Verizon and Microsoft are to offer private 5G and edge computing services to businesses customers in the latest evidence of growing convergence between the telecoms and IT industries.
Although 5G will result in more advanced consumer mobile data services, most operators consider the technology’s real potential to be in the business market.
5G promises ultrafast speeds, greater capacity, and ultra-low latency – characteristics that will allow mission critical business applications to be powered by a mobile network for the first time.
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5G business
Such qualities will also pave the way for the creation of new, revolutionary use cases. These include the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), robotics and Mixed Reality, all of which require reliable, real-time transmission of data.
Edge computing is essential for the ultra-low latency as it processes data as close as possible to the point of collection. Meanwhile, private 5G infrastructure provides a high degree of control, increases efficiency, and enhances security.
Verizon and Microsoft will combine their respective technologies to assist customers with their technological requirements and will look to co-develop new services for industries including retail, transportation, and logistics.
“By bringing together Verizon’s 5G network and on-site 5G Edge platform with Microsoft’s expertise in cloud services, we will enable the development of the next generation technologies everyone has been envisioning,” said Rima Qureshi, chief strategy officer at Verizon.
“By leveraging Verizon’s 5G network integrated with Microsoft’s cloud and edge capabilities, developers and businesses can benefit from fast, secure and reliable connections to deliver seamless digital experiences from massive industrial IoT workloads to precision medicine,” added Yousef Khalidi, head Azure for Operators at Microsoft.
Microsoft is already working with Nokia and has made a series of acquisitions to support its 5G ambitions. Las month it launched ‘Azure for Operators’
The relationship between technology and telecoms is set to intensify in the 5G era as vendors combine their networking capabilities with powerful cloud services that result in entirely new services that maximise the opportunity for all parties involved.
Microsoft has been particularly active, working closely with Nokia, making a series of network-related acquisitions, and launching the ‘Azure for Operators’ suite of cloud services for operator partners.
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