Huawei Helps Etisalat Accelerate Network Transformation and Realize Network Vision of 2020
[Düsseldorf, Germany, Oct.21, 2015] Huawei, a world-leading information and communications technology (ICT) provider, hosted the NFV Open Cloud Forum held in Düsseldorf, Germany on October 12, 2015. At the Forum, Huawei and Etisalat, a leading operator in the Middle East and Africa, announced they are collaborating to conduct research into the future of networks and develop a white paper on Etisalat 2020 Landscape.
The white paper will outline the roadmap to Etisalat's future SDN/NFV network transformation, and analyze the impact of the future network architecture on Etisalat's business operations. The white paper will also detail Etisalat's vision on network technologies in 2020 that include the following:
Build a data center network architecture using virtualization to achieve agile operations and a flexible service delivery environment.
Reduce TTM (Time-to-market), accelerate entry into the 5G era, advance the Internet of Things (IOT) to interconnect devices quickly and conveniently, and drive big data opportunities.
Analyze user behavior and provide customization services to improve user experiences.
Implement open network architecture, provide interfaces to third parties, and improve the open ecosystem.
As a leading operator in emerging markets, Etisalat’s decision to work with Huawei to implement its network vision of 2020 is testimony to Huawei's leadership in SDN/NFV innovation.
According to Hatem Bamatraf, Etisalat's Chief Technology Officer: "Virtualization technology provides a good opportunity for Etisalat to meet our customers' diverse requirements. It improves agility to speed the creation and delivery of new services to users. Etisalat has launched multiple innovative measures to achieve this objective and we appreciate the contribution of Huawei in Etisalat's network transformation."
The NFV Open Cloud Forum invited over 100 customers from across the world. Huawei experts shared with customers the strategies and solutions to address NFV challenges and accelerate NFV deployment for commercial use. During the Forum, world-leading operators such as Etisalat, Deutsche Telekon, and OPNFV and partners delivered keynote speeches detailing their joint innovation practices and SDN/NFV deployments for commercial use through collaboration with Huawei. Additionally, IDC analyst firm shared its outlook on the future trend of NFV development and analyzed the challenges and difficulties in SDN/NFV deployment. To address the security issues of SDN/NFV deployment for commercial use, a partner representative from Palo Alto Networks launched a detailed report on implementing SDN/NFV security solutions.
Meanwhile, Huawei launched an SDN&NFV service presentation in the West Europe Innovation Center, highlighting Huawei's latest innovative achievements. To date, Huawei has deployed more than 60 NFV commercialization and proof-of-concept projects, among which 25 projects are in the commercial use phase. In July 2015, Huawei also put the world’s first cloud-based VoLTE network into commercial use.
As an important partner for operator digital transformation, Huawei has developed the SoftCOM future network strategy to help operators effectively manage the challenges brought about by the structural limitations of existing networks. To enable successful SDN/NFV transformation for operators, Huawei actively cooperates with operators and open source organizations, drives innovation in SDN/NFV, builds an open ecosystem, and provides end-to-end integration services across vertical industries to accelerate SDN/NFV commercial use, and facilitate successful transformation for operations.
