To help communications service providers meet increasing network traffic demand, lower costs and reduce the time needed to deploy new services, IBM (News - Alert) has announced support for the virtualization of network infrastructure, reported Financial.com.
As a result, it will reportedly extend the benefits of the cloud delivery model to the communications networks.
According to IBM, separating network functions from purpose-built hardware can speed the deployment of new services while reducing the economic burden on clients. This is a major goal of IBM’s Smarter Communications initiative, reported Financial.com.
To achieve this goal, IBM is working with Business Partners to create new solutions for telecom. One such example is Australian mobile carrier, Optus (News - Alert), which recently tested a new mobile network capacity solution from Connectem, Inc. running on IBM PureFlex.
In a statement, Jacqueline Woods, global vice president of Systems Software & Growth Initiatives, IBM Systems & Technology Group, said, "The IBM PureFlex platform is uniquely suited to enable virtualization of network functions that are implemented as software applications running on elastic, on-demand infrastructure in 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi wireless networks. We continue to support our partners as they develop and bring to market innovative solutions on the PureFlex platform."
IBM said Business Partner Connectem has developed a software solution called Virtual Core for Mobile (VCM), which has the potential to deliver higher network performance during peak usage periods, where millions of customers could be accessing a mobile network via smartphones or tablets.
A virtualized solution can rapidly switch computing resources to deliver incremental capacity on-demand.
As a result, customers experience lower network latency even during periods of peak network activity, asserted IBM.
Connectem VCM software running on IBM PureFlex platform is reportedly a part of a key initiative that can dramatically reduce the time to deploy new services as software applications on general-purpose computing platforms. Australia’s Optus is looking at the new technology to explore opportunities that Cloud services can enable in delivering outstanding customer experience.
In another statement, Günther Ottendorfer, managing director of Networks at Optus, commented, “As we continue to expand Optus 4G across Australia, we are also exploring ideas such as flexible network infrastructure and how that can potentially fit into our long-term network strategy to deliver even more benefits to our customers.”
Furthermore, IBM added, the new Connectem VCM software architecture, combined with the powerful, high-performance virtualization built into the PureFlex platform, will help enable the quick adoption of new services and business models – critical for mobile carriers.
Edited by Braden Becker
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