South Korean tech giant Samsung has announced two separate collaborations with tech heavyweights Microsoft and Red Hat to deliver cloud-driven 5G solutions.
Bringing 5G to private cloud with Microsoft
Samsung will be joining forces with Microsoft to provide cloud-based private 5G network services to enterprises and customers.
Samsung will deploy its technologies on Microsoft’s flagship cloud platform Azure, including its virtualised radio access network (RAN) technology, virtualised core, and multi-access edge computing technologies.
Commenting on the partnership, Samsung said: “The collaboration highlights key benefits of cloud networks, which can accelerate 5G expansion for enterprises and help them deploy private 5G networks faster.”
“Implementing fully-virtualized 5G solutions on a cloud platform also enables vast improvements in the scalability and flexibility of networks for mobile operators and enterprises.”
Microsoft entered the 5G race this week with the launch of a new cloud platform, aimed at enabling telecom operators to build networks faster, reduce costs and sell customised services to business clients.
Delivering 5G on Kubernetes with Red Hat
After large-scale collaborations with IBM and Schlumberger, global open source software provider Red Hat on Monday 28 September announced it will team up with Samsung to deliver 5G solutions to their vendors.
Samsung will utilise the including the industry’s most comprehensive Kubernetes platform Red Hat OpenShift, as well as Red Hat’s hybrid cloud portfolio Red Hat OpenStack, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Automation Platform, and Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage.
Red Hat, in turn, will utilise Samsung’s existing technologies such as 5G vRAN, vCore, multi-access edge computing, and management and analytics to provide extended 5G-based services that enhance overall customer experience.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Red Hat to help service providers stay competitive in this increasingly demanding global 5G market, especially on the cloud-native front,” said Won Il Roh, the Senior Vice President and Head of Product Strategy and Networks Business at Samsung.
It is important for telecommunications service providers to adopt a consistent horizontal cloud-native platform hardened for their environments. According to a Red Hat-sponsored report from ACG Research, open horizontal platforms can lower total cost ownership by up to 30% when compared to siloed vertically integrated deployments of vRANs.
“Through this partnership, Samsung 5G solutions will provide a highly efficient and reliable network experience for our customers by integration with Red Hat’s cloud-native solution,” said Mr. Roh.
With this solution, service providers will be able to capitalise on the benefits of edge economics and vRAN.
“As service providers build 5G networks, they are forming the foundation for the next wave of cross-industry innovation. From helping businesses in their edge computing solutions to ensuring enterprises can successfully deploy their artificial intelligence and machine learning applications, we expect these services to be built on a proven, cloud-native infrastructure,” said Chris Wright, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Red Hat.
Samsung has received a virtualised network functions (VNF) certificate from Red Hat, and is currently planning for the next certification, which is a containerised network functions (CNF) certificate.
VNF and CNF certifications are certification programs that set out to verify whether or not network providers are well prepared to deploy their services.
The CNF certification is the highest certification standard on Red Hat OpenShift. Obtaining both certificates will allow the telecommunications giant to achieve its full capability and deliver more flexible and efficient 5G solutions to its customers.
Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips and smartphones. Therefore, the company’s move to team up with Microsoft and Red Hat is consistent with its goal to expand its presence as one of the largest tech players in the Asia Pacific region.
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Image credit: Marco Verch
