Nokia to launch Open Innovation lab in Dubai to drive innovation in key future technology areas

Nokia said Monday it will launch an Open Innovation lab in Dubai, UAE, to drive Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-powered technology innovation for network automation and optimization in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

"We are excited to launch our Open Innovation Lab in MEA, reaffirming our commitment to drive innovation with our partners in key future technology areas, including Dell and HPE. This collaboration will accelerate the adoption of new technologies in our region. We can help both operators and enterprises enhance network efficiency and performance as well as unlock new monetization opportunities," said Mikko Lavanti, Senior Vice President, Mobile Networks at Nokia, MEA.

The Nokia Open Innovation lab will focus on three important areas to benefit operators and enterprises:

1. Cloud RAN: To drive further innovation in the Cloud RAN space by leveraging collaborative advantage with strategic partners such as Dell and HPE and working with market-leading hyperscalers and other ecosystem players.
2. Private wireless and industrial networks: The lab will showcase innovative Industry 4.0 use cases and industrial edge applications on Nokia's market-leading MX Industrial Edge (MXIE) platform to help operators and enterprises accelerate their transition to Industry 4.0 in the region.
3. Network intelligence: Nokia aims to accelerate the adoption of AI/ML solutions for network automation and optimization. The Nokia MantaRay solution portfolio for intelligent network management and automation will be showcased and used in this lab.

Commenting on this development, Tibor Fabry-Asztalos, Senior Vice President, Product Development Engineering, Telecom Systems Business, Dell Technologies, said, "The future of the telecommunications industry is open, backed by an ecosystem of partners collaborating to help network operators digitally transform and quickly bring innovative and revenue-generating solutions to market. Nokia's Cloud RAN capabilities, combined with Dell's cloud-native infrastructure and software in the new Open Innovation Lab, will accelerate the adoption and performance of open network architectures and create new opportunities for network automation and efficiency."