Historic API venture announces CEO
Rhea-AI Summary
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and its telecom operator partners announce Anthony Bartolo as CEO of their new venture, named Aduna. The venture, launched in September 2024, aims to accelerate global adoption of common network APIs, enabling applications to work seamlessly across any network worldwide.
Bartolo brings over 30 years of tech industry experience, previously serving as COO at Vonage and Bandwidth. His track record includes transforming Avaya's business model, resulting in an 11-fold increase in annual recurring revenue, and holding executive positions at Tata Communications.
Aduna will focus on combining and selling network APIs globally through developer platforms, utilizing existing CAMARA APIs. The venture aims to empower developers to create innovative applications across multiple sectors. Bartolo will assume his CEO role on January 20, 2025, with the venture's closing expected later in the year, pending regulatory approvals.
Positive
- Appointment of experienced CEO with proven track record in business transformation
- Strategic positioning to monetize network APIs globally
- Partnership with major telecom operators enhances market reach
- Potential for new revenue streams through developer ecosystem
Negative
- Venture closing still subject to regulatory approvals
- Revenue impact and financial terms not disclosed
Insights
The appointment of Anthony Bartolo as CEO of Aduna represents a strategic but not immediately market-moving development for Ericsson's API venture. His track record at Vonage and Bandwidth, particularly in SaaS transitions and revenue growth, suggests strong execution capabilities. However, the real value proposition lies in Aduna's potential to standardize network APIs globally - think of it as creating a universal language for telecom networks.
The timing is particularly interesting as it coincides with the broader industry shift toward API monetization. Bartolo's experience in transforming Avaya's business model, resulting in an 11-fold increase in recurring revenue, demonstrates his ability to execute such transitions. For investors, the key metric to watch will be the speed of developer platform partner onboarding and subsequent API adoption rates once the venture closes.
What makes this venture strategically significant is its potential to accelerate innovation in telecom services by removing network compatibility barriers. Think of it as building a universal power adapter for telecom networks - developers can create applications once and deploy them anywhere. However, meaningful financial impact for Ericsson shareholders likely won't materialize until late 2025 or 2026.
- The recently-launched venture between some of the world's largest telecom operators and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) announces the appointment of Anthony Bartolo as its Chief Executive Officer and the name of the new company - Aduna.
Bartolo is a veteran tech executive with more than 30 years of experience scaling global businesses, driving new commercial strategies, and motivating cross-functional teams to achieve exceptional growth. Most recently, Bartolo served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Vonage and earlier at Bandwidth.
Prior to Bandwidth, Bartolo was Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Avaya, where he led the transition to a Software as a Service-based business model, resulting in an 11-fold increase in annual recurring revenue and significant new customer wins.
Before that, Bartolo held several executive roles at Tata Communications, including President of Mobility and Chief Product Officer. His accomplishments included designing and implementing a more competitive product strategy, spearheading the company's expansion into new market segments, securing new strategic partnerships and expanding the company's global footprint.
Launched in September 2024, Aduna will combine and sell network APIs globally, with a vision that new applications will work anywhere, and on any network, paving the way for developers to innovate much more quickly and easily. Easily accessible advanced network capabilities will open up the next frontier in innovation, empowering developers to create new use cases across multiple sectors. The new venture will provide network APIs to a broad ecosystem of developer platforms, based on existing industry-wide CAMARA APIs.
Niklas Heuveldop, Head of Business Area Global Communications Platform for Ericsson, comments: "Anthony is a recognized global technology leader with a proven track record in driving successful strategy execution in fast-moving businesses. His unique cross-industry expertise across the technology, operational and business domains positions him exceptionally well to deliver on Aduna's vision. We are excited about Anthony now stepping in to further accelerate the onboarding of developer platform partners, enabling millions of developers to access advanced network capabilities and drive the next wave of services innovation via common APIs across industry-leading partner networks worldwide."
Bartolo comments: "Aduna is at the forefront of the next technology wave. Providing developers with ubiquitous access to open, programmable network functionality through common APIs will empower them to innovate at global hyperscale and drive value creation for enterprises, their customers and the telecom industry. These new and more advanced applications will create better customer experiences, open new revenue streams, work seamlessly anywhere in the world, and provide businesses with innovative and differentiating ways to operate. I am honored to lead Aduna towards a new frontier for the future of technology, communication and the telecom industry."
Bartolo will assume his responsibilities as CEO on January 20, 2025. The closing of the venture is expected later this year, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
About Aduna
Aduna is a venture between global telecom providers and Ericsson, dedicated to revolutionizing the network API market. Its initial partners include: América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone. By providing a standardized platform that promotes collaboration and innovation, Aduna is set to usher in a new era of digital services that enhance user experiences and drive industry growth.
Global telecom leaders join forces to redefine the industry with network APIs
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SOURCE Ericsson