Ericsson enhances enterprise 5G portfolio with generative AI virtual expert

The year 2024 saw artificial intelligence (AI) totally established with the fabric of networks proliferating across applications such as collaboration, connected vehicle infrastructures, collaboration, engineering and contact centre solutions. Now, Ericsson has announced the launch of the next generation of its generative AI-based NetCloud Assistant (ANA).

ANA is the first generative AI (GenAI) virtual expert designed for enterprise Wireless WAN (WWAN) networks, using large language models (LLMs) with all its AI components hosted entirely within Ericsson’s environment. Enhanced ANA is designed to provide personalised answers to queries by correlating AI insights from an enterprise’s network with a library of technical documentation. 

The solution comprises a virtual expert designed to further simplify enterprise 5G network administration and, according to Ericsson, ANA can read, understand, and generate new text and graphical content, unlike traditional chatbots, which leverage search to provide links to existing resources. The solution is fundamentally attributed with transforming hours or even days of work into seconds. 

It provides personalised responses by correlating information from multiple technical documents and unique insights from the customer’s network. The design is said to ensure user and data privacy by avoiding API calls to third-party consumer GenAI applications, using LLMs securely hosted by Ericsson and integrates with AI Operations (AIOps) functionality.

ANA complements Ericsson’s NetCloud AIOps dashboard which serves as a component in transforming network management. Through an intelligent fault management system, it detects performance-driven anomalies, such as latency and jitter, specific to each customer’s specific environment.

By providing real-time insights into network performance, AIOps can allow IT teams to address issues proactively, using ANA as needed, to ensure optimal network operations and enhance the overall digital experience. Embedded in Ericsson’s NetCloud management and orchestration solution, AI features are available to approximately 37,000 enterprises managing 2.9 million devices.

Key functionalities of ANA include knowledge summarisation, configuration assistance, enhanced troubleshooting and policy recommendation. It correlates information from Ericsson’s library of technical documentation into concise summaries personalised to the customer’s network.

WAN edge device configuration is based on best practices with the solution in common diagnostic tasks and provides step-by-step instructions to troubleshoot and resolve connectivity issues, speeding up mean time to repair. 

Future releases will translate business requirements into recommended software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) and WAN bonding policies to enhance WAN performance and application availability.

Commenting on the launch, Ericsson head of enterprise networking and security, enterprise wireless solutions, Pankaj Malhotra, said: “Ericsson’s NetCloud is differentiated in its ability to simplify the deployment, management and troubleshooting of enterprise cellular networking.

“By investing heavily in cutting-edge AI technology, we are empowering even the most streamlined IT teams to tackle 5G administration challenges, enhancing network reliability, security, and user experience with unparalleled efficiency.”