Nokia announces five-year expansion of Microsoft Azure supply agreement

Nokia (NOK) has announced a five-year expansion of its multi-year agreement to supply Microsoft (MSFT) Azure with datacenter routers and switches. The partnership will grow Nokia’s global footprint to over 30 countries. The new agreement also builds upon the companies’ existing collaboration around open source SONiC. 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.