Based on the desire by communications services providers for open network architecture, tech partnerships are proving to be a giant stepping stone toward this objective. Microsoft and Dell Technologies Inc. is one such example, as they expand their partnership into the telecom space to make it easier on organizations to acquire, deploy and support new technologies. 

The telecom network of the future has a lot to do with cloud, including a hybrid component, according to Dennis Hoffman (pictured, right), senior vice president and general manager of the telecom systems business at Dell Technologies Inc.

“There are pieces of the telecom network that even when modernized will not end up centralized; they’re going to be highly distributed,” he said. “The network operators are done questioning technology readiness. They’re now beginning to wrestle with operationalization of it all.”

Hoffman and Yousef Khalidi (pictured, left), corporate vice president at Microsoft, spoke with theCUBE industry analysts Dave Vellante and David Nicholson at MWC 2023, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed why network operators have to take the cloud route for a seamless hybrid experience and how the Microsoft-Dell partnership fits into the picture. (* Disclosure below.)

Going beyond the technology readiness issue

Network operators have had to grapple with the reality that it’s now a matter of building a modern network in a cloud-native way, according to Hoffman, who said that 5G is proving to be an ideal stepping stone.

“For mobile network operators, the beauty of 5G is it’s the first cloud-native cellular standard,” he stated. “And another big part of it is the ecosystem and certainly the partnership longstanding between Dell and Microsoft, which we’re extending into this space.”

Embracing cloud-native principles and containerized applications has already started to take shape in the telecom space, according to Khalidi, who said that its partnership with AT&T Inc. has already set the ball rolling.

“You don’t have to start with the O-RAN where they’re inside the house,” he pointed out. “As you probably know, our partner AT&T started with the core. And they’ve been on the virtualization path since 2014 and ’15. What we are working with them on is the hybrid cloud model to expand all the way to the far-edge or the public cloud.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the MWC 2023 event:

 (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for MWC 2023. Neither Dell Technologies Inc., the primary sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE