Microsoft, which has hogged the media limelight so far in 2023, due to its successful partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, recently previewed two of its AI-powered services for managing telecom networks. These services employ the same management tools as the company’s Azure cloud platform.
The company stated in a blog post that operators could gain from cutting-edge artificial intelligence that helps to uncover new business prospects from data on and insights into their operations, including the rollout of high-speed 5G networks.
Following its acquisition of cloud networking firms Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch in 2020, Microsoft became the first player in the 5G market.
The corporation has a strong focus on artificial intelligence. Apart from making significant investments in Sam Altman-headed OpenAI, is increasing its attention on artificial intelligence-related products, thus changing trends in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. As OpenAI continues its quest to develop artificial intelligence comparable to human intelligence, Microsoft stated in January 2023 that it wants to include such artificial intelligence in its products.
Jason Zander, Microsoft’s senior vice president of strategic missions and technologies, said, “We’re adapting our existing cloud work to be specifically relevant to the telecom operator network environment. The artificial intelligence operations work we are integrating into the system is, in my opinion, a really wonderful example of it. We are bringing that same technology into this space. Every operator I’ve shown this to is extremely excited.”
Microsoft’s new Nexus service, an all-in-one platform enabling operators to operate their networks from the cloud, and two different “AIOps” services, will be helpful to telecom partners like AT&T Inc, Ericsson, and Nokia.
According to Monica Zethzon, vice president at Ericsson, the new improvements would enable operators to “transform their core networks while improving customer experiences.”
The launch comes amid AT&T and Verizon VZ facing pressure to show better investment returns in 5G networks. Microsoft, which is backing the Nexus to make network carriers more efficient through AI and automation, is taking on Amazon Web Services as it looks to expand its market share in cloud-computing services for telecoms.
Amazon has recently announced the launch of its AWS Telco Network Builder, which it said would make it easier for telecom companies to build their operations in the cloud.
Google’s parent Alphabet is also seeking to attract attention from telecom companies, as it looks to catch up with Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud revenue arena. Google Cloud is going to launch three new products for telecom companies, including an AI-powered tool for analyzing subscriber behaviour.