Nokia maps out tech strategy to tap into AI and cloud growth

Finnish kit maker Nokia hopes to strike a more optimistic tone with a new high-level plan to capitalise on various technology trends between now and the end of the decade.

The company certainly needs something to look forward to, following the recent announcement of a 15% fall in quarterly revenue, and a plan to axe up to 14,000 jobs over the next few years.

Central to Nokia’s Technology Strategy 2030 is digital twin technology, which it will use to model traffic patterns and trends – so-called ‘what-if analysis’ – thereby improving network design and operation.

It will couple this with AI-driven network management and service orchestration, which Nokia says will enable it to break down the boundaries between every kind of access technology and cloud topology to optimise both resource utilisation and the user experience.

APIs will also play an important role, Nokia said, both in terms of enabling management of heterogeneous infrastructure and supporting the developer ecosystem.

The result of this evolution will be networks that are “cognitive, automated ecosystems capable of addressing the transformative needs and operating models of diverse organisations, industries and consumers,” Nokia said.

Nokia didn’t get into the specifics of actual products it plans to launch, this is more of an overarching strategy that dictates the general direction of travel when it comes to product development. It also gives some indication about what it’s trying to do in order to reverse the slide in revenue.

“Nokia’s Technology Strategy 2030, with its emphasis on effective use of AI, cloud, connectivity, and API economy, is the type of framework that service providers and enterprises will need to embrace,” noted Jerry Caron, global head of research and analysis at research firm GlobalData Technology.

“The service provider industry will need to transform itself from the traditional, vertically integrated structure to a more horizontal, API-driven future that is sustainable, simpler, more scalable, automated, and offering much more flexible service delivery,” he said.

Alongside its strategy, Nokia published its forward-looking Global Network Traffic 2030 report, which predicts how data consumption will grow, and what is expected to drive it.

Nokia expects end-user traffic demand to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22-25% from 2022 to 2030. It expects global network traffic to reach between 2,443 Exabytes (EB) and 3,109 EB per month – one Exabyte is equates to a billion Gigabytes. That compares to 507 EB per month in 2022.

Nokia expects the key drivers of this predicted growth will be AI, cloud, metaverse, APIs, industry 5.0, Internet of value, sustainability, and security – all of which rely on secure, ultra-responsive networks.

“Nokia’s Technology Strategy 2030 is a direct response to the proliferation of cutting-edge technologies over the last decade. One thing is for certain: radical changes are needed now to evolve networks to meet the challenges of tomorrow and beyond,” said Nishant Batra, Nokia’s chief strategy and technology officer.

“Enterprises across industry face three trends bearing down on them: AI, cloud and the constant evolution of connectivity,” he continued. “Our Technology Strategy 2030 lays out a future network architecture for our customers and the industry. It brings to life opportunities for innovation, sustainability, productivity and collaboration, which can only be enabled by the exponential power of networks.”

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