VMware is positioning itself to be the “central nervous system” for 5G network operators with a multicloud platform that continues to evolve, according to Lakshmi Mandyam, VMware’s VP of telco and edge cloud product management.

“We see our role as enabling telcos to accelerate their journey,” she said. This includes modernizing telco networks, monetizing those efforts, and deploying a consistent management layer that runs from the network core to the edge and radio access network (RAN).

Network operation and management is as complex as the deployment and integration work that typically occurs before services go live, and as such many operators are focused on overcoming challenges they encounter in day-two operations, Mandyam explained.

The topology of 5G networks is more complex because the infrastructure is more distributed and the requirements for service creation are fast. All of this complicates the activities required to commercialize new services, and operators “really need a platform that allows them to design and deploy services rapidly,” she said. 

That’s what VMware is focusing on as it evolves its 5G Telco Cloud Platform, Mandyam said. Carriers need a common mobile edge cloud platform that allows network functions and enterprise applications fused with artificial intelligence (AI) to be run at the edge. “This is where we’re seeing the tenants of our platform really coming into play,” she said. 

VMware is also exploring how to make its multicloud capability improve or support 5G RAN in cases where network operators begin using those assets for edge opportunities, Mandyam said, adding that that work is in the early stages.

“The first move that we see to the cloud is more on IT workloads. One of the benefits of the cloud is that, of course, it abstracts from the hardware requirements but when you look at radio access networks there are very high, real-time capabilities that are required, and I think it’s an evolving story in that area,” she said. 

VMware started its telecom journey by helping operators undertake virtualization in the network core, and many carriers have adopted that framework to date. As operators look to deploy more cloud-native technology on that virtualized foundation, they need a platform that has a consistent look and feel across all layers of their cloud-based infrastructure, Mandyam said.

“We’re seeing so much transformation in the industry and we’re really aiming to be at the heart of that transformation as customers start to think about how they’re going to realize their 5G opportunities,” she said. 

VMware faces its own challenges as well, including a leadership vacuum and uncertainty about its future linkage with Dell Technologies, which currently owns an 81% stake in VMware but is exploring a potential spin-off. 

The company is still searching for a new CEO to replace Pat Gelsinger who left earlier this year to run Intel. And more recently, Shekar Ayyar, the former EVP and GM for VMware’s Telco and Edge Cloud unit, left that role to lead a special purpose acquisition company that plans to invest in telecom, 5G, and edge businesses that could benefit VMware’s telecom and edge plans. 

Edge and open RAN are direct tributaries of 5G, and VMware anticipates both areas to grow significantly in the years ahead. The open RAN vision is “analogous to what we saw in the network five years ago where people wanted to disaggregate that layer and moved to a virtualized or a horizontal common platform,” Mandyam said. “We see the same thinking happening with open RAN.”

VMware last summer scored a significant 5G win with Dish Network to provide the underlying cloud platform and infrastructure to power its open RAN 5G network. The vendor is also collaborating with Intel to develop a more integrated and interoperable platform for open and virtualized RAN. 

Evolution in the RAN will be similar to the phased path operators took with network virtualization, Mandyam explained, adding that she’s encouraged by the growing level of interest and activity in the open RAN space. 

“It’s kind of an excitement in the air in terms of the innovation that some of these smaller players are bringing, and I think it’s really commendable to see the whole industry, established players even,” working to develop a viable open RAN offering for network operators, she said.

“I am excited because it’s always good when you see an industry swarming toward a common goal of helping their customers deploy new services and change the way things have been run for the past 20 to 30 years,” Mandyam said.

So, does VMware foresee a need to acquire an open RAN vendor to improve its position in that space? “I think it’s too early to say one way or the other,” she said.