and applications to be completely cloud-native and future-ready with service and support from Red Hat as the industry races to the edge by combining Nokia’s 5G experience with Red Hat’s open hybrid cloud vision.
According to Darrell Jordan-Smith, Senior Vice President, Telecommunications, Media and Entertainment & Edge, at Red Hat said “With the most exciting innovations yet to come, “Red Hat realises the explosive effect of 5G – not simply for service providers, but across all sectors.
By enabling the creation of cutting-edge apps, services, and use cases, 5G is reshaping the way companies and consumers connect. Service providers may take advantage of the 5G potential by installing their 5G networks utilising the Red Hat OpenStack Platform and Red Hat OpenShift, which Nokia is providing as part of this alliance”.