5G is in the driver’s seat of digital transformation as it accelerates the digital economy. Think about it. 5G is changing entire businesses and how they operate as well as the communications landscape.

But how does one really thrive in a 5G world, especially with the possibility of cutting the bottom line or slowing down the modernization journey with siloed, vertically integrated clouds and manual lifecycle management?

Well, VMware says not to let legacy limitations stop the modernization journey with its VMware Telco Cloud Platform. The platform gives consistent infrastructure from core to edge. According to VMware, it is designed with telco-centric scale in mind, like ultra high-performance, support for distributed sites and the ability to service millions of subscribers.

The platform transforms network operations with multilayer automation from infrastructure up to services. It understands the unique characteristics required for each cloud native network function and virtual network function to deliver services fast across 5G from core and edge.

And communications service providers are already unlocking the possibilities of 5G with the VMware Telco Cloud Platform. For example, the platform allows SoftBank to accelerate time-to-market for deploying new, innovative services and giving them a competitive edge. The platform also enables Vodafone (News - Alert) Qatar to apply the power of 5G, cloud and modern infrastructures to bring new services to market.

That is not all VMware announced, though.

VMware continues to evolve its work with RAN partners that provide solutions to make networks smarter with VMware Telco Cloud Platform.

In an expanded partnership, NTT (News - Alert) DATA and VMware are set to help expedite CSPs’ ability to leverage best practices and Open RAN large scale deployment know-how. NTT DATA’s comprehensive CI/CD/CT framework is adopted globally across operators and now incorporates enhanced support for VMware’s Telco Cloud portfolio. The collaboration addresses streamlining configuration management, multi-domain service management and orchestration.

Samsung (News - Alert) and VMware also announced their first virtual network launch, with the integration of Samsung’s virtualized RAN with VMware Telco Cloud Platform as a part of the DISH 5G network buildout. The two companies offer an advanced topology that is tested, more interoperable and allows CSPs to accelerate and streamline their RAN deployments at scale more efficiently

VMware also introduced new and enhanced offerings to help CSPs more quickly modernize their networks and monetize new services. 

VMware's vision for the Service Management and Orchestration framework which follows the O-RAN alliance’s approach of simplifying, optimizing and automating the RAN and its applications. To achieve this, VMware is leveraging its suite of telco cloud management and orchestration solutions. What this means for CSPs is that they can better streamline the deployments of a programmable 5G RAN network with end-to-end automation and optimization.

To help CSPs advance their journey toward modernized and disaggregated RAN with more architectural choices, VMware introduced Project Kauai. The vision of Project Kauai is to add choice and flexibility through VMware Telco Cloud Platform RAN to help CSPs deploy the most demanding areas of their RAN – far edge cell sites. While CSPs continue to reap the benefits of the VMware ESXi hypervisor, the goal of Project Kauai is to complement VMware’s hypervisor solution by running disaggregated and virtualized RAN functions on a bare metal server. 

“We’ve evolved the telco and edge digital infrastructure by providing CSPs a cloud-smart approach that delivers more flexibility and greater efficiency, from both a technology and an operational perspective,” said Sanjay Uppal, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Service Provider and Edge, VMware. “Working in lockstep with our partners, our customers will have the ability to create more advanced and innovative services than ever to move the industry and its capabilities forward.”

VMware is helping global CSPs become cloud smart and thrive in the digital era through innovations that enable RAN and edge transformation, improve telco efficiency, and enable smarter networking.