Building a slide deck, pitch, or presentation? Here are the big takeaways:
- Cisco launched its 5G Now portfolio for service providers at the 2018 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
- Cisco’s 5G Now portfolio includes provisions for security, client services, multi-cloud deployments, and more.
To further help service providers go “full throttle on their 5G roadmap,” Cisco announced its 5G Now portfolio Monday at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.
5G connections will grow more than 1000% from 2020 to 2021, according to Cisco’s 2017 Visual Networking Index for mobile. This means that the number of 5G devices will expand from 2.3 million in 2020 to more than 25 million in 2021.
With its approach to 5G, Cisco is aiming to help companies better understand what new services 5G enables, what infrastructure is needed to make it happen, and how automation will play a role in the transition, the company said in a press release. If successful, the portfolio could help Cisco customers get to market with 5G technologies sooner than expected.
SEE: Wireless networking policy (Tech Pro Research)
As part of the 5G Now portfolio, Cisco’s multi-cloud approach will help customers manage their cloud workloads across the “full ecosystem of private, public, and hybrid clouds to connect enterprise, consumers, and service providers,” the release said.
Cisco’s IP Core can help enable real-time network expansion, using telemetry data to boost automation, the release said. With Cisco’s mobile virtualized packet core, Cisco Ultra, customers will have a platform for service enablement among radio solution and Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, even to the edge of the network, the release said.
The new offering will also provide a host of different access options for various architectures, along with a number of client services and professional services.
Security, always a major concern for mobile and networking initiatives, will also be a part of the new portfolio. A new 5G Security Architecture will help customers take on threats that are targeted toward 5G networks, the release noted. Other services like Stealthwatch Cloud and the Cisco Umbrella Security Suite will also be included in the portfolio.
“4G was about buying connectivity, and 5G is about buying experiences,” Yvette Kanouff, senior vice president and general manager of the Service Provider Business at Cisco, said in the release. “5G creates a new environment for service creation, giving operators what they need to deliver next-level entertainment experiences.”
