Nokia and Ernst & Young have formed an alliance to accelerate the use of private wireless and 5G networks by enterprises and CSPs. The two firms have identified a long term shift to remote working as well as the growing needs of Industry 4.0 and IoT technologies as principal enterprise drivers for 5G and private wireless connectivity.

The alliance has been formed initially in Finland, and is currently being rolled out to other Ernst & Young member firms across the globe. The alliance will also support enterprises in maintaining resiliency beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to recent EY research, 69% of organisations are currently investing or planning to invest in 5G.  EY and Nokia will collaborate to address management and security challenges arising from these technologies and the data they generate.

The alliance will focus on fueling digital transformation for manufacturing, energy and operations across industries, including advanced connectivity for enterprises. The alliance will also address the digital transformation taking place across governments and cities.

The two companies will help build cybersecurity and digital trust by protecting telcos’, service providers’ and enterprise clients’ core operations, and managing the security challenges brought by the increasing prevalence of IoT devices and IT/OT convergence through managed security services and solutions.

Another goal is to help accelerate digital transformation for CSPs across their entire life cycle, driving growth and more efficient operations. This means capturing and monetising 5G business enterprise opportunities, and digitalising CSPs’ complete business operations to achieve lower-cost-to-serve and enhanced customer experience.

Greg Cudahy, EY Global Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecoms Leader, said: “The impact of 5G across industries is a growing priority for EY clients undergoing digital and business transformation, as new use cases become a critical focus looking beyond this period of crisis. Nokia’s leading capabilities in private wireless and 5G deployment complement the EY strategic alliance ecosystem in this evolving landscape. The alliance with Nokia helps deliver end-to-end solutions to address clients’ most pressing challenges as they respond to dramatic shifts in market dynamics and strive to accelerate growth and productivity gains.”

Raghav Sahgal, President of Cloud and Network Services, Nokia, said: “Together with EY people, we will bring leading, high-performance, and secure network solutions for operators and industrial players around the world, and the experience required to develop innovative business models and 5G use-cases for enterprises. This means an acceleration of the digital transformation journey for customers as they seek to reinvent themselves in a post-pandemic world.”

Ernst & Young LLP, the US arm of the EY network, recently announced an alliance with Nottingham Spirk and the launch of the new EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub in Cleveland, Ohio, scheduled to open in summer 2021. The Innovation Hub will combine EY digital, manufacturing and EY wavespace capabilities with Nottingham Spirk’s design and product development offerings to help businesses drive efficiency, resiliency, agility and growth throughout the end-to-end value chain.

Enterprise 5G and edge cloud technology will be a key feature at the Innovation Hub, as the primary enabler for accelerating industrial automation and connecting people, machines and devices with business processes across industries. Nokia will equip the Innovation Hub with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud, a platform for industrial-grade private wireless connectivity and edge computing, and together with EY, they will showcase how robotics and autonomous machine operations can leverage powerful 5G capabilities in the industrial ecosystem of the future.

John Nottingham, Co-President and co-founder, Nottingham Spirk, said: “Nokia’s contribution to the EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub will provide hands-on demonstrations for visitors to experience the power and possibilities of a connected 5G network.”