Microsoft has announced details of a new Azure platform that it says will bring cloud and edge closer together through the power of 5G.
Speaking at the launch of MWC 2023, Microsoft said it’s time to move away from legacy systems as 5G development continues to accelerate, citing improved bandwidth, reliability and reduced latency as some of the key benefits of 5G connections.
The latest iteration of Azure for Operators enables companies to modernize their networks, resulting in improved cost efficiency and the rollout of new services.
Microsoft Azure for operators
For Azure for Operators, Microsoft has moved engineering and program organization from AT&T’s Network Cloud 2.7 Software technology (which it acquired in June 2021) to Azure for Operators.
Microsoft claims that Azure Operator Distributed Services combines the best of what AT&T and Azure offer, such as security, monitoring, analytics, AI, and machine learning.
“Imagine the benefits for communities and organizations having access to improved bandwidth, reliability and reduced latency while leveraging the rich capabilities of cloud-to-edge technology without compromising security, critical services or major workloads “, noticed (opens in new tab) Jason Zander, Microsoft EVP, Strategic Missions and Technologies.
“With the most complete offering for the telecommunications industry, Microsoft is the ideal cloud provider to help operators on their digital transformation journey and enable them to deliver these innovative services to their consumers, businesses and public sector customers.”
“We are excited about Microsoft’s plan to develop and integrate Network Cloud with Azure technologies to create hybrid telco-grade Azure Operator Distributed Services,” said AT&T Executive VP and CTO of Network Services, Andre Fuetsch.
“This will enable AT&T and other operators to host Network Functions on clouds that span telco buildings and public cloud and will help us realize the many benefits of the cloud-native approach and Azure innovation, including additional speed, resiliency, security, cost and operational improvements.”
At the same time, Microsoft announced the private preview of the Azure Operator 5G Core and the public preview of the Azure Private 5G Core, designed for the secure deployment of private 4G and 5G networks. With Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things at its core, use cases could include smart cities and autonomous vehicles.