IBM today hoisted a new umbrella for its open, hybrid cloud technology targeting 5G network operators. IBM Cloud for Telecommunications organizes and repackages multiple IBM services — Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Edge Application Manager, and IBM Telco Network Cloud Manager — into what IBM describes as a more “holistic hybrid cloud offering” for mobile carriers. 

The company also extended the reach of its enlarged platform with pre-integrated support for almost 40 third-party vendors. The group of vendors on board at launch deliver services for 5G access, 5G mobile core, telco edge, SDN, compute, network equipment hardware, security, operations support systems (OSS), and business support systems (BSS). 

Major players include Nokia, Samsung, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Equinix, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Lenovo, and Juniper Networks. Other vendors including Affirmed Networks, Altiostar, F5 Networks, Mavenir, Matrixx Software, Metaswitch, NetApp, the O-RAN Alliance, Palo Alto Networks, and Robin.io, among others. 

The framework assembled by IBM and buoyed by other vendors’ software and technology, “enable mission critical workloads to be managed consistently from the network core to the edge so telecom providers can extract more value from their data while they drive innovation for their customers,” Howard Boville, SVP of hybrid cloud at IBM, wrote in a blog post. 

“Ecosystems fuel platforms, and because IBM Cloud for Telecommunications is built on an open architecture, an enormous ecosystem of partners can enhance it with their own solutions in addition to providing services for it, and this is an important distinction,” Boville explained. 

With Red Hat OpenShift and IBM’s Cloud Satellite serving as the foundation for this platform, network operators can deploy services on the cloud, on premises, or at the edge, according to the vendor. IBM said it has existing business relationships with eight of the 10 largest telecom providers globally. It claims IBM Cloud for Telecommunications can further help operators attract and retain subscribers, lower operational costs, and create new digital services.

"What's unique about this is that we are seamlessly integrating hybrid cloud and cognitive services from IBM with a flexible deployment model built on IBM Cloud Satellite and leveraging Red Hat OpenShift," Aki Duvvur, VP of IBM Public Cloud, wrote in response to questions. "With Red Hat OpenShift, ecosystem partners benefit from an open, container-based architecture managed as a service that allows operators and providers to integrate, automate, and orchestrate how they run network and IT workloads across any environment."

IBM said it is also giving its partner vendors access to the Cloud Engagement Fund, which includes up to $1 billion in investment, to help fund the onboarding of services, configurations, and sales.

The approach outlined by IBM closely mirrors a similar effort VMware unveiled in September that also resulted in a reorganization and repackaging of various technologies for mobile network operators. 

This overhaul could embolden IBM’s position and improve its appeal among operators while elevating its many telco-focused services into a more comprehensive offering. Many of IBM’s recent deals with network operators are oriented around a specific outcome or layer of the network, including one on 5G edge with AT&T and another rooted in IoT services at Verizon.

"We strongly believe vendor lock-in goes against the spirit of true hybrid cloud, which should embrace an open approach while simultaneously providing the security and control that businesses need, particularly in regulated industries," Duvvur explained.

The reconstruction of IBM’s telco cloud and its many arms also follows a recent decision by IBM CEO Arvind Krishna to remake IBM into a hybrid cloud powerhouse by ditching its lagging legacy business units into a separate company.