微軟收購affirm Networks，為5G網絡運營商提供云服務

微軟收購affirm Networks，為5G網絡運營商提供云服務

Microsoft has become the latest company to have a crack at helping telcos prepare for 5G by acquiring network specialist Affirmed Networks.

微軟(Microsoft)已成為最新一家嘗試通過收購網絡專家affirm Networks，幫助電信公司為5G做好準備的公司。

Affirmed's big product, UnityCloud, provides tools for managing wireless carrier networks, such as increasing and decreasing capacity on demand. The platform can also network slice, a flagship feature of 5G tech which allows providers to prioritise certain kinds of traffic on their networks.

affirm的大產品UnityCloud提供了管理無線運營商網絡的工具，如按需增減容量。該平臺還可以進行網絡切片，這是5G技術的一個旗艦特性，允許供應商在其網絡上優(yōu)先處理某些類型的流量。

The Massachusetts company already has more than 100 carriers as customers, including big players such as Vodafone, Orange, AT&T, and Softbank.

這家位于馬薩諸塞州的公司已經擁有100多家運營商作為客戶，其中包括沃達豐(Vodafone)、Orange、美國電話電報公司(AT&T)和軟銀(Softbank)等大公司。

The deal allows Microsoft to integrate Affirmed's network tech directly into Azure, enabling telcos to operate and manage their 5G networks on the cloud instead of through traditional hardware. Azure already has a $2bn cloud contract with AT&T, as well as several other carriers.

該協議允許微軟將affirm的網絡技術直接整合到Azure中，使電信公司能夠在云上運營和管理5G網絡，而不是通過傳統(tǒng)硬件。Azure已經與AT&T以及其他幾家運營商簽訂了價值20億美元的云服務合同。

"As we’ve seen with other technology transformations, we believe that software can play an important role in helping advance 5G and deliver new network solutions that offer step-change advancements in speed, cost and security," Microsoft's veep of Azure Networking, Yousef Khalidi, wrote in a blog post.

微軟Azure網絡副總裁Yousef Khalidi在一篇博客中寫道:“正如我們在其他技術轉型中看到的，我們相信軟件可以在幫助推進5G和提供在速度、成本和安全性方面逐步變化的新網絡解決方案方面發(fā)揮重要作用。”

"There is a significant opportunity for both incumbents and new players across the industry to innovate, collaborate and create new markets, serving the networking and edge computing needs of our mutual customers."

“對于整個行業(yè)的現任者和新參與者來說，都有一個重大的機會來創(chuàng)新、合作和創(chuàng)造新市場，滿足我們共同客戶的網絡和邊緣計算需求。”

Microsoft's push into 5G reflects the telecoms industry's move away from tightly-coupled proprietary systems. 5G is instead is built on more open, cloud-native platforms.

微軟(Microsoft)進軍5G技術，反映出電信行業(yè)正在遠離緊耦合的專有系統(tǒng)。相反，5G是建立在更開放、原聲云平臺上的。