Nokia furthers API ambitions with Bounteous x Accolite partnership

The Finnish kit maker has partnered with Bounteous x Accolite (BxA), a US-based consultancy and IT provider that owes its somewhat grandiloquent name to the merger in February of yep, you guessed it – Bounteous and Accolite.

It can best be described as a digital transformation specialist. Its more than 5,000 employees provide enterprises with professional services plus various cloud, AI and technology solutions. It has offices in North America, Europe, APAC and EMEA.

BxA has signed up to use Nokia's Network as Code platform with developer portal, the word-salad-y name of Nokia's API ecosystem that puts advanced network capabilities in the hands of software makers.

Starting in Europe, BxA developers will be able to access operator networks via software development kits (SDKs); network API documentation; pre-written snippets of code; and a sandbox to create code for use case simulation and testing.

"We are thrilled to bring Bounteous x Accolite into the growing ecosystem of partners utilising network APIs. With its advanced technology solutions and developer capabilities, Bounteous x Accolite is well-placed to tap the valuable capabilities that 5G and 4G networks offer and create new forms of value for its customers," said Shkumbin Hamiti, head of network monetisation platform at Nokia's Cloud and Network Services unit.

BxA and Nokia plan to focus initially on new healthcare applications. One proposed use case would enable patients and hospitals to track the location of ambulances in real time in hopes of improving emergency response times.

The deal is another significant win for Nokia, which now has 17 API ecosystem partners. In Q2 alone, it established new Network as Code agreements with Orange, Telefónica, Turkcell, Infobip and Google.

Open network APIs and their potential to become a much-needed fresh source of revenue for telcos is a well-worn subject. For vendors, they might just take the sting out of the current slowdown in network capex.

Nokia's API activities fall under the auspices of its Cloud and Network Services division, which is struggling as well.

In Q2, Cloud and Network Services revenues slumped 17 percent year-on-year to €615 million, reflecting lower sales across all of its activities. Gross margin narrowed to 33.7 percent from 36.5 percent and the division swung to an operating loss of €25 million from a year-earlier profit of €16 million.

Nokia needs the API market to deliver on its hype as much as telcos do. With its Network as Code platform winning admirers from both the telco and software development sides of the market, there is at least some hope of that.