Noting that as enterprises embed artificial intelligence (AI) across distributed environments, connectivity must evolve from a background utility into production-grade, lifecycle-managed infrastructure capable of supporting real-time, autonomous operations, Ericsson has embarked on a partnership with NTT Data to offer a standardised 5G-first architecture designed to operationalise AI at global scale.

The firms said their goal is to create a globally aligned deployment model spanning design, integration and lifecycle management under unified operational governance. This model will generate a “clear path” for enterprises to move from AI pilots to scalable, production-ready deployments across manufacturing, mining, ports, airports, energy, transportation and smart cities. They stated that together they can help enterprises move from pilots to globally scalable, production-ready solutions.

“Private 5G is the backbone for scaling AI in production, where autonomous systems must operate reliably and at scale, but integration complexity often remains the final hurdle,” said Alejandro Cadenas, associate vice-president of worldwide telco research at IDC, commenting on the challenges facing today’s businesses.

“The combined expertise of NTT Data and Ericsson integrates edge AI and physical AI with enhanced connectivity, overcoming operational, scalability and accountability challenges, and accelerating the deployment of AI.”

On a practical level, the partnership will combine Ericsson’s private 5G products and services and Wireless WAN solutions with NTT Data’s global systems integration, managed services expertise and vertical domain knowledge. This will be the fulcrum in delivering a connectivity infrastructure engineered for the performance, security and operational accountability that firms need, according to the companies. Edge AI and physical AI capabilities will be embedded directly into enterprise connectivity infrastructure, enabling real-time intelligence where data is generated and real-time, autonomous decision-making to result in AI-driven, outcome-focused transformation.

The partnership will focus on four priority areas: global private 5G managed services at scale; AI embedded directly into enterprise connectivity; repeatable industry solutions; and a unified global go-to-market.

In the former domain, NTT Data will act as one of Ericsson’s key global system integration and managed services providers, delivering private 5G as a fully managed service with consistent architecture, operations and security worldwide. In addition, NTT Data Edge AI agents will run on Ericsson’s enterprise Edge platforms, enabling real-time intelligence and autonomous decision-making where data is generated. Joint Ericsson and NTT Data sales, marketing and delivery will look to give enterprises a single, consistent path to deployment, reduce supplier complexity and speed time to value.

As regards to repeatable industry solutions, the firms assured that they will be able to deliver private 5G, edge AI and physical AI use cases across manufacturing, mining, ports, airports, energy, transportation and smart cities, helping enterprises to accelerate deployment and realise measurable ROI. 

Looking at the expected key use cases supported by the partnership, the firms said that in manufacturing, they could support automated quality inspection, predictive maintenance and real-time safety monitoring using sensor and vision data.

Autonomous operations in transportation, ports and logistics could be driven by real-time vehicle and asset data for dynamic routing, tracking and safety while in energy and mining, the tech could see use for remote and autonomous operations, intelligent inspection and AI-driven monitoring in complex and hazardous environments.

Smart cities will also be capable of delivering intelligent traffic management, public safety monitoring and real-time optimisation of energy and municipal services, they said.

“As enterprises adopt AI at the edge, they need partners who can bring connectivity, intelligence and security together in a way that actually works in production,” said Shahid Ahmed, global head of edge services at NTT Data. “Private 5G gives enterprises the foundation they need to achieve real, measurable impact with edge AI and physical AI deployments.”

Asa Tamsons, Ericsson senior vice-president and head of business area enterprise wireless solutions, added: “This [partnership] extends [Ericsson’s enterprise connectivity] capability to support edge AI and physical AI at scale across industries. By combining our global platforms with NTT Data’s engineering and managed services, industry expertise and AI-driven operations, enterprises can move from experimentation to always-on, production-grade operations.”