Telstra Purple plans to offer Australia’s first 5G-enabled edge compute solution for enterprises through a collaboration between Telstra, Microsoft and Ericsson.
Telstra’s edge compute solutions will extend private connectivity and cloud services to the network edge, bringing compute, storage and marketplace services closer to customers.
Branch Offload will use a range of technologies including Telstra’s 5G and fixed connectivity, Microsoft Azure Stack Edge for edge compute, Secure Edge, SD-WAN and service orchestration, and will be delivered as a managed service from Telstra Purple.
The solution will deliver a fast and resilient internet connection, with high availability and throughput, ideal for enhanced application performance and failover capabilities that improve real-time decision making, and helps customers implement their cloud-first, IoT enablement and advanced analytics strategies.
Branch Offload will also be attractive to organisations scaling up IT infrastructure at new sites, as the breadth of Telstra’s network and 5G leadership, means customers will be able to implement the solution to significantly optimise deployment times.
Collaborating closely with Microsoft and Ericsson, Telstra will work with early adopter businesses to co-develop and deploy edge capabilities which will form the foundation for new use cases across a variety of industries. Telstra believes this collaboration will deliver an automated, scalable and secure platform that will continue to be developed and enhanced in future.
Some other initial use cases combine Microsoft’s Azure Stack Edge, private multi-access edge compute and Telstra’s IoT Hub framework, to deploy AI-centered solutions for customers, such as Smart Video, Telstra Dedicated Networks and Telstra Data Hub at the network edge.
This will deliver a low latency, simple integrated network edge environment, that lets customers virtualise and consolidate their network and application services. This can help address operational challenges such as safety and productivity in industries including mining, construction, retail, health and energy.
Branch Offload and other network edge solutions are planned for scaled deployment before the end of FY22.
Head of Telstra Purple, Christopher Smith, said Telstra’s longstanding and strong collaboration with Microsoft and Ericsson continued to deliver global network and technology leadership for Australian organisations.
“Many businesses have found it challenging to simplify their disparate networks and securely run temporary or permanent sites. Branch Offload – with 5G at its core – will be a game changer for many industries as it will deliver significant network optimisation and greater application performance.
“Our Networks team has done an awesome job harnessing the power of our technology and network leadership to build the infrastructure that will enable our differentiated 5G and edge compute services.
“Telstra’s collaboration with our major strategic partners, Microsoft and Ericsson, continues to deliver many global and national technology firsts. When you combine this network innovation with Telstra Purple’s diverse team of digital experts, we have the network and smarts to help Australian businesses adapt to the digital environment of the future.”
Jan Karlsson, Head of Business Area Digital Services, Ericsson said, “We’ve collaborated with Telstra to build 5G solutions that accelerate enterprise digitalization.
“We’ve also contributed to Branch Offload and Telstra’s incoming 5G-enabled edge offerings by providing cloud native 5G Core, including cloud infrastructure for edge deployment, along with our end-to-end service orchestration solution. They together enable the automation and scaling of the network slicing and advanced connectivity capabilities needed to deliver these services. With this initiative, we together realise further, smart 5G benefits for enterprises.”
Shawn Hakl, Vice President, 5G Strategy, Azure for Operators at Microsoft Corp. said, “Microsoft’s cloud capabilities and Azure ecosystem enables a cloud-to-edge continuum, supporting enterprises to digitize its operations. Branch Offload is a leading example of how to innovate and utilize powerful compute and storage at the edge of customers’ networks.”
