Ericsson is quickly integrating its recent Ericom acquisition, rebranding that firm’s ZTEdge security services edge (SSE) product as NetCloud Threat Defense Cloud to bring it in line with Ericsson’s Cradlepoint operations.

Donna Johnson, VP of product and solutions marketing at Cradlepoint, noted the rebranding effort as part of a recent Ericsson quarterly information briefing. She explained the integration would bolster the firm’s various NetCloud products, including adding this SSE feature to its NetCloud Exchange for WAN connectivity.

Cradlepoint announced the Ericom purchase early last month. It was targeted at boosting Cradlepoint’s ability to offer 5G-based telecommunication operators a way to integrate secure access service edge (SASE), zero trust and cloud security into their cellular networks.

Johnson said this “full SASE stack” work is to “create a SASE stack that is optimized for companies that are embracing 5G.” She noted this includes companies with fixed locations, mobile locations, IoT use cases and supporting people working at a specific Enterprise location, at home or contractors that are roaming between “private networks, private cellular networks, private Wi-Fi networks and public networks.”

“It's important to have a solution that allows us to identify users as they move among these different types of connectivity services, as they connect across different types of carriers and still provide consistent policies for both Application reliability and security,” Johnson added.

The Ericom integration is moving at a much slower pace across Ericsson’s broader portfolio, with Johnson stating current work is “technical coordination sharing of information and expertise.”

“We feel like there's a strong market for security and we are investing in it at the technology level,” Johnson said. “It's, again, more around knowledge sharing.”

She added that Ericsson’s current security products are targeted at different markets, noting its Ericsson Security Manager (ESM) product is focused on the communication services provider (CSP) and telecom security markets, while the vendor’s Enterprise wireless platform targeted at the Enterprise space.

“At this point there is not an integrated product,” Johnson explained. “But I think this does demonstrate, as I said, really the commitment to security and the understanding that our buyers across both CSP and enterprises are concerned with and are investing in security.”

ABI Research recently noted the need for cloud security platforms to be adaptable to specific needs of 5G network operators.

“Numerous existing solutions in the traditional cybersecurity market can secure 5G networks, data and devices. The critical success factor is to ensure that these technologies are adapted to the new context and can work with the architectural requirements defined by 5G standards,” wrote Michela Menting, telco cybersecurity research director at ABI Research.

The analyst firm predicts the 5G security software and services market will hit $8.6 billion in sales by 2027.

The ongoing Ericom integration also continues what has been a significant push by Ericsson to bolster its Cradlepoint operations.

Ericsson closed on its $1.1 billion purchase of Idaho-based Cradlepoint in late 2020. The move was targeted at boosting Ericsson’s presence in the Enterprise market.

Cradlepoint has since launched several new products that have grown its presence in the lucrative Enterprise market. This includes the launch late last year of network-slicing ready SD-WAN and zero-trust network access products.

Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm told investors during the vendor’s most recent earnings call that it was still in investment mode when it came to its Enterprise efforts.

The executive explained that Cradlepoint’s current subscription model results in deferred profits reported on a monthly basis, which leads to an initial “negative impact” on earnings. As that business grows it will continue to “generate a loss for accounting reasons,” but long term Ekholm said it has a “very attractive profitability profile.”

Ericsson’s private wireless business is working through a similar investment period that is impacting profitability.

“We are starting to see some very interesting use cases for our dedicated networks in manufacturing, but I would still say that’s a rather early market and not particularly big yet,” Ekholm said.