Johann Coetzee, Executive Vice President of NEC XON.
NEC XON has set up an Experience Center at its headquarters in Midrand, South Africa, where customers can test use cases and business models for new technologies such as 5G Open RAN.
The Experience Center also includes demonstrations and testing of integrated or stand-alone solutions such as sustainable energy, know-your-customer (KYC) digital self-service and communication infrastructure.
“We know that the pace of development of new technologies is extremely fast, and progress can be significant,” says Johann Coetzee, executive vice president of NEC XON. “This can make it difficult for customers to predict the business case and supporting architecture, especially if there are no commercial precedents, which is why we created the Experience Center. It’s a demo and sandbox environment that allows customers to build, test and develop the use cases they want to explore before making a significant investment.”
A prime example is the 5G Open RAN platform that NEC XON offers in the new Experience Center.
“There are many uses for 5G Open RAN,” says Wally Bilders, head of communications solutions at NEC XON. “From industrial automation to smart cities, the top 15 also includes Open RAN environments for mobile operators, network slicing and 5G private network.”
Hyperscale, edge, modular and containerized data centers meet a variety of infrastructure requirements, as seen at the NEC XON Experience Center.
5G Open RAN can provide high-bandwidth solutions for metro environments as well as low-cost rural deployments. Network slicing allows multiple operators to share infrastructure. Private 5G helps mobile operators position services in new markets that include mining, enterprise or high-density commercial organizations through regional or campus installations. Customers can check all of these.
“We’ve spent two years developing the 5G Open RAN Experience Center capabilities,” says Anthony Laing, head of networking at NEC XON. “There is no other facility like this in Africa and it took a significant investment in skills and resources to create Africa’s first 5G Open RAN platform where customers can test future use cases.”
The Experience Center further showcases the capabilities of NEC XON’s digital self-service KYC solution, which includes digital kiosks, identity verification, connectivity, security, service and support.
The Experience Center includes demonstrations and testing of integrated or stand-alone solutions such as sustainable energy, digital self-service and communication infrastructure.
A key attribute is that they leverage biometric verification capabilities, which means they help businesses meet regulatory requirements and are an extremely powerful extension of customer engagement processes.
“Each type of customer can get a full picture of how these solutions can impact their business in different ways,” says Graham Saunders, Head of Identity Management at NEC XON. “From new customer experiences to streamlining operations, reducing costs, improving service delivery and improving logistics and supply. Different sectors use these solutions in different ways. Government typically deploys digital self-service for citizen services, the education sector for teachers, students and visitors, and mobile networks for services.”
