Enea has integrated and updated its cloud-native 5G data suite to support automated network processes and data monetisation, which gives operators a best of breed option for management of data in 5G networks.
“Key 5G applications require robust data models and structures as a foundation for effective network automation and data monetisation,” said Jan Häglund, CEO of Enea (pictured). “Operators can realise the full potential of 5G only by leveraging best-in-class data management”.
Enea is a global software company with a product portfolio that spans the network from the edge to the core. The company provides critical software components that help realise operators’ ambitions of a cloud-native, software-defined network.
The Enea 5G Data Management portfolio gives operators a unified view of their data and allows all applications for network and business operations to securely store and access data through open APIs. The suite includes 5G core network capabilities spanning the common or network data layer (CDL/NDL), the user plane and the control plane. It includes functions such as Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Authentications Server Function (AUSF), Policy Control Function (PCF), and Equipment Identity Register (EIR).
One of the key components in the Enea 5G Data Management portfolio is Stratum, a Common Data Layer solution, which is already being used by several of the world’s largest mobile operators. By collapsing all system data silos into a single common data layer, Stratum allows all applications to draw from the same pool of data. This effectively ends the major frustration of vendor lock-in experienced in 3G and 4G networks, based on data being siloed in different network functions.
Through two-way open interfaces, the 5G Data Management suite enhances interoperability between vendors and delivers greater control for operators. It also provides a means for greater visibility and visualisation of the network, which will be critical for network slicing to deliver improved monetisation from enterprise and Internet of Things (IoT) use cases. Fexible interworking with 4G and other networks on subscriber data and user plane level also enables smooth integration and migration.
“A cloud-native data management environment, such as the Enea 5G Data Management suite, will be an integral part of the new 5G networks which call for a highly automated, open architecture” added Gorkem Yigit, Senior Analyst at Analysys Mason.
“Operators will need data management solutions that can not only meet the low latency and high-performance requirements of 5G but also store and expose critical data across all 5G services through open interfaces and support the deployment of multi-vendor and multi-generation interworking scenarios.”
The news comes after CMC Networks announced in October that it had selected Enea's NFV Access as the software platform for its second-generation software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) solution.
