Telecom company Telefónica and tech giant Microsoft strengthen partnership, aiming to increase usage of Open Gateway, underpinned by Kernel technology.
In an exciting development for the telecommunications industry, Telefonica and Microsoft have extended their collaboration, focusing on the development of new digital solutions based on Open Gateway. This advancement in the alliance between the two tech giants was announced last year at Mobile World Congress (MWC).
The collaboration involves migrating Telefonica's Kernel capacities to Azure as part of its SaaS offering. This migration aims to help mobile operators simplify their digital transformation processes and accelerate the adoption of Open Gateway.
Aduna, a global aggregator of network APIs, has already set the stage for this trend by partnering with Microsoft to scale its platform on Azure and integrate Microsoft AI. This collaboration focuses on making Aduna's aggregated network APIs available as native Microsoft services via the Azure Marketplace, aligned with the CAMARA open-source project.
The GSMA Open Gateway Initiative, supported by many global service providers, also aims to provide universal access to network APIs for developers. It involves the development of common APIs aligned with CAMARA standards, which might be relevant to any future collaborations involving Telefonica and Microsoft in the context of Open Gateway.
Chema Alonso, the chief digital officer of Telefonica, is proud of the achievements of Kernel and its transformation, and wants to bring the platform into the Azure marketplace. Paco Salcedo, the president of Microsoft Spain, is excited about the expanded collaboration, stating it will drive digital transformation and create new opportunities.
The joint work will facilitate the Open Gateway community's access to Microsoft's ecosystem of partners, developers, ISVs, innovation centres, and research hubs. The collaboration will actively seek for further integration of technologies that might help in the data and analytics space, simplifying the development of features for non-technical skills.
Kernel's evolution will incorporate Generative AI and advanced analytics capabilities on Azure. The collaboration will open new possibilities for the development of new capabilities and solutions within the Open Gateway community.
At this year's MWC, which takes place from 3 to 6 March in Barcelona, Chema Alonso will provide more details on the integration and accelerate the adoption of Open Gateway with Kernel. The collaboration also includes a joint "Go-to-Market" strategy to make digital services based on the Telefonica Kernel platform available to other operators, developers, and telecommunications companies.
As the industry continues to evolve, the partnership between Telefonica and Microsoft is set to play a significant role in shaping the future of telecommunications, driving digital transformation, and creating new opportunities. The article can be found on IoT Now's homepage.
- This collaboration between Telefonica and Microsoft, encompassing data-and-cloud-computing solutions like Azure, will also involve artificial-intelligence, as Kernel's evolution will incorporate Generative AI.
- The joint "Go-to-Market" strategy of Telefonica and Microsoft aims to make digital services based on the Telefonica Kernel platform available to others, thereby simplifying the adoption of Open Gateway technology for developers and telecommunications companies.
