Nokia scored a deal with Microsoft that has its sites set on bringing about the next industrial revolution by driving the adoption of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and IoT.

The collaboration will pair Microsoft's extensive cloud portfolio, including Azure, Azure IoT, Azure AI, and ML suites with Nokia's 4G LTE and 5G-ready wireless equipment, intellectual property, IoT, and SD-WAN offerings. Nokia sees these technologies as pivotal to the start "industry 4.0," which envisions a future where the cloud and IoT ushers in a new industrial revolution where enterprises embrace data to automate and streamline all aspects of their operations.

Nokia's Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) is one of several services getting an Azure upgrade as part of the announcement. The Nokia built 5G-ready private-wireless broadband radio will be powered by on-premises Azure elements and is designed for industries requiring high reliability, efficient coverage, and better mobility than WiFi.

Alongside Nokia's DAC, Azure Virtual WAN (vWAN) integration has been added to Nokia's Nuage SD-WAN 2.0 platform. The integration supports faster, more reliable connections to software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications like Office 365. However, Nokia is far from the first to implement Azure vWAN. Rival SD-WAN vendor Silver Peak announced support for Azure vWAN Monday.

Nokia's World IoT Network Grid is also getting the Azure treatment with support for Azure IoT Central. The software suite is designed to make the on-boarding, deployment, management, and servicing of IoT devices seamless.

Finally, Nokia announced its Analytics, Virtualization, and Automation cognitive services platform would be coming to Azure cloud. Nokia says its AI tech will enable communications services providers to realize cost savings and better prepare for the roll out of 5G by moving their private data centers into the Azure cloud.

"Bringing together Microsoft's and Nokia's expertise in cloud, AI, IoT, and networking will unlock new connectivity and automation scenarios," said Jason Zander, EVP of Microsoft Azure, in a statement.

British Telecom has been named as the first managed service provider to offer the company's combined offerings. British Telecom customers will be able to access these services through the Microsoft Lighthouse software suite, which allows the company to manage both Azure vWAN and Agile Connect SD-WAN, which is based on Nokia Nuage's SD-WAN 2.0 platform.