Colt builds new global uCPE solution on Ensemble Connector

ADVA's open NFV platform enables rapid service innovation and deployment.

Tuesday, 3rd July 2018 Posted 6 years ago in by Phil Alsop

ADVA and Colt Technology Services have revealed that Colt has selected Ensemble Connector as the basis of its new global universal customer premises equipment (uCPE) solution. Colt is using ADVA's high-performance virtualization platform to harness the full benefits of network functions virtualization (NFV) and deliver on-demand services to its customers. Ensemble Connector will provide a network operating system and hosting environment for third-party solutions and VNFs, such as SD-WAN and firewalls, all running on standard servers. The uCPE approach enables Colt to achieve faster product development, cost savings and operational efficiency, all while leveraging best-in-class technology from multiple suppliers.

"We're committed to expanding the range of choices available to our customers. Built on ADVA's high-performance Ensemble Connector, our offerings based on this uCPE solution will give enterprises access to innovative and dynamic value-added services for a crucial competitive edge," said Mirko Voltolini, head of Network On Demand, Colt Technology Services. "We'll now be able to deliver virtualized services from the widest range of suppliers on demand and under end-user control. It's all about empowering our customers to respond in an instant to new business opportunities. With Ensemble Connector, we're also able to leverage open, standard cloud components such as Linux, KVM, OpenStack and COTS servers, which gives us the flexibility to deploy a fully multi-vendor environment."

As well as the ability to rapidly bring new products and services to the market, Colt's uCPE solution will deliver a new level of efficiency. Capital and operating expenses are dramatically reduced with the use of shared commercial off-the-shelf infrastructure and standardization enables processes and skillsets to be optimized and streamlined. Ensemble Connector, which features zero touch provisioning for ultimate simplicity and scale, provides Colt with an open, multi-vendor solution. It also offers access to the Ensemble Harmony Ecosystem, the industry's largest set of onboarded virtualized applications and supported servers. The next stage in the deployment process sees ADVA moving into joint lab testing with Colt. Once proved to be successful, this will be followed with production rollout of the uCPE service to Colt's customers across the globe.

"Our Ensemble Connector sets a new benchmark for flexibility and scale. With its cloud-centric platform, Colt's customers will have the freedom to deploy best-of-breed software applications on the server of their choice. What's more, instead of months of tedious manual processes, new services will now be delivered automatically and on demand," commented Prayson Pate, CTO, Ensemble Division, ADVA. "We have over two years of deployment experience with our Ensemble Connector platform. We're bringing telco-grade operations to our customers, including Ensemble Connector's zero touch provisioning and management capabilities. With the freedom to innovate without having to change the equipment in their network, customers like Colt are experiencing a quantum leap in speed and efficiency."