Solution framework for telco

Red Hat's value proposition to the telco industry

Red Hat's unique value is to deliver platforms and solutions based on open source software and industry hardware that are cost-effective, flexible, and that enable faster innovation and quicker time to market. These platforms and solutions are carrier-grade quality, proven and predictable in mission-critical enterprise and telco environments.

ISV ecosystem

The Red Hat approach to independent software vendor (ISV) certification is two-pronged:

1. To streamline certification for a wide range of small and large companies.

2. To target a smaller number of strategic ISV partners for advanced partnership to include joint engineering and go-to-market programs.

Red Hat focuses on 6 segments within the telco market. This focus reflects the continued industry movement toward IP-based networks and acknowledges the potential of more mature market segments like operations support system (OSS)/business support system (BSS).

New and emerging segments like IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)/service delivery platform (SDP), Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are ideal candidates to be deployed on open platforms, while the more entrenched segments are historically proprietary UNIX-based, which require migration strategies.

Visit the Red Hat software catalog to find telco-specific ISV partners and their applications that support Red Hat technologies, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux® and JBoss® Enterprise Middleware.

Red Hat carrier-grade infrastructure

Red Hat provides a single set of software products that support both the enterprise and telecommunications markets. In the enterprise, Red Hat software sets the standard for the Linux platform in mission-critical environments. In telco, Red Hat software is routinely deployed in mission-critical and carrier-grade environments, and its footprint extends from the IT datacenter to the network and into various devices and solutions sold by NEPs to operators.

To Red Hat, the definition of carrier-grade or mission-critical extends way beyond software features. Carrier-grade solution providers must:

• Have global reach.

• Offer world-class support and services.

• Support a rich ecosystem of hardware and software vendors.

• Have a proven track record of success and commercial viability.

Red Hat is a member of the SCOPE Alliance and actively participates in defining and prioritizing next-generation carrier-grade operating system and middleware requirements.

Hardware platform certification

Telco customers use a range of enterprise and telco hardware platforms. Through its self-certification process for hardware vendors, Red Hat now has over 1,000 hardware platforms certified. This includes a subset of telco-specific platforms, like carrier-grade, Network Equipment Building Systems (NEBS)-compliant, and AdvancedTCA (ATCA) blade systems.

By certifying both enterprise and telco hardware platforms, Red Hat can give customers their choice of hardware with the reassurance that whichever certified platform customers choose, it will be fully endorsed and supported by Red Hat.

Joint services with partners

The integrated platforms that Red Hat and its partners bring to market often include coordinated service offerings to simplify customer installation and deployment, and ensure that support and maintenance are delivered in an integrated and seamless fashion.