As early pace setters across Europe launch 5G services to much fanfare, many telcos are still embarking on the infrastructure overhauls necessary to digitally transform their operations. 

This means a wholesale modernization of IT systems as well as network platforms and a shift to more open, hybrid cloud platforms that can support advanced applications and harness the power of new technologies like 5G and edge.  

In parallel to this, telcos are also leveraging this opportunity to serve an enterprise market need for easier and more immediate ways to adopt hybrid cloud technology. That’s why today, IBM and Telefonica are rolling out Cloud Garden 2.0, Telefonica’s hybrid cloud services platform aimed at giving clients the architectural foundation they need to fuel their application modernization.

Cloud Garden 2.0 has been re-architected on IBM Cloud Pak for Applications on Red Hat OpenShift, giving clients the flexibility to develop and run their applications on premises or in the cloud environment of their choosing. The platform speeds how clients can securely create cutting edge applications that improve quality and efficiency across core business activities, from AI-powered customer-facing interfaces to edge applications that can analyze inventory on a factory floor. 

And the need for this kind of solution has never been greater. According to an IBM Institute for Business Value COVID-19 C-Suite study, 55% of executive respondents say the pandemic has resulted in permanent changes to organizational strategy – with 62% of executives now planning to accelerate digital transformation efforts over the next two years. And 64% of executives surveyed said they will shift to more cloud-based business activities.

Cloud Garden 2.0 addresses this need by providing an open, hybrid cloud architecture that will support clients in their transformation for the next era of communications. And businesses are already taking action. For example, Insurance consortium TIREA (Information Technologies and Networks for Insurance Entities) has already developed a new application for customers based on Cloud Garden 2.0 to help drive digital transformation in the insurance sector.

IBM has long been a pioneer in the telco space and today services some 83% of the world’s largest CSPs. Our news today builds on recent European customer and partner deals, including a $550M cloud and networking services agreement with Vodafone in Europe and co-innovating on 5G in France with Bouygues. We also recently introduced the IBM Cloud for Telecommunications with 42+ partners to addresses the unique challenges telcos face as 5G and edge transform the industry. 

As we watch a complex landscape of emerging technologies and more software-defined platforms come together, we’ll begin to see more clearly how telcos and their customers are embracing an open, hybrid cloud approach to make the potential of innovation a reality across every industry.

Eduardo Argüeso
Director of Telco and Media Industry, EMEA, IBM