Artificial intelligence (AI)-supported infrastructures are increasingly deployed to bring efficiency and productivity benefits, and to meet the challenges that exist in delivering agile, secure connectivity for AI-led enterprise innovation, comms tech provider Ericsson has unveiled a wireless-first branch architecture.
Putting the launch into context, Ericsson says businesses are increasingly deploying AI innovations from virtual experts in insurance to computer vision tools in remote healthcare clinics, relying on always-on connectivity to support business-critical operations and deliver modern customer experiences.
It cited research from IDC that says by 2026, 90% of enterprises will integrate generative AI into their connectivity strategy – underscoring the growing need for secure, scalable and easily managed networks. And as 5G Advanced gains momentum, Ericsson notes that enterprises are moving beyond traditional best-effort services and seeking predictable performance for business-critical applications through services such as network slicing.
But the company argues that not all existing connectivity infrastructure can guarantee these gains, potentially compromising the effectiveness of these business-critical tools. As a result, they need a network that offers stronger security, scalability and reliability, while being easy to manage.
Designed to support higher-bandwidth, business-critical, AI-powered operations, the wireless-first branch architecture combines diverse WAN connectivity, LAN switching, network slicing and zero-trust through unified management to deliver what Ericsson promised would be scalable and secure high-performance branch networking.
Moreover, it provides enterprises with a “future-ready” connectivity foundation to unlock the full potential of AI-driven innovation, giving IT teams and carriers the flexibility, performance and security needed to deploy and manage AI-ready connectivity across distributed branch sites.
At the heart of the architecture is the Ericsson Cradlepoint E400 enterprise appliance, combining 3GPP Release 17 5G, Wi-Fi 7 and embedded eSIM/dual-SIM. LAN switches and Wi-Fi 7 access points extend small and medium office LAN capacity without complexity under unified management, while the Ericsson NetCloud Manager aims to enable AI-driven operations, centralised eSIM provisioning, SD-WAN, zero-trust security and access to 5G Advanced network slices.
Cradlepoint LAN switches and access points extend LAN capacity and are unified under Ericsson NetCloud Manager to augment LAN services from existing technical alliance partner offerings. It additionally provides centralised control and provisioning of embedded eSIM and dual-SIM capabilities, enabling remote profile configuration, carrier switching and streamlined deployment for lean IT teams.
SD-WAN, link bonding and SASE optimise traffic across wired, cellular and satellite links, and the secure 5G slices have use case-specific parameters for business-critical applications.
Roy Chua, founder and principal at research and advisory firm AvidThink, said: “Lean IT teams look for integrated networking and security experiences that remove complexity and provide built-in intelligence to remove operational burden, streamline efficiency and enable proactive management. Ericsson’s announcement today addresses requirements from these customers and enables them to take advantage of the latest cellular advances.”
Pankaj Malhotra, head of enterprise networking and security for enterprise wireless solutions at Ericsson, added: “With the increased speed and decreased latency of 5G, businesses are now looking at 5G as not only a viable alternative to wires, but also to innovate and transform their business. We are removing the complexities of LAN architecture, security, cellular management and multi-WAN optimisation with an integrated architecture under a single management platform.”
