SES to Deliver Cloud-enabled Solutions

SES announced plans to deliver new Microsoft Azure-based media services for broadcasters, and connect enterprise and government sites in remote, rural and underserved locations to Azure.

These solutions are part of SES’s strategy to transform satellite and ground networks for the cloud-scale era, helping the world’s leading satellite operator to fulfil its commitment to operate an open and software-defined environment in which satellite-enabled networks and services are a seamless extension of the global communications ecosystem. Another part of this strategy was realised in August 2019 when SES announced it would be the first satellite operator to implement Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) using network functions virtualization (NFV) technology from Amdocs on Azure. Using ONAP, SES will be able to orchestrate the creation and delivery of new services – such as SD-WAN, virtualised Evolved Packet Core (vEPC), security and more – in a completely automated and standards-based operating environment.

SES plans to deliver new cloud-based managed services, direct cloud connectivity and intelligent network automation and service orchestration initiatives, including:

• Azure ExpressRoute Satellite Connectivity – As a partner of Azure ExpressRoute, SES will provide global reach and fibre-like performance via its complete portfolio of multi-orbit satellites, global gateway network, and core terrestrial network infrastructure around the world. SES is the first Azure ExpressRoute satellite partner with Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites and a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation and will be able to extend the reach of Azure customers and bring cloud services to enterprise and government sites.
• Azure Broadcast-Grade Managed Video Service – As the industry leader in satellite video distribution, SES will create a broadcast-grade managed video offering on Azure. The new cloud service will bring scale, flexibility and quality assurance to the entire video delivery value chain – from content ingest to playout to delivery – to help broadcasters keep pace with consumer demand for a premium viewing experience on variousdevices.

“SES and Microsoft are aligned on a vision to bring the power of intelligent cloud, media and network solutions to businesses and parts of the world that have so far been under-connected. The more we collaborate, the more we realise the combination of our respective strengths – SES’s global satellite reach and performance plus Microsoft Azure and the Microsoft AI platform. From connecting to Azure to orchestrating and automating network functions and delivering cloud-based managed services, we are working with Microsoft to transform every aspect of our business to fully enable customers in the cloud-scale era. I am excited by the flexibility and scalability of our managed solutions as a result of this expanded partnership, as well as how they will, in turn, translate to business efficiencies for our customers,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES.

To further deliver a seamless service experience for customers and partners, SES is also migrating its customer relationship management (CRM) platform to Microsoft Dynamics. The transformation to a cloud-based sales and services solution is showing results in increased productivity and collaboration between SES and its partners.