Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Inspur Group Co. Ltd (Inspur), the leading supplier of data center equipment in China, announced on July 1 they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The MoU builds upon the existing cooperation between the two parties, which dates back to 2002, when Ericsson and Inspur established a joint venture to develop radio technology and products. With this new agreement, the two companies will expand their collaboration into cloud infrastructure, TV and media, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
In cloud infrastructure, Ericsson and Inspur will test and verify the compatibility and/or performance of selected Ericsson software solutions related to areas such as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), IoT, OSS/BSS and cloud on Inspur’s hardware platform, and evaluate joint proof-of-concept (PoC) opportunities.
The two companies will align standardization and participation in open forums such as ODCC and OPNFV, as well as explore possibilities for joint PoCs in areas such as 5G core networks, NFV, and management and orchestration (MANO) with operators and enterprise customers.
In TV and media, the cooperation aims to launch a solution that enables the next generation of media cloud, and will start by integrating Ericsson’s MediaFirst cloud TV platform with Inspur’s cloud portfolio. Inspur has agreed to customize its set-top box and other terminals to meet the requirements of Ericsson and its strategic customers.
With global industries rapidly embracing the transformational power of ICT, the MoU will also cover joint development of IoT solutions for various vertical industries. In addition, the two companies will collaborate on smart city projects, including smart parking, green energy, smart transportation, smart community, smart home, smart building and e-government solutions.
Furthermore, Ericsson and Inspur will partner to design and build data centers and communication infrastructure to address China’s “One Belt, One Road” markets, while in the global market, the two parties will explore strategic partnerships.
Sun Pishu, Chairman, Inspur, says: “As leading enterprises in the global IT and CT area, Inspur and Ericsson are strongly complementary, and this is proved by our good cooperation for over a decade. The in-depth integration of IT and CT brings both sides a wider cooperative space. We will integrate the advantages of both sides in key technological areas like cloud computing, NFV and IoT to provide more complete solutions to customers around the world.” Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “Through our partnership, Ericsson and Inspur have the ambition to bring advanced technologies and services developed to operators, enterprises and industries around the world. I am excited about taking this next step in our collaboration with Inspur, starting in China but also looking beyond.”
About Inspur
As a leading service provider of cloud computing and big data, Inspur is capable of providing total solutions at IaaS, PaaS and SaaS levels. Inspur has developed rapidly in cloud data center, digital media and other areas with perfect product lines and total solutions. The sales volume of Inspur servers ranks fifth in the world and first in China. Inspur K1, first key application host independently researched and developed by China, makes China the third country with core technologies of high-end servers after the United States and Japan. The media cloud including television operation support system and digital set-top box is widely applied to China’s broadcast and television industry, and is available in Southeast Asia and North America and other places.
Inspur owns three listed companies, including Inspur Information, Inspur Software and Inspur International. Inspur’s four business groups – cloud data center, cloud services and big data, software and integration and enterprise software – provide IT products and services for over 100 countries and regions in the world, and caters to the entire range of needs of information of government and enterprises.
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