Nokia expands multi-year agreement to supply Microsoft Azure datacenter networks

Nokia has announced a five-year expansion of its multi-year agreement to supply Microsoft Azure with datacenter routers and switches. Nokia’s data center networking portfolio will enhance the scalability and reliability of Azure datacenters around the world. The partnership will grow Nokia's global footprint to over 30 countries and strengthen its role as a strategic supplier for Microsoft's worldwide cloud infrastructure.

The new agreement also builds upon the companies’ existing collaboration around open source SONiC, and highlights Nokia's continued innovation in developing and expanding SONiC capabilities, including in the area of chassis-based support for high-capacity network roles within the datacenter.

As part of the expansion, Nokia will supply its 7250 IXR-10e platform to deliver multi-terabit-scale interconnectivity within Microsoft’s datacenters. Nokia will also continue to deliver its custom developed management top of rack switch that is used extensively throughout the Azure network. The Nokia SONiC-based data center routers and switches will be deployed both in greenfield locations and used in support of Microsoft's migration from 100GE to 400GE connectivity within existing facilities. This will enable Microsoft to meet increasing traffic demands for years to come with Nokia’s exceptional networking performance and reliability. Deployment of the Nokia 7250 IXR-10e will begin in February.

Vach Kompella, Senior Vice President and General Manager of IP Networks business at Nokia, said: “We are pleased to move to the next phase of our relationship with Microsoft by expanding the agreement’s product scope, geographical reach and time commitment to five years. As a result of this new deal, Nokia will further increase the scalability and reliability of Microsoft Azure datacenters around the world. This win affirms Nokia's commitment to being a strategic supplier for tier one hyperscaler companies, and highlights that our multi-year strategic investments and approach have put us on the right trajectory.”

David Maltz, Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Azure Networking, said: “As leaders in the advancement of cloud compute, we are continuously expanding our global footprint to support the massive growth in compute workloads. Over the past six years we have worked with Nokia's engineers to develop their routers running SONiC to rapidly advance our expansion at the quality our customers demand.”