Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) launched its first on-premises Network Management System (NMS).

OmniVista Terra is designed to complement ALE’s existing OmniVista Cirrus cloud-based solution in offering the same features in a locally hosted environment, including switches, wireless access points, private 5G, SD-WAN, and secure access service edge (SASE) solutions.

Like Cirrus, the Terra product features an AI chat interface that “enables network administrators to use natural language to obtain real-time responses to network queries, configuration guidance, and troubleshooting support.”

On the analytics side, ALE’s AIOps tool is also included for monitoring network performance, user behavior, and device status.

The presence of AI can sound security bells for enterprises; indeed, research firms like PwC have called for zero-trust frameworks to be adopted with the rise of generative AI (genAI).

ALE stressed the Terra NMS is designed for sectors with strict data residency requirements, promising “consistent security policies and centralized management” from the integration of SD-WAN and SASE solutions from Versa, which the French firm partnered with last month. Those verticals include transportation, energy, utilities, health care, and defense.

Terra’s private 5G capabilities, meanwhile, come from Celona, who ALE partnered with in March on its OmniVista range.

While the private 5G market is yet to mature, research from analyst firm CCS Insights has gleaned early adopters have chosen the tech for improved security, alongside coverage and network performance.

The Terra launch also marks ALE's first full on-premises release.

The company, which was recently labeled by Gartner as a “niche player” in the data center switching vendors market, was formed when parent company Alcatel-Lucent sold its enterprise division in 2014 to China Huaxin, becoming a separate company as Alcatel‑Lucent Enterprise.

Alcatel-Lucent was later acquired and folded into Nokia Networks in 2016.