This blog is co-authored by Abdul Thakkadi, Senior Director of Engineering, Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab (OTEL).
By now, it has become clear that 5G is a very different kind of network transformation than 4G. Not only does 5G change the network architecture but it also changes the network ecosystem. Where 3G and 4G transformation were driven mostly by the telco industry, 5G will require a much broader and open partner ecosystem that includes third-party software vendors, cloud service providers, IT vendors from the enterprise world and enterprises themselves.
The question now is, where will this ecosystem be found? Traditional telco network equipment vendors, many of whom have based their business model on proprietary solutions, lack the incentive to integrate and validate multivendor solutions. As for the telco operators themselves, they are understandably reluctant to take on the work of managing and hosting multiple partners from such diverse universes as bare-metal servers and storage, RAN/vRAN systems, cloud platforms and cloud-native mobile cores.
Dell’s business approach, on the other hand, has been based on bringing together the world’s leading hardware, software and cloud vendors to build, integrate and validate best-of-breed solutions for our customers. So, when it came time to look to 5G and the future, Dell immediately began to think about how we could help bring vendors together to accelerate 5G solutions and services. The result is the Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab (OTEL) Solution Integration Platform.
5G in the fast lane
The OTEL Solution Integration Platform accelerates 5G solutions and services by providing a one-stop integration and validation environment. The platform features Dell’s telco-grade hardware, infrastructure automation (via Dell’s Bare Metal Orchestrator), a continuous delivery/continuous integration (CI/CD) pipeline based on DevOps best practices and a wide variety of third-party software, hardware and testing tools. Everything that vendors and operators need to fully replicate, integrate and validate their solutions and services is included within the platform, as well as secure connectivity to third-party cloud services and networks.
It would take months and millions of dollars for telco operators to create the kind of robust testing environment that OTEL’s Solution Integration Platform delivers. With OTEL, operators and vendors can quickly duplicate real-world network conditions to create, integrate and validate solutions much faster than in the past. The OTEL Solution Integration Platform allows telco operators to compete with other cloud-native 5G service providers by quickly developing and deploying new services into the market.
Bring us your wireless, your core, your bundled apps
We like to think of OTEL as the place where the rubber of innovation hits the road of real-world networks. If you’re a telco operator with an exciting proof-of-concept that you want to test securely before rolling it out into your production network, our Solution Integration Platform can help you accelerate and validate it. If you’re considering switching RAN vendors or upgrading parts of your network, we can help you test it before you invest in it. If you’re headed to a software-defined future and are looking to implement Open RAN, a cloud-native core, or multi-access edge computing, we can help identify any bumps in the road and fix them so your customers have a smooth experience from day one.
OTEL is also open to network equipment and software vendors that want to test, integrate and validate solutions with Dell and a broader ecosystem of partners. Whether a partner is looking to integrate/validate their product with other vendors, create an entirely new multivendor solution or simply test out their latest software/firmware upgrade, Dell’s OTEL Solution Integration Platform can provide the real-world testing environment as well as the documentation and validation that partners need to move forward with confidence.
What can Dell do for you?
The OTEL Solution Integration Platform was developed to address a very real need in the industry for a secure, reliable, multivendor testing and integration environment committed to open standards and 5G innovation. More than just bringing people together, Dell’s goal is to bring better solutions to market by accelerating service creation and reducing costs. Operators and vendors gain more than a partner in Dell, they gain the benefits that a world-class testing/validation environment brings, such as:
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- A low cost of entry with no need to purchase and maintain testing equipment.
- Accelerated time to market for new services (when compared with traditional, manual testing).
- Improved solution quality through richer collaboration and continuous testing and integration.
- A CI/CD pipeline that supports continuous improvement over the lifecycle of the solution/service.
The reality is that operators need to embrace software-defined networks and roll out 5G services quickly if they hope to stay competitive in the years to come. OTEL is already working with leading operators in North America, EMEA and APJ to build and validate the Open RAN and 5G cloud-native solutions of the future. To learn how you can begin leveraging Dell’s OTEL and our Solution Integration Platform, visit our OTEL page. There’s never been a better time—or an easier way—to get started.
