Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and VMware (NYSE: VMW) have signed a global alliance agreement that will simplify deploying and running a combination of Ericsson applications and VMware’s vCloud NFV platform for CSPs. The alliance agreement solidifies the close cooperation between the two companies, ongoing since 2012, and enables CSPs to accelerate time to revenue for new telco-grade services. 

The alliance includes technical collaboration and interoperability testing across Ericsson’s portfolio of Virtual Network Functions, Billing and Charging solutions, Automation and Orchestration, with VMware’s vCloud NFV platform to provide CSPs with faster, more cost effective and tested virtualized solutions. These solutions are increasingly critical as CSPs move to multi-cloud strategies to streamline costs and optimize resources.

To enable CSPs to efficiently deploy and operate commercial virtualized networks, the two companies engage in technical collaborations e.g. in the Cloud Core and Cloud Communication domain, to jointly help secure optimized performance and platform utilization for high volume workloads. And have furthermore invested in a Certification Lab, where Ericsson’s VNF and VMware vCloud NFV platform interoperability is tested, certified, system verified, optimized and documented. 

Today, Ericsson and VMware have more than 50 CSPs running live production mobile networks with Ericsson VNFs on a VMware vCloud NFV platform. 

Matt Beal, Head of Technology, Strategy and Architecture, Vodafone Group, says: “We have worked jointly with Ericsson and VMware for many years, and have implemented Ericsson’s EPC, PCRF, UDC, IMS and MSC Virtual Network Functions on VMware vCloudNFV. The combination of software from both companies, accelerates time to market for new services and enables our customers to fully embrace the opportunities of services like VoLTE and 4G/5G.”

Honore LaBourdette, Vice President of Global Market Development, Telco NFV Group at VMware, says: “This agreement is an expansion of an ongoing successful relationship with Ericsson. This alliance agreement means a more concentrated collaboration to integrate, optimize, and provide interoperability at scale for our combined solutions, enabling speedy onboarding and deployment of VNFs. Ericsson and VMware are accelerating time to revenue and enabling carriers to provide industry-leading innovative experiences for our customers.”

Anders Rosengren, Head of Architecture and Technology, Digital Services, Ericsson, says: “In our collaboration with VMware, we share a common goal of supporting CSPs with an exceptional experience in deploying and running the combination of software from Ericsson and VMware, which spans from the core to the edge.”