Microsoft back to partnering with Nokia in new AI deal

Once again, Microsoft and Nokia are metaphorically in bed together but this latest partnership should leave fewer fanboys enraged, business divisions in shambles and workers unemployed.

Since the fall of Windows Phone under the stewardship of Steve Elop and Steve Ballmer and the combined efforts of Nokia and Microsoft, people have been wary of seeing the two shake hands on any collaborative efforts, but over the past few years, the two companies have partnered on several occasions that have flown under the public radar but have had huge public-facing benefits.

Today, Microsoft and Nokia have announced another partnership that will have the two tackling mission-critical networking and communications, that only tangentially involves a smartphone.

Microsoft and Nokia today announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate transformation and innovation across industries with cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). By bringing together Microsoft cloud solutions and Nokia’s expertise in mission-critical networking, the companies are uniquely positioned to help enterprises and communications service providers (CSPs) transform their businesses. As Microsoft’s Azure, Azure IoT, Azure AI and Machine Learning solutions combine with Nokia’s LTE/5G-ready private wireless solutions, IP, SD-WAN, and IoT connectivity offerings, the companies will drive industrial digitalization and automation across enterprises, and enable CSPs to offer new services to enterprise customers.

Speaking of CSPs, Microsoft and Nokia plan to host Nokia’s Analytics Virtualization and Automation (AVA) cognitive services on Azure allowing CSPs to move away from hosting their own private data centers to Microsoft’s Azure cloud. The subsequent reality of the move for most CSPs is a reduction in operation cost as companies shift to 5G.