Top 5 tech innovation partnerships announced at MWC 2017

As Barcelona played host to one of mobile industry’s biggest events, Mobile World Congress (MWC), it is important to note that a pool of technology innovations that were showcased at the exciting event were a product of key partnerships and collaborations between industry behemoths.

Now that the event nears a closing end with the major announcements already made, Techseen brings to you a quick list of all the major tech partnerships that were witnessed at the event:

1. Apple-SAP

  Apple announced a partnership with SAP to revolutionize the mobile work experience for enterprise customers of all sizes. The duo plan to introduce a toolset that will enable developers to build “enterprise-grade” iOS apps for iPhone and iPad, leveraging the capabilities of SAP HANA platform. These apps will be built with Swift, Apple’s programming language, and will offer a familiar user experience with the SAP Fiori for iOS design language. To further the partnership, SAP Academy will offer training courses and workshops to developers to teach them about the new SDK.

2. Nokia-MediaTek

Nokia announced a new partnership with MediaTek, a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company, to collaborate on the design of a next-gen mobile communication system for 5G technology. The partnership can be seen as an extension to the active contribution of both the companies towards 5G standardization, in line with the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

The collaboration would mean bridging MediaTek’s broad customer base for connected devices with Nokia’s network expertise, to bring to market a 5G-ready ecosystem for network operators and end users. The first results of their partnership will be observable in 2018 when the two tech giants are hoping to introduce a pre-commercial platform designed for supporting 5G New Radio communications.

3. Samsung-Reliance Jio

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has partnered with the Korean electronics company Samsung in a bid to upgrade the quality of long-term evolution (LTE) mobile infrastructure in India. The duo announced the ‘I&G (Infill & Growth) Project’, through which Jio plans to expand its reach in rural areas. Utilizing spectrum in the 850, 1800 and 2300 MHz bands, it also aims to enable seamless indoor and outdoor coverage in dense urban areas. With this project, Samsung has enhanced Jio’s service by providing professional solutions such as Samsung VoLTE, Quality Monitoring and Analysis (VoMA) and Cognitive Traffic Monitoring and Optimizer.

4. Telefónica-Ericsson

Telefónica, a Spanish multinational broadband and telecommunications provider partnered with Ericsson to showcase the potential of 5G networks to transform industries, like automotive. The duo demonstrated remote driving technology over 5G connectivity using Telefonica’s trial 5G network to drive a car prototyped by KTH. The demo showcased an advanced application called “haptic communications”, also known as “tactile Internet” which has the ability to control machines, including vehicles, by means of wireless connections. In order to cope with the technical challenges behind it, Telefónica and Ericsson jointly demonstrated the ability of 5G to provide a completely different experience, based on immersive perception of reality rather than the more traditional connectivity concept.

5. Mastercard-Oracle

Mastercard announced a global partnership with Oracle at MWC, with an aim to streamline digital payment experience for the retail and hospitality industries. The partnership will initially focus on three needs for restaurants namely – in-store experience, operational efficiencies and cross-channel consistencies. The two companies are already working with joint partners such as wagamama, Carluccio’s, Young & Co’s Brewery and Geronimo Pubs, where they are using Qkr to let their customers order additional items during meals, pay at the table when they are ready and split the bill with others. In 2017, Mastercard plans to expand the Qkr platform to six additional markets – Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa and the United States – to strengthen its digital payments offering.