Accenture, Avanade, Ericsson, Spirent Join 5G Open Innovation Lab as Founding and Corporate Partners to Provide Technical Expertise, Application Development and Testing

Partnership Expansion Signals Commitment to 5G Developers with Access to Network Platform Infrastructure and Enhanced Services for Enterprise Solutions Integration

The 5G Open Innovation Lab, a global applied innovation ecosystem for corporations, academia and government institutions, today announced that Accenture and Avanade have joined the Lab as Founding partners, and Ericsson and Spirent Communications as Corporate Partners expanding the Lab’s technical and development capabilities in support of its growing ecosystem of startups. The Lab continues to be led by its original founding and corporate partners which include Amdocs, Dell Technologies, F5, Intel, Microsoft, T-Mobile and VMware.

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Said Jim Brisimitzis, general partner of the 5G Open Innovation Lab, “As we grow our current ecosystem of 47 startups and expand our capabilities over the next few years, it is critical that we provide development platforms and opportunities for products to be tested, deployed and integrated into enterprise solutions. Building on the experience and expertise of our already stellar partners, our new founding partners Accenture and Avanade and corporate partners Ericsson and Spirent will enable us fast-track these solutions serving diverse industries such as manufacturing and logistics, agriculture and connected cars.”

Accenture’s role will focus on accelerating monetization opportunities of 5G use cases and solutions globally across targeted industries. Accenture will also provide business and technology assets, as well as experienced resources to help the Lab’s ecosystem companies develop capabilities that are both interoperable with existing platforms and future-ready for new solutions.

“Companies across every industry have a transformational opportunity in the 5G revolution. With a powerful multiplier effect, the innovation impact of 5G on one industry creates positive and wider benefits across the economy. We’re thrilled to join the 5G Open Innovation Lab and bring the combination of our 5G business and technology capabilities and deep industry expertise to help companies accelerate their vision for 5G advanced services,” said Tejas Rao, managing director at Accenture.

In February, the Lab launched its first application development field lab for the agricultural industry. A core component of the Lab’s strategy to serve developers is the creation of additional field platforms to support other industries.

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Avanade will work to help advance edge compute solutions with Microsoft and the Lab’s ecosystem partners matching startups with next generation service opportunities. This includes providing operational oversight and direction to the 5G field labs to uncover potential network and edge compute scenarios to be piloted and provisioned.  Avanade will provide both technical architecture and support for standards development and field deployment. “The combination of connectivity and compute at the Edge is real and we are just at the beginning of realizing the scenarios that provide business value,” said Aaron Reich, global lead for Emerging Technology and Ventures at Avanade. “The field labs are a perfect place to bring our ecosystem and our clients together to create the future.”

Ericsson and the 5G Open Innovation Lab will collaborate through the Ericsson Global Innovation Labs and Ericsson’s innovation programs, which include Ericsson’s D-15 Labs in Santa Clara, Calif. The companies will work together to develop proof of concept projects, community events, mentorship programs, and other activities to support application innovation in the network and enterprise. In the near future, Ericsson and the Lab will collaborate on 5G-enabled services aimed at innovations that streamline and improve manufacturing operations, energy production and utilities safety and performance where introduction of artificial intelligence and IoT into the industry processes can yield significant benefits.

“Ericsson’s industry-leading portfolio is at the forefront of 5G, IoT, edge computing and cloud network infrastructure which will unlock new opportunities and a myriad of exciting new use cases for the Lab’s partners and startups,” said Paul Keane, Head of Enterprise and Emerging Business for Ericsson North America. “Jointly we will meet future challenges through collaboration and solutions like fit for purpose, high-performance, agile 5G dedicated networks and innovative edge applications.”

Spirent will provide strategic counsel and solutions for automated assurance and the testing of 5G and edge solutions for accelerated deployment. Spirent’s 5G Digital Twin is an agile approach to testing and assurance that provides an emulated software replica of the 5G physical network allowing for continuous prototyping and self-optimization.

“We are already working across the burgeoning 5G ecosystem and recognize the tremendous energy that the 5G Open Innovation Lab can bring in facilitating the interchange of new ideas, experimentation and collaboration,” said Spirent CTO, Dave Larson. “We’re excited to be joining the project and look forward to playing our part in helping drive exciting innovation in 5G.”

The Lab selects 15 to 20 member companies twice a year in the Spring and Fall to join the ecosystem and participate in its 12-week program. Applicants are reviewed and considered on a rolling admissions basis.

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