EY announces alliance with Nokia to help business unlock the power of 5G and accelerate digital transformation

-- EY Industry 4.0 solutions and Nokia's industrial-grade private wireless to drive digital transformation across industries

-- Alliance to focus on cybersecurity, enterprise 5G-led transformation and digital transformation for communication service providers 

-- EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub to showcase industrial automation capabilities powered by Nokia Digital Automation Cloud

LONDON, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young Oy (EY Finland) and Nokia have formed a strategic alliance that is being rolled-out to other EY member firms across the globe to help enterprises and communication service providers (CSPs) accelerate their digital and business transformation journey and unleash the business potential of private wireless and 5G network capabilities. The alliance will also support enterprises in maintaining resiliency beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

With demand for connectivity peaking under the strain of an increasingly remote working world, emerging technologies including the internet of things (IoT), Industry 4.0 (IR4.0), connected products and advanced mobility, are quickly transforming how industries and societies operate. At the same time, 69% of organizations are currently investing or planning to invest in 5G, according to recent EY research. The EY organization, a global leader in business and advanced technology consulting, and Nokia, a global innovation leader with an end-to-end portfolio of networking solutions, will collaborate to address the management and security challenges relating to these emerging technologies, and the expansive data they generate.

Greg Cudahy, EY Global Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecoms Leader, says:

"The impact of 5G across industries is a growing priority for EY clients undergoing digital and business transformation, as new use cases become a critical focus looking beyond this period of crisis. Nokia's leading capabilities in private wireless and 5G deployment complement the EY strategic alliance ecosystem in this evolving landscape. The alliance with Nokia helps deliver end-to-end solutions to address clients' most pressing challenges as they respond to dramatic shifts in market dynamics and strive to accelerate growth and productivity gains."

Raghav Sahgal, President of Cloud and Network Services, Nokia, says:

"Together with EY people, we will bring leading, high-performance, and secure network solutions for operators and industrial players around the world, and the experience required to develop innovative business models and 5G use-cases for enterprises. This means an acceleration of the digital transformation journey for customers as they seek to reinvent themselves in a post-pandemic world."

Connectivity enhances operational efficiency and raises the security threshold

Digital transformation in the enterprise is fueling demand for private wireless networks (industrial), IoT devices, analytics, machine learning and ecosystem convergence between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT). This exponential growth of connected devices increases the risk of cybersecurity breaches. By securely connecting equipment and processes across the supply chain, EY and Nokia will help enterprises create customer trust, achieve return on investment, rethink operational processes and evaluate complex regulatory requirements.

In today's fast-changing environment, the alliance focuses on three key offerings:

• The alliance will focus on fueling digital transformation for manufacturing, energy and operations across industries, including advanced connectivity for enterprises. The alliance will also address the digital transformation taking place across governments and cities.
• The alliance will focus on building cybersecurity and digital trust by protecting telcos', service providers' and enterprise clients' core operations, and managing the security challenges brought by the increasing prevalence of IoT devices and IT/OT convergence through managed security services and solutions.
• The alliance will help accelerate digital transformation for CSPs across their entire life cycle, driving growth and more efficient operations. This means capturing and monetizing 5G business enterprise opportunities, and digitalizing CSPs' complete business operations to achieve lower-cost-to-serve and enhanced customer experience.

Showcasing 5G and cloud technology at the EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) recently announced an alliance with Nottingham Spirk and the launch of the new EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub in Cleveland, Ohio, scheduled to open in summer 2021. The Innovation Hub will combine EY digital, manufacturing and EY wavespace™ capabilities with Nottingham Spirk's design and product development offerings to help businesses drive efficiency, resiliency, agility and growth throughout the end-to-end value chain.

Enterprise 5G and edge cloud technology will be a key feature at the Innovation Hub, as the primary enabler for accelerating industrial automation and connecting people, machines and devices with business processes across industries. Nokia will equip the Innovation Hub with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud, a platform for industrial-grade private wireless connectivity and edge computing, and together with EY, they will showcase how robotics and autonomous machine operations can leverage powerful 5G capabilities in the industrial ecosystem of the future.

John Nottingham, Co-President and co-founder, Nottingham Spirk, says:

"Nokia's contribution to the EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub will provide hands-on demonstrations for visitors to experience the power and possibilities of a connected 5G network."

For more information, visit, ey.com/nokia and dac.nokia.com.

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