Nokia: Network technology aims to turn data centers into AI brains

Nokia Oyj has unveiled a new network solution intended to transform data centers into effective artificial intelligence (AI) processing units. The company asserts that advanced networks are critical to supporting the increasing complexity of data centers and the growing demands of AI.

The number of data centers has significantly increased over the past decade, with facilities becoming larger and more complex, often positioned closer to users. This evolution underscores the importance of connectivity within and between these critical infrastructure hubs.

Artificial intelligence and the drive for national data sovereignty are reshaping data center requirements. Demand for Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) has surged to handle the intensive computations required by AI. The substantial energy consumption of GPUs also presents new challenges for cooling systems and power density.

Nokia highlights that the network plays a fundamental role in this transformation. It acts as the internal platform managing massive data flows between compute resources. Enhanced network connectivity is seen as key to improving AI model training efficiency and reducing task completion times. The company emphasizes that sufficient bandwidth, speed, and reliability are essential to prevent costly compute resources from remaining idle.