Enterprises of all kinds deliver information and services over networks, making IT infrastructure foundational for success. The goal is that the platform runs consistently well with minimal intervention – or zero-touch performance/operations, which refers to IT systems that operate autonomously, with reduced human intervention in device provisioning, issue resolution and other tasks.

Zero-touch operations anticipate and address needs before they impact users, resulting in lower operational costs, improved security and a better user experience. Highly automated IT structures can differentiate businesses and give them competitive advantages, while failure to automate can create more problems and costs. Operational issues detract from user experience due to long lead time to provision services and resolve problems.

Now manufacturers and other enterprises are approaching zero-touch systems and platforms through hyperautomation powered by GenAI. Hyperautomation goes beyond single-task automation to drive complex business processes end to end through deeply automated workflows. It involves:

• Robotic process automation (RPA)
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Machine learning (ML)
• Process mining

This business-driven approach improves efficiency and speed while reducing manual labor.

Ericsson begins move to zero-touch operations with HCLTech partnership

Ericsson, a leader in communications technology, provides hardware, software and services to power the full value of connectivity. The global organization delivers enterprise wireless services and solutions across 3G, 4G, 5G, optical transport and cloud native platforms. Zero-touch performance was a strategic necessity. Zero-touch operations promised important benefits, and Ericsson knew that not embracing the practice could be costly.

Enterprise benefits of zero-touch performance:

• Better operational performance
• Consistent customer satisfaction
• Reduced time to market
• Reduced risk of human error
• Faster deployment and automated software changes
• Optimization for energy efficiency

For good reasons, zero-touch operations are becoming a priority for progressive organizations, and some – like Ericsson – are well down the path, thanks to strong technology partnerships and early starts. Ericsson began a long-term partnership with HCLTech in 2020, focusing on a foundational mission.

“At that point, we set up a huge transformation program where we aspired to change out our complete compute infrastructure,” noted Ericsson’s Johan Sporre Lennberg, VP, Technology Foundation. “We needed to train our staff and rework our processes and directives to successfully move Ericsson from on-prem to the public cloud to get speed into the way we adopt technology.”

Zero-touch operations start with the human touch

Several major milestones mark the progress of the partnership, starting with the two-year cloud migration initiative. Then came more automation and optimization work, leading to the next phase – zero-touch operations through hyperautomation and GenAI.

The zero-touch strategy began with a human touch in pre-engagement joint workshops. Strategic planning sessions aligned Ericsson and HCLTech on the shared vision. “One successful thing we've done with HCLTech is we deliberately started a strategic workflow together two years back, talking about new technologies, what HCLTech can deliver and where they have experience,” explains Sporre Lennberg.

This early collaboration laid the groundwork for what was to come. By leveraging this ongoing dialogue, Ericsson was well prepared to enter the next phase with HCLTech to guide them on the journey to automated, autonomous operations. “We did that because they had a global reach, expertise and experience and we trusted that they could actually help us transform into a new, modern way of working,” said Sporre Lennberg about the decision to work with HCLTech.

Taking vision to the next phase: Automated autonomous operations

The new phase expanded the rich collaboration into strategic areas:

• Application modernization with AI Force
• Hyperautomation and agentic AI foundations
• Modern ops and infrastructure as code
• Immutable infrastructure for hyperscaler workloads
• Holistic mechanism with AI-driven orchestration tools to eliminate human intervention

AI Force transformation platform for app modernization

App modernization was especially critical for Ericsson. Without it, technology companies can’t remain competitive. The HCLTech Cloud Native Center of Excellence (CoE) led the way at Ericsson with a vision of industrialized, at-scale app modernization powered by AI Force – HCLTech’s platform for service transformation.

AI Force integrates with existing IT landscapes and tooling. At its core, business-driven AI Force maps to people and their workflows. Advanced machine learning algorithms and neural networks improve efficiency and productivity as well as accelerate time-to-market for products and services. GenAI assists to revitalize software engineering more easily and thoroughly, business processes and IT operations.

Breakthrough - Agentic AI for zero-touch performance

As part of the transformation, HCLTech developed a GenAI-powered Agentic AI solution for Ericsson, with focused workstreams hosted within an AWS environment. Agentic AI provides groundbreaking capabilities:

• Deploy agents for proactive issue resolution
• Auto remediation of cloud security deviation
• E2E change management

Leveraging AI in network operations is now firmly part of leveling up business agility and customer satisfaction. Ericsson will increase system intelligence and simplify decision-making, and reliable network performance delivers consistent customer satisfaction.

Today’s multidimensional conversations about the future Ericsson

The long-term partnership between Ericsson and HCLTech is more than five years old now. It has impacted manufacturing, sales and other business units, with many core applications and systems moved to the modern cloud platform. The consistent partnership excellence is a testament to the transparency, trust and collaborative atmosphere on both sides.

“The HCLTech partnership is really about the multi-dimensions of HCLTech. We have good discussions on operations and large improvements in our operational stability, while maintaining a strategic conversation on the future,” says Sporre Lennberg. “This has led to us being able to anchor quick and fast when we really want to move into a new strategic partnership.”