Ericsson and Cisco Systems said in a joint statement that the companies will transform and virtualize Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA)'s core networks for VHA to better prepare for new emerging services and to evolve its core network to increase the level of agility and programmability from network slicing. The deal represents the first major collaboration between Ericsson and Cisco on Telecom Cloud infrastructure.
The joint architecture solution comprises of Ericsson Hyperscale Datacenter System and software components such as Ericsson Cloud Execution Environment, Ericsson Cloud Manager, Cloud SDN controller; together with Cisco WAN Automation Engine, Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO), Cisco IP Network VNFs including IOS XR 9000v and Cloud Services Router 1000v, and both virtualized and physical security technologies such as the Adaptive Security Appliance and Cisco Firepower security gateway, along with services and support. This builds on VHA's selection, in 2014, of Ericsson to replace and upgrade VHA's complete core network, including virtual EPC and virtual IMS/ Voice over LTE.
Ericsson and Cisco formed a global business and technology partnership in November 2015 to offer customers the best of both companies: routing, data center, networking, cloud, mobility, management and control, and global services capabilities. The next-generation strategic partnership will drive growth, accelerate innovation, and speed digital transformation demanded by customers across industries.
Kevin Millroy, Chief Technology Officer, VHA
Ericsson and Cisco are our existing providers of core and routing functions making them good partners to move into a virtualized environment. This transformation allows us to introduce new applications to drive innovation and improve customer services and user experience. The new infrastructure opens the door to new business models and markets, such as Internet of Things for Vodafone - we are excited about the future prospects this partnership offers.
Yvette Kanouff, SVP, General anager Service Provider Business, Cisco
Cisco and Ericsson have been working with key strategic accounts around the globe to validate a telecom cloud infrastructure. This broad and significant engagement with VHA demonstrates how our two companies are utilizing our complementary assets to deliver technical and commercial innovation and systems integration leadership to the benefit of our customers.
