ECI, a global provider of ELASTIC Network® solutions for service providers, critical infrastructures and data center operators, announced today the launch of its Hybrid Virtualization Platform designed to support multiple NFV-based use cases to help communication service providers (CSPs) simplify operations, increase agility, reduce OPEX and provide better SLAs. By supporting delay-sensitive services, and offering better security and termination of flows at the network edge, the platform supports a variety of applications including modernized business services, as well as future needs driven by the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G. The platform features ECI's vE-CPE family, which is set to provide virtualization across customer premises (uCPE) and service provider's Edge PoP (MEC).

Today's networks are a complex array of customized hardware, making it costly and time consuming for CSPs to maintain. Launching new services often requires significant operational investments in planning and provisioning hardware and infrastructure. The adoption of virtualized infrastructure, where key network functions run as software (VNFs) on commercial computing platforms, eliminates these hurdles. ECI's hybrid solution affords CSPs the following benefits:

• Flexibility - Supports application delivery for fixed, mobile and converged networks, and will evolve to meet the future needs of IoT and 5G backhaul
• Agility - Enables a mix and match of multiple functions on the same platform to create innovative service packages provided in full pay-as-you-grow models
• Shortened time to market - Mercury lends itself to simple remote service life cycle management, from provisioning to turn up, dramatically reducing the time to evaluate, fine-tune and deliver new services
• Reduced OPEX - Streamlines service creation using software-driven processes, eliminates truck rolls to provision, maintains and updates applications

Mercury is designed to address fixed, mobile and converged networks. The platform takes the pressure off the network core by increasing the capabilities and intelligence of MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) all the way to the customer premise, via universal customer premise equipment (uCPE), or to the eNodeB.

"Service providers are not only challenged by increased traffic and demand for new services, they are continually tasked with the need to stay relevant in a highly competitive market. It's abundantly clear the old way of doing things will not suffice anymore," said Erez Zelikovitz, VP SDN/NFV Solutions Global Portfolio at ECI. "Carriers need to get everything they can out of their current network assets.  Virtualization at the edge can help unlock all the potential hidden in their current infrastructure, and create additional value on top of current assets. We are giving our customers a cost-effective, future proof and easy-to-implement solution, which they can use now to improve service agility, and for the demands of future IoT and 5G networks on the same open and flexible platform."

ECI's Hybrid Virtualization Platform delivers a broad range of modular applications. Since it is based on open industry standard architecture, CSPs can easily integrate it into current operations, enjoy end-to-end orchestration and incorporate third-party software. In addition to this, ECI helps defer entry costs with a "pay-as-you-grow" flexible subscription model. The platform is comprised of:

• ECI's Mercury™ NFVi platform - Available as both a stand-alone appliance or as a blade that can be fully integrated into the Neptune packet-optical transport system
• Open Source NFV Management and Orchestration (MANO) - ETSI-compliant (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) MANO, which runs ECI's carrier-grade PaaS system
• Growing library of virtualized network functions (VNFs) - An ever-growing library of best of breed VNFs, including edge routing, sessions border control, WAN optimization, LAN monitoring, caching and more