Pre MWC23 Tech Brief with Juniper Networks - Open RAN Innovation and the Power of Partnership
Sally Eaves is joined by the always inspiring Jai Thattil, Senior Director of Product Marketing for Service Provider and Cloud. Watch as they explore the leading developments in Open RAN, alongside Business Model Evolution and the Power of Ecosystem Partnership - with breaking news of a brand new MOU between Juniper Networks and IBM.
You’ll learn
What's the latest with Open RAN
About the new MOU between Juniper and IBM
Who is this for?
Host
Guest speakers
Transcript
0:00 [Music]
0:09 welcome to tomorrow's Tech today
0:12 bringing you the latest in technology
0:15 talent and transformational change with
0:18 me your host Professor Sally Eaves
0:26 fantastic so without further Ado a warm
0:28 welcome to the show Jay it's great to
0:30 have you here
0:32 thank you Sally uh it's great to be here
0:34 and great to be talking to you fantastic
0:37 and as I said in the preview to this
0:39 video that
0:40 Buzz at the moment around all
0:43 the three and around other areas that
0:45 developing supporting this too such as
0:47 open ran perhaps a great place to start
0:50 is really to drill into this in terms of
0:52 what's been happening in terms of open
0:54 ran where is this going and kind of what
What's the latest with Open RAN?
0:56 point do you think we've reached to and
0:57 landed at right now as we head into mwc
1:00 sure sure as you said mwc this is like
1:03 the family is the biggest Telco even of
1:05 the year so we should be focusing on
1:07 that
1:08 um and open Ram is is definitely a Hot
1:10 Topic right and as you rightly said
1:12 there have been a couple of years
1:13 um there's a huge hype that was going
1:15 around
1:16 um this is truly a an inflection point
1:19 in the evolution of network
1:20 infrastructure
1:21 um so traditionally these close networks
1:24 um are now opening up to this
1:25 aggregation and where new players are
1:27 being introduced um to bring in those
1:29 different innovative solutions much
1:32 faster right to deliver those
1:33 experiences that the end users are
1:35 looking for
1:36 um but if you look at the the process or
1:38 the progress of open run uh it has been
1:40 a slow start right but now as you would
1:43 see in the media and what the analysts
1:45 are talking about there's like a
1:46 considerable momentum around this a a
1:50 recent Del Oro report they even revised
1:52 their estimation of open run Market by
1:55 2027 by around 20 days now by 15 it was
1:58 15 earlier now it's like 20 percent you
2:00 could see a huge uplift from that and we
2:05 have already seen the Greenfield
2:06 operators like rakutan and Dish going
2:08 ahead with the deployment but then the
2:10 Brownfield operators like the tier ones
2:12 like the waterfalls of the world are
2:14 pushing ahead with various trials and
2:16 limited deployments um but from a random
2:20 perspective the focus has largely being
2:22 on developing the different components
2:25 of open run Rick being one of the key
2:27 areas as well and then building the
2:30 ecosystems
2:31 um to to deliver those differentiated
2:33 services to The Operators and then we
2:36 can go on and on like the aura and
2:37 Alliance trying to build those standards
2:39 and interfaces and then there are other
2:41 players coming into the market people I
2:44 mean the different companies have all
2:45 fallen off the radar so you would see
2:47 like people who are like in really
2:48 focused on open run and organizations
2:51 bringing up uh their Solutions into the
2:54 market at the moment I think you
2:56 summarize that so well there's so many
2:58 different vectors are changing so many
2:59 different ways affecting
3:01 um things at the moment but one of the
3:02 most positive ones I do agree is the
3:04 power of the ecosystem I think we saw it
3:07 through covert didn't we the power of
3:08 coming together to tackle challenges
3:10 certainly mwc 22 last year speaking to
3:14 Raj in particular we saw this kind of
3:16 new resonance around what we can do by
3:18 better collaboration I think now it's
3:20 one of the number one leads for open ran
3:22 really accelerating as you were
3:24 describing there and in terms of those
3:26 different entities that make up this
3:27 ecosystem you mentioned a couple of
3:28 examples already but for people who
3:30 might be less familiar with this who do
How can the ecosystem come together to innovate?
3:33 you see kind of the main players but
3:34 also that coming together we were
3:36 talking about around standards for
3:37 example yeah yeah and you know you
3:40 highlighted collaboration as the key
3:42 word over there and I think like
3:44 everybody in the industry is recognizing
3:46 that it's better together you can drag
3:49 your own agenda but without the support
3:51 you won't be able to go far right so
3:54 um so that is exactly what is happening
3:55 happening with open run and because this
3:57 templates a huge role as you mentioned
3:58 so if I kind of like split it in a broad
4:01 way The Operators of course who are
4:03 deploying the network who is delivering
4:06 those services to their Network to end
4:07 users then we have the Ryan vendors who
4:10 are bringing in the the radio interfaces
4:12 like uh the panel Wireless and and the
4:15 traditional vendors right and then
4:17 vendors like us who bring in the other
4:19 components uh Rick and the different
4:22 applications then we do have testing
4:24 solution uh providers like keysight and
4:27 we are we then the application ecosystem
4:30 is like now coming up really really big
4:32 even the small vendors are jumping in so
4:34 they bring in those different
4:35 applications that sit on the top of the
4:37 open run
4:38 um there is a huge Dynamics happening
4:40 over there and then there are platform
4:42 vendors like indole and rakutan which we
4:44 have seen with the flex run and rakutan
4:46 with the same world then the the big
4:49 ones are the size
4:51 um the systems integrators who are
4:52 bringing this ecosystem together these
4:55 are the ibms and they can't Gemini's
4:56 energies of the world right so these are
4:58 these are the different entities and it
5:01 is still at a very early stage so you
5:03 would see a lot more Dynamics with
5:05 different actors from supply side as
5:08 well as top right side coming into this
5:11 apps I couldn't agree more particularly
5:12 that SI role I think absolutely critical
5:14 and then moving on a little bit to
5:16 Juniper's role in this as well I think
5:18 one that's been right up there really
5:20 helping to build this momentum around
5:22 open ran is advocacy and again that
5:25 collaboration working together to
5:26 address challenges and really accelerate
5:28 this transition but also help the
5:29 understanding of all the different use
5:30 cases this can support too so if you're
5:32 going to kind of describe that how would
5:35 you say Juniper has been kind of leading
5:36 this charge in many ways what's your key
Juniper has been a leading advocate for Open RAN.
5:38 role and kind of what Milestones have
5:40 been along the way to really actualizing
5:42 that yeah we we embarked on this journey
5:45 journey a couple of years back trying to
5:47 bring in uh we saw as I said this open
5:50 runs and inflection points we said like
5:52 there's an opportunity to go there of
5:54 course we are not a rank vendor so we
5:55 said like what's the next best thing uh
5:58 or the key thing that could drive up and
5:59 down is this brand intelligent
6:01 controller so we said like okay let's
6:03 jump on with it and then we had the deal
6:06 with netsia and we have started
6:07 developing that running religion
6:09 controller and the past couple of years
6:10 we have been focusing on developing that
6:13 ecosystem that we are talking about
6:14 right we started with the Intel and
6:17 rakutan and then we expanded our
6:20 partnership with the radio vendors like
6:22 parallel Wireless and Casa systems and
6:25 then working together with the ones that
6:27 I mentioned the vrvs and the in the
6:29 keysights um and then now that now the
6:32 focus is on applications
6:33 um but once we have all the stuff of
6:35 course we needed to have customers to to
6:38 try and test these things right and
6:40 that's where we have been working with
6:41 Vodafone Turk Telecom and several other
6:44 tier one operators
6:46 um and and then we are like developing
6:48 these use cases as you mentioned and
6:51 developing those applications for use
6:52 cases where this x apps are our apps on
6:55 the uh non-real time in the near
6:57 real-time rigs as well so that has been
6:59 our Focus so far
7:01 um we have been continuing to work with
7:03 all the leading operators trying to
7:06 deliver the promise of open run so to
7:08 speak and that's what we're working on
7:10 at the moment excellent I love that and
7:12 great examples of work as well about
7:14 getting more people involved in this
7:15 like the SDK side of things as well I
7:17 think it's super super important it
7:20 really is that it's important to get the
7:22 the other developers to expand um on
7:24 what they're cooking right so their SDK
7:26 is also an important point that you uh
7:29 that you just find it out great
7:30 absolutely no problem at all and kind of
7:32 kind of bringing these different aspects
7:34 together you know I talk about shared
7:36 value business quite a lot and I'm
7:37 really you know passionate about the
7:39 fact that we can bring together impact
7:41 for kind of business Innovation but also
7:43 societal Innovation at the same time I
7:45 think when we look at the progress of
7:46 open run again this is being supported
7:48 by Evolution and business models as well
7:50 and as part of that again greater
7:52 collaboration I think really exciting
7:55 news there on this front obviously with
7:56 juniper and IBM I wonder if we could
7:58 drill into kind of what's happening
7:59 there and the mou an announcement that's
Can you tell us more about the exciting MOU Announcement With IBM?
8:01 just coming through yeah yeah so this is
8:04 a key Milestone uh I'll take a bit back
8:06 as well in terms of the business models
8:08 and we are kind of approaching all the
8:10 different possibilities right because
8:12 this is excellent exploration phase and
8:15 we have done that with rocketan with the
8:17 same world launch and the App Store on
8:19 the top of that and then the key
8:21 Milestone as you mentioned is the one
8:23 that we are doing with the IBM so this
8:25 is where we are integrating our near
8:27 real-time and non-real-time brick with
8:29 IBM's like cloudtack for Network
8:31 automation or cp4 and a for the
8:33 geekspeak uh solution to deliver this um
8:36 pre-integrated uh open Ram solution uh
8:40 and what happens with this collaboration
8:42 is like we'll be working with
8:43 integrating to even other brand vendors
8:46 um together with IBM in addition to our
8:48 direct approach so uh you know we this
8:50 is the competition kind of model that we
8:53 are using over here and the solution
8:55 also combines the applications based
8:57 access and their apps as well as some
9:00 elements of our Smo to deliver those
9:03 full orchestration for all the
9:04 applications that uh IBM and us are
9:07 working on and also the third party
9:09 vendors right um so yeah I mean all in
9:11 all this this kind of provide a future
9:14 opportunity to expand our ecosystem even
9:17 further and as I said like you know this
9:19 models need to evolve uh we still have
9:22 our direct to customer approach and
9:24 that's what we'll be doing with the
9:25 Vodafone and telecoms uh as a trial show
9:28 but we are this is something that we are
9:30 really excited about especially now that
9:32 mwc is around the corner
9:34 absolutely count down his own isn't it
9:36 and I think also you know with other
9:37 recent news from IBM around the
9:39 expansion of their partner and program
9:41 as well again I think the fit across
9:44 this collaboration is so so strong again
9:46 going back to that power of the
9:47 ecosystem really excited to see that and
9:50 also the technology convergences are
9:51 bringing together as well which I think
9:53 is super important definitely and IBM it
9:56 has been a strategic Alliance partner
9:57 for us like and it's not just in this
9:59 area in many of the radios that we've
10:00 been working closely uh this this
10:03 showcases like you know our
10:05 thought leadership and the Forward
10:07 Thinking uh in the in the open run space
10:10 and also this is a testament to like how
10:13 we are expanding our ecosystem I keep on
10:14 coming back to the ecosystem because I
10:17 think it is not just the operators it is
10:20 also the Enterprises now looking into
10:22 open run as when private fight she comes
10:24 into the picture it is going to be huge
10:26 then the areas like sustainability were
10:29 we want to bring in more Sustainable
10:30 Solutions and and some of the use cases
10:33 like Energy Efficiency and other uh
10:35 others are also really driving that
10:38 agenda in the right space so really
10:40 really excited uh for the future and as
10:43 I said we will be showcasing some of
10:45 these and Mobile World Congress uh uh
10:48 pretty soon now absolutely I I can't
10:51 wait to see these as well and to explore
10:53 some of these announcements in you know
10:55 in person on site as well at the demos I
10:57 think it's gonna be really exciting but
10:58 also looking forward the trajectory
11:00 ahead as well so building on this
11:02 ecosystem collaboration building on this
11:04 Cloud native you know active
11:06 intelligence we're bringing to the fore
11:07 here and this Tech integration and
11:09 really moving forward with open Ram with
11:11 all the benefits this is going to bring
11:12 so if you're going to kind of summarize
11:14 what's next for Juniper and Iran kind of
11:17 what would that be and perhaps we can
Juniper live at MWC23 - What can we Expect ?
11:18 close with a final kind of little teaser
11:20 about what to expect on site at mwc23
11:23 yeah yeah definitely and uh yeah for us
11:27 like the of course we need to strengthen
11:29 our rig platform further right you know
11:31 it's more and more uh specifications are
11:33 coming out so that that work will
11:35 continue then the application ecosystem
11:37 now the focus is largely on of course
11:39 you have the platform you have the
11:41 ecosystem now tell us like what what how
11:43 are we going to make money and what are
11:45 the applications and so that's what
11:46 we're going to focus on then the service
11:48 management and orchestration a bit I
11:50 mean of course you have all these
11:51 different aspects how do you manage and
11:53 orchestrate the network on the top of
11:54 that so these are these are the key
11:56 areas and for mwc like in we are going
12:00 with the theme of uh experience our we
12:03 have the strategy on experience plus
12:04 networking we are expanding that to
12:06 experience the network of the future now
12:08 because the demands from the customers
12:10 are we want to change but we need to
12:12 make sure we are addressing the future
12:14 needs as well
12:15 um so that's where we are focusing on we
12:17 are bringing in some nice cool demos
12:19 around Oran and Rick and several other
12:22 portfolio elements like our Cloud Metro
12:23 our data center Solutions our managed
12:26 Services
12:27 um we are really bringing our access to
12:29 talk to our customers uh come and visit
12:32 Juniper right now it's fantastic and we
12:34 are really excited to see people there
12:36 hopefully this time without mass so that
12:38 we can recognize people more behind them
12:41 absolutely oh I love that definitely
12:43 it's that that's the other thing again
12:45 we talk about ecosystem but that beauty
12:46 of coming together in person you can't
12:48 beat it again you're out absolutely love
12:50 it and I think you summarize that so so
12:52 nicely in terms of everybody watching
12:53 and listening right now you know
12:55 experience the future of that Network
12:57 today I mean honestly that's where we're
12:58 going and I love the fact that as part
13:00 of the trajectory that embedding a
13:02 sustainability considerations is truly
13:03 by Design so look out for something from
13:06 me at the Juniper booth on that very
13:08 subject too so absolutely another sneak
13:09 peek of what everyone can look forward
13:10 to
13:11 thank you thank you and I look forward
13:13 to looking if you are there like please
13:14 drop in and we would love to show you
13:16 around as well thank you I will do it
13:18 thank you so much Jay honestly a
13:19 pleasure to speak to you and a pleasure
13:21 everyone for joining us today so stay
13:23 tuned for more live with juniper at
13:26 mwc23 thanks so much for joining us
13:28 thank you thanks Ellie
13:31 thanks for listening to this episode of
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13:50 [Music]