Network vendor Nokia is working with New York-based managed infrastructure services provider Kyndryl, separated from IBM late last year, to jointly sell and develop private networking and edge computing solutions for the Industry 4.0 market. The partnership has emerged from a joint private 5G innovation project, geared for Industry 4.0, plus a number of joint installations and proofs for chemicals company Dow Inc.
Kyndryl, which claims to serve three quarters of Fortune 100 companies, will take the lead with industrial customers on the consultancy, design, build, and run phases of edge-based cellular and computing infrastructure, alongside the over-the-top implementation of sundry industrial IoT sensing and AI sense-making systems. Nokia claims to have 420 “large enterprise” customers, now, for its private LTE and 5G solutions.
The Finnish vendor is supplying its plug-and-play Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) platform into the mix, bundling private 4G and 5G along with Nokia-developed IoT apps, notably its High Accuracy Indoor Positioning (HAIP) solution, plus pre-approved third-party software. DAC is being offered by Nokia as part of its broader all-in Nokia MX Industrial Edge (MXIE) system for Industry 4.0, which also incorporates industrial-grade compute and storage.
Nokia and Kyndryl have called their arrangement a “global network and edge computing alliance”, with a focus on the kinds of higher-grade security and reliability that will make go-faster 5G suitable for Industry 4.0. “[We] are addressing marketplace opportunities that already utilize the strong industrial ecosystem available now with LTE, while paving the way for significant 5G enhancements in future 3GPP releases,” they said.
The work for Dow Inc has so far been to support industrial worker safety and collaboration tools, and also asset tracking. A statement said they have developed a “blueprint” that will see the Michigan firm expand its Industry 4.0 use cases in existing sites, and also “across its sites worldwide”. Nokia has been closely engaged in developing digital-change blueprints for industry verticals, it might be noted, as part of its work with the MulteFire Alliance.
Kyndryl and Nokia will jointly-develop new solutions and services for edge cloud, IP networking, fibre-optic comms, fixed-wireless access, cellular core networks, and network management software, they said. A statement said: “Private wireless connectivity is a key enabler to adding new data sources and analytics layers, for real-time process management, and to facilitate automation, robotics, AI, augmented and virtual reality use cases.”
Paul Savill, global practice leader of network and edge computing for Kyndryl, said: “By collaborating with Nokia, we’re taking another step forward in helping customers unlock the power of LTE and 5G through a secure, private environment that helps them deliver tailored enterprise-grade edge solutions that drive new value for their bottom lines and next gen customer experiences.”
Chris Johnson, head of the global enterprise business at Nokia, said: “By combining Kyndryl’s world-class services expertise and global reach with Nokia’s mission-critical, industry-leading private wireless and industrial edge computing solutions, we will enable even more organisations to transform their operations, accelerate their digitalization journey and reap the benefits of Industry 4.0.”
