Juniper Networks has unveiled Juniper Beyond Labs, a new research and development initiative aimed at shaping the future of the networking and IT industries via research, pathfinding projects and experimental technology developments.
The initiative will leverage innovation centres in Sunnyvale, Bengaluru, India and Westford, Massachusetts. Juniper Beyond Labs will collaborate with a community of academic and industry partners with a goal of breaking new ground for sustainable leading edge networking technologies to help meet the future needs of a digital world.
Juniper Beyond Labs is designed to help incubate ideas and solutions to some of the toughest technology challenges at a time when AI, machine learning and cloud services have driven up the number of connected users and devices. For Juniper customers and partners, it will provide an opportunity to influence research directions and pathfinding projects that could spur proof-of-concept demos and the ability to provide feedback to shape the direction of research. Participating members will have access to Juniper Beyond Labs research and innovation developed. As an example, Juniper will extend its collaboration with Intel and work on the integration of the Intel FlexRAN Reference Architecture, private 5G networks, Juniper RAN Intelligent Controller and the Juniper Cloud-Native Router on Intel Xeon processors, to enable new capabilities to support 5G transformation.
Research will focus on a cross section of networking domains, including IT, data centre, security, AI/automation, network operations, WAN and 5G/6G along with emerging areas, like quantum computing, where research is ongoing. In particular, Juniper Beyond Labs will prioritise sustainability as an integral part of network design principles and related use cases to help network operators meet sustainability targets.
Raj Yavatkar, Chief Technology Officer at Juniper Networks says: “I’m a researcher at heart, so I’m thrilled that Juniper Beyond Labs will give us a newfound ability to research, tinker and experiment more freely with next-generation network technology to solve massive challenges the industry faces. Some of the solutions we develop could become commercially available, but the goal is to push the limits of what we think is possible to meet the needs of an evolving digital world.”
Adds Eric Kuisch – Chief Operating Officer at Eurofiber: “Quantum computers will eventually challenge encryption techniques, which is why Eurofiber and Juniper Networks have launched a Quantum testbed in the Netherlands. Together with Juniper Beyond Labs we are innovating a new security approach, using quantum key distribution (QKD) and post quantum cryptography (PQC).”
Dan Rodriguez, CVP Network and Edge Solutions Group at Intel comments: “Working to address industry challenges requires innovation that starts at the community level. Our collaboration with Juniper across network initiatives has helped to accelerate the RAN ecosystem with tangible business outcomes at mobile operators. We look forward to continuing this momentum through our participation in Beyond Labs to advance how the digital world connects.”
Will Townsend, VP & Principal Analyst AT Moor Insights & Strategy says: “Network automation is key to making as-a-service, private LTE & 5G connectivity offerings a reality for enterprises. Juniper's Beyond Labs efforts could position Juniper for success with automation and other adjacent enterprise services and applications.”
According to Sonia Fahmy, Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University: “As a computer science professor at Purdue, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Juniper with my undergraduate and graduate students. Our engagement with Juniper has been both rewarding and inspiring, providing us with valuable insights and knowledge. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue this collaboration through the Juniper Beyond Labs program.”
