Ericsson, Telarus team to take 5G-ready virtual workspace to small businesses

Ericsson has launched a 5G-ready virtual workspace service designed to address the future needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Ericsson Wireless Office is said to remove the dependency of in-house IT expertise, physical instalments and devices while providing reliable and secure network access for the growing remote working community.

Ericsson said the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the need to work remotely and accelerated the digitisation trend in workplaces. According to the company’s latest Industry lab study, by 2030, almost 60% of white-collar work is expected to happen outside company premises.

Ericsson said Wireless Office will address businesses’ needs by adapting their IT strategy to support digital remote-work models “simply and securely”. It will also enable businesses with limited IT staff and budget to onboard employees and consultants quickly with access to virtual desktops, including business apps, compute, storage and redundancy, the company added.

An embedded security framework is engineered to enable businesses to protect their applications from internet threats while maintaining control and governance of access over their contractors, partners, suppliers and employees.

Ericsson Wireless Office builds on workspace-as-a-service (WaaS) technology, acquired from StratusWorX, a cloud technology service provider that delivers managed IT environments to small and medium-sized businesses. It will be marketed in the US through a strategic partnership with Telarus, said to be the largest privately held master agent in the country, which will offer Ericsson Wireless Office through its ecosystem of technology consultants.

“The pandemic has changed the way we work and Ericsson Wireless Office addresses this transformation by delivering a 5G- ready office solution covering the applications, cloud and communication needs for enterprises in one single solution regardless of their location or device, with no IT expertise required,” said Dan Foster, head of global sales at Ericsson Wireless Office.

“Telarus is known for keeping its partner ecosystem at the technology forefront. We are confident that, together, we can help businesses accelerate their digital transformation.”

Camille Mendler, chief analyst of enterprise services at research firm Omdia, added: “Supporting flexible working became the number one technical challenge for US SMEs during the pandemic. Currently, 44% of SMEs are actively considering office-in-a-box solutions that bundle security, mobility, communications and productivity tools.”