Private 5G and Hybrid Cloud Simplify OT-IT Integration, Innovation

Vodafone, Dell Technologies, and Microsoft are delivering a dedicated edge solution – a private cloud hosted on premises that keeps customers’ data local, and supports high-performance use cases, shares Jenn Didoni, head of cloud, edge and MPN for Vodafone Business in an interview with RCR Wireless at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

For customers in complex operational environments, where Wi Fi has not met needs because the environment includes indoor and outdoor spaces, private 5G is opening new doors, Didoni explains. She pointed to examples including autonomous forklift and robotics in industrial settings where a wired solution is not feasible and flagged that these solutions come with a need to keep data on premises and be able to deliver low latency and powerful data processing capabilities.

“That’s where you need this hybrid connected cloud where you bring the OT environment into the IT environment and secure it end to end,” says Didoni. This is especially true for enterprise customers in verticals including oil and gas, manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, ports, and healthcare in some cases.

She explained that regardless of the use case, the focus is to ensure the customer has the right cloud and network configuration to keep data secure and ensure solution performance.

Hyon Dijksterhuis, Dell Technologies director of the telco line of business in EMEA explains that “it is not only edge that is driving the business outcomes…[customers also need] secure connectivity, reliable connectivity” and that customers are looking for one provider that can deliver that end-to-end solution. “They are really looking for business outcomes,” says Dijksterhuis.

A hybrid cloud-private 5G managed service solution lets customers focus on “the outcome and the service levels and getting the service that they require from their infrastructure, rather than having to knit it all together and maintain it themselves,” says Didoni.

Learn more – watch the full interview: Accelerating Industry 4.0 with an edge-to-cloud continuum (rcrwireless.com)