VMware demonstrates software driven digital transformation

At Mobile World Congress 2017, VMware demonstrated the company’s leadership driving the digital transformation of telecom, cable and mobile operators into agile service providers. Through VMware’s unified software-defined architecture spanning Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Mobility and the Internet of Things (IoT), global communications service providers (CSPs) can benefit from potential new revenue streams with sustainable cost reductions, increased flexibility and security and a modernized network that is 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) ready. VMware’s complete portfolio of solutions for CSPs is on display this week in Hall 3 Stand 3K10.

Today, CSPs must balance high customer expectations with business challenges such as increased competition and cost, lack of service differentiation, and new business models. They must simultaneously look internally at how they build their networks for both today and tomorrow, while looking externally for new service opportunities. Over-the-Top (OTT) providers have the benefit of speed and agility to deliver new high margin services without having the constraints of network build-out costs, eroding revenue and creating customer churn. On the horizon, 5G networks represent the next major wave of mobile infrastructure upgrades.

Accelerating capacity demands from high-bandwidth services such as video and virtual reality, coupled with the distributed nature of infrastructure components in IoT, could significantly impact the reliability, performance and quality of experience delivered to subscribers if networks are not architected correctly. For CSPs’ business customers, mobile computing presents new management and security challenges, creating an opportunity for new managed services offerings.

VMware is a proven, strategic software innovator that is helping CSPs successfully deliver new services faster and improve overall customer satisfaction, while driving down costs. With VMware Cross-Cloud Architecture combined with virtual network functions (VNFs) and applications from a rich ecosystem of partners, global CSPs are delivering services such as VoLTE, IMS, enterprise SD-WAN, mobility and workspace management, as well as IoT services for connected cars, smart stadiums and cities. VMware’s ETSI-compliant NFV platform enables network modernization so CSPs can deliver differentiated services today, with 5G readiness for the future. CSPs partner with VMware to deliver Enterprise Mobility Management and Digital Workspace services to customers across multiple mobile and desktop platforms. On the IoT front, VMware helps CSPs maximize the opportunity by streamlining how they deploy, manage, monitor, and secure IoT infrastructure.

Foundation for Network Transformation and Modernization –VMware vCloud NFV

With more than 80 NFV deployments by more than 45 CSPs serving more than 300 million subscribers worldwide, VMware vCloud® NFV accelerates service innovation and delivery, reduces costs, and simplifies network operations. The vCloud NFV platform enables organizations to deploy a multi-vendor and multi-function NFV platform today that delivers service automation, secure multi-tenancy, operations management and carrier grade reliability with 5G readiness. To date,34 VNFs have been certified as VMware Ready for NFV, with many being deployed in production customer environments today. By deploying vCloud NFV platform, CSPs can build, provision and sell new services in days instead of months, positively influence customer quality of experience, and significantly improve OPEX and CAPEX.

Open standards and open source will play a major role in defining the future architectures upon which CSPs deliver services. With VMware Integrated OpenStack, the vCloud NFV platform supports an open architecture for integration and interoperability. Additionally, VMware is a leader of many leading open source initiatives. VMware recently joined AT&T, China Mobile and the world’s leading operators as a founding member of the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) Project. ONAP comes from the merger of open source ECOMP and Open Orchestrator Project (OPEN-O), two of the largest open source networking initiatives, to create a harmonized and comprehensive framework for real-time, policy-driven software automation of virtual network functions that will enable software, network, IT and cloud providers and developers to rapidly create new services. VMware is also a major participant in OpenStack, Open vSwitch and Open Source MANO (OSM).

Driving Revenue through Enterprise Mobility Management and Digital Workspace Services

VMware enables CSPs to offer a range of enterprise mobility services for customers at all stages of the mobility lifecycle. Carriers resell VMware AirWatch, the leader in Enterprise Mobility Management, and offer AirWatch as a managed services solution through the VMware vCloud Air Network Program. AirWatch enables management and security of a broad array of customer devices, including BYO devices and those sold by the CSP, and enables enterprise collaboration services such as email and file sharing that drive data plan usage.

CSPs are increasingly adding Digital Workspace services through VMware Workspace ONE, which optimizes mobile user productivity and convenience by enabling an “any app, any device” experience. By offering all applications – mobile, web, Windows (including Windows 10), virtual, or cloud – through a single app portal with identity integration for single sign-on, carriers can further maximize revenue from enterprise data usage, software resale and services opportunities. VMware helps CSPs develop a portfolio of professional services that include consultative/strategic, deployment, support, and managed services offerings.