"it's about welding everyone to Azure and Teams." I think that's right, and, the problem is "welded to Azure and Teams" is not really what this market understands, wants, or needs.
On Tue, Aug 13, 2024 at 3:57 PM Alex Balashov via VoiceOps < [email protected]> wrote: > I don't think it's getting run over by AI. Peter R called it; it's about > welding everyone to Azure and Teams. > > — > Sent from mobile, apologies for brevity and errors. > > On Aug 13, 2024, at 3:46 PM, Jeff Brower via VoiceOps < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > "The telecommunications industry remains a priority industry for Microsoft" > > that is questionable. Like other areas getting run over by AI, priorities > are shifting. Maybe they expect that if their AI gets smart enough, it can > solve telecom use cases anyway :-) > > Quoting Jawaid Bazyar via VoiceOps <[email protected]>: > > "Azure for Operators" is what Microsoft was calling the Metaswitch > products. > > This went out a couple months ago: > > --- > > We are reaching out to customers of our Azure for Operators portfolio, > which includes products we acquired from Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch > Networks, > to explain recent updates to our portfolio. > > *In 2020, we announced our Azure for Operators initiative. As part of > this effort, we acquired Affirmed Networks, Metaswitch Networks, and IP > from AT&T to acquire “Telco DNA” that would enhance our operational / > technical engineering skills for building a carrier grade platform. As > these acquisitions came together with Azure, we created Azure Operator > Nexus – a carrier grade, hybrid cloud platform. We are moving Azure > Operator Nexus into our broader Azure Edge and Platform portfolio and > continue to service operators.* > > *Based on customer demand, the Azure for Operators initiative also focused > on automation and analytics capabilities as early products. Given the > acceleration of Microsoft’s AI capabilities overall, we are now aligning > these early efforts with Microsoft’s broader portfolio.* > > *As we advance our platform and AI capabilities, we are shifting our focus > from the Network Function layer to partnerships with industry leaders of > these capabilities. We will fulfill all our contractual obligations to > existing customers and we will be consistent with published end-of-life > policies. We will not expand our customer base for Microsoft’s Network > Functions, including the former Metaswitch and Affirmed Networks software > products.* > > *The telecommunications industry remains a priority industry > for Microsoft. We will continue to empower telecommunications > organizations to achieve more through a trusted and secure platform built > to elevate customer experiences, streamline enterprise operations and > business support systems, accelerate network transformation, reinvent > product innovation and monetization, and build a secure data-driven > business.* > > *We appreciate the importance our products provide in supporting your > network. We also appreciate the long-term planning that network > development requires, so we will communicate our roadmap plans at the > earliest opportunity. It is important to note that these changes do not > require immediate action from you today, nor do they change any agreement > that you have in place with Microsoft. We will continue to meet all > customer contractual commitments.* > > *If you have any questions, please contact: AFO Sales > Questions [email protected] <[email protected]>.* > > *Thank you.* > > > > *FAQ* > > *Q: Is there any action I need to take today? When will you have more > details to share about retirement dates (Azure services) or End of Life > dates (Metaswitch Networks & Affirmed Networks products)?* > > *A: We will continue to meet all customer contractual commitments and be > consistent with published end-of-life policies. We also appreciate the > long-term planning that network development requires, so we will > communicate our roadmap plans at the earliest opportunity.* > > > > *Q: Will you still support our cloud and AI transformation?* > > *A: Yes, Microsoft is refining the offers we provide to operators to > reflect the strong demand for cloud and AI based solutions.* > > > > *Q: If you are announcing an End of Sale for the Affirmed Network > and Metaswitch Network products for new customers and net new deployments, > what does this mean for my existing service?* > > - *We will meet all existing customer contractual obligations.* > - *We will continue to maintain the software to provide security > patches and bug fixes. We highly recommend that customers follow standard > security practices and upgrade to the latest releases.* > - *We will provide support consistent with existing contracts.* > - *We will continue to offer project level support / maintenance > services on a case-by-case basis (as we do today).* > - *We will support the expansion of volumes of current deployments.* > - *We will not expand the customer base / add new customers.* > - *We will not expand to entirely new deployments for existing > customers (e.g., launching for a new OpCo or OpCo not currently deployed) > where the new deployment is not already contractually committed.* > - *We will not expand or offer new feature sets beyond those that have > already been committed.* > > > > *Q: What Are you announcing for the Azure for Operators products?* > > *A: Here is a summary of these changes:* > > - *We promoted Azure Operator Nexus to Azure’s Edge and Platform > portfolio and will continue to sell it.* > - *We will continue to support Azure Programmable Connectivity.* > - *We will support existing customers of Azure Operator Insights / > AIOps Copilot, but we will not accept new customers. Microsoft Fabric will > address this functionality.* > - *We will no longer add new customers for: Azure Communication > Gateway (ACG), Azure Operator Insights (AOI), Azure Private 5G Core > (AP5GC), Affirmed Mobile Content Cloud (MCC), Affirmed UnityCloud > (UC), Metaswitch Rhino TAS, and Metaswitch Perimeta SBC. If you have a > customer who is in the process of onboarding, please contact the > appropriate In-flight Projects contact: [email protected] > <[email protected]> (APAC and EMEA) or [email protected] > <[email protected]> (Americas).* > - *We will not accept more preview candidates for: Azure Operator Call > Protection (AOCP) and Azure Operator 5G Core (AO5GC), and we will not move > these services to General Availability.* > > > > *Q: What is next after you stop selling a product, and how will you > manage these products?* > > *A: We will continue to support these products in accordance with our > existing customer commitments. We will eventually retire these services in > accordance with our lifecycle policies. In advance of retirement, we will > provide notification as well as details on transition recommendations. We > are committed to supporting you through this transition.* > > > > *Here are the current plans for each product, but plans may evolve as we > work with customers:* > > - *Azure Communication Gateway (ACG) – We will publish a transition > roadmap to recommend options to migrate off these services to partner > solutions when the service is retired.* > - *Azure Operator Insights (AOI) – We will work with customers to > align this service to Microsoft Fabric before the service is retired.* > - *Azure Operator 5G Core (AO5GC) – We will not move this product > from Public Preview to GA* > - *Azure Private 5G Core (AP5GC) – We will provide options to adopt > services using partner solutions before the service is retired.* > - *Azure Operator Call Protection (AOCP) – We will not move this > product from Private Preview to GA. Operators may still use > existing Microsoft tooling and partner solutions to create a similar > solution.* > - *Affirmed Mobile Content Cloud (MCC) – We will meet obligations as > defined above until product End of Life.* > - *Affirmed UnityCloud (UC) – We will meet obligations as defined > above and move to product End of Life.* > - *Metaswitch Rhino TAS – We will meet obligations as defined above > until product End of Life.* > - *Metaswitch Perimeta SBC – We will meet obligations as defined above > until product End of Life.* > > > > *Q: Is Microsoft exiting the telecommunications industry?* > > *A: No. Microsoft remains fully committed to supporting the > telecommunications industry by empowering them to achieve more with the > power of Cloud and AI. The changes to the Azure for Operator portfolio > reflect customer demand and enable us to focus on the technologies that > drive the most value for our customers and partners.* > > > > *Q: If these changes impacted my contacts at Microsoft, who can I > contact?* > > *A: We apologize for any inconvenience personnel changes have caused > you. Please reach out to your assigned Microsoft Account Executive. For > issues requiring escalation, you may contact the following: * > > > > *Questions / inquiries: > [email protected] <[email protected]>* > > *Industry Lead Sponsor: > [email protected] <[email protected]>* > > *Support Issues: > [email protected] <[email protected]> * > > *In-flight Projects (APAC and EMEA) > [email protected] <[email protected]>* > > *In-flight Projects (Americas): > [email protected] <[email protected]>* > > *Purchase Orders: > [email protected] <[email protected]> * > > *Executive Escalation: > [email protected] <[email protected]>* > > > > *On Tue, Aug 13, 2024 at 8:41 AM Mike Hammett <[email protected] > <[email protected]>> wrote:* > >> *"Given the MetaSwitch products are no longer sold, and Microsoft is >> EOLing them, and not taking new support contracts..."* >> >> >> *That's news to me.* >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> *----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com >> <http://www.ics-il.com> Midwest Internet Exchange http://www.midwest-ix.com >> <http://www.midwest-ix.com>* >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> >> >> *From: "Jawaid Bazyar via VoiceOps" <[email protected] >> <[email protected]>> To: "voiceops" <[email protected] >> <[email protected]>> Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2024 7:23:05 AM Subject: >> [VoiceOps] Acquire MetaSwitch* >> >> *Hello,* >> >> *We are in the market to acquire / take over a MetaSwitch CFS. In >> particular, we're looking for the virtual edition that runs purely in >> VMWare.* >> >> *The components we'd need are:* >> * CFS* >> * MRS (Media Resource Server)* >> * Perimeta* >> * SAS (Service Assurance Server)* >> * MetaView Server* >> >> *These are fairly common components.* >> >> *Given the MetaSwitch products are no longer sold, and Microsoft is >> EOLing them, and not taking new support contracts, we're not talking about >> a big cash up front kind of deal, but, instead a revenue share kind of >> arrangement.* >> >> *Anyone that has one and is interested, contact me directly off-list.* >> >> *Cheers,* >> >> *Jawaid* >> >> >> >> >> >> *_______________________________________________ VoiceOps mailing list >> [email protected] <[email protected]> >> https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/voiceops >> <https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/voiceops>* >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > VoiceOps mailing list > [email protected] > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/voiceops > > _______________________________________________ > VoiceOps mailing list > [email protected] > https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/voiceops >
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