Communications service providers (CSPs) have been looking at ways to monetise their networks, especially with their huge investments in 5G. One way Nokia has been working alongside CSPs is to simplify the way developers can extract the network capabilities exposed through programmable interfaces and embed them into their applications. This led to the launch of Nokia’s Network as Code (NaC) platform in 2023, which provides non-telecoms-specialist developers access to industry-standard APIs, as well as sample code, SDKs, a development sandbox, and analytics. The aim is to help drive innovation leveraging CSP networks to create new consumer, enterprise, and industrial applications.
Nokia recently boosted its efforts through the acquisition of Rapid’s technology assets, which include the API hub and the talent within Rapid’s R&D unit. This is a significant milestone for Nokia’s NaC initiative since one of the biggest challenges for CSPs has been the ability to engage developers – most of them with no telco knowledge and expertise. Nokia has been trying to bridge that gap and Rapid’s business is built around developers. Its public API marketplace – which allows developers to discover, consume, and manage APIs – has been used by over four million developers to access more than 40,000 APIs. These are APIs across all industries, not just communications and network APIs that are closer to the CSP business, giving Nokia exposure to a wider range of requirements and business models. This move also gives Nokia access to a well-established API management platform which allows companies to design, build, test, and share APIs internally and externally for monetisation. Together with the R&D team, the Rapid assets will help Nokia accelerate its API-related product development and expand its API ecosystem.
Nokia’s strategy is to build an ecosystem around its NaC platform and to meet developers where they are, which is essential since it is counter-productive to induce enterprise developers to learn telecoms APIs. The company has already added more than 27 partners including service providers (BT, DISH, Orange, Telefonica, and Telecom Argentina), solution providers (Innova Solutions, Immersal, Domos, Bounteous Accolite, and Global Logic), and aggregator platforms (Google Cloud and Infobip). With Rapid, Nokia can bring telecom APIs to more developers. Since developers use Rapid to find the APIs they need, having telecom APIs in the same marketplace makes it easier for these APIs to be discovered and used.
For a long time, CSPs have been trying to monetize their network assets through APIs. Instead of tackling it individually as they had done in the past, they have now embraced standardisation and collaboration with partner ecosystems. The CAMARA/Open Gateway Initiative has standardized the telecom APIs but there is still much work to be done to bring developers to the table. Ericsson also has a similar vision. Both Ericsson/Vonage and Nokia are trying to fill that need with sample code, documentation, hackathons, and so on. At this stage, it is not about competition among traditional rivals. It is more critical to ensure the success of CSPs in unlocking the value of their network through open collaboration. CSPs should consider participating in multiple ecosystems if they meet the goal of having more applications using network capabilities.
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