Alcatel-Lucent's (NYSE:ALU) Shift plan involves becoming a specialist in IP networking and ultra-broadband access and will incorporate a mix of technologies that are driving service providers toward cloud-based services, said CEO Michel Combes. The company just opened a new cloud research and development center in Kfar Saba, Israel, which will, among other things, capitalize on SDN products Alcatel-Lucent is offering through its Nuage Networks subsidiary. Alcatel-Lucent also unveiled its CloudBand Ecosystem Program, which opens its CloudBand network functions virtualization (NFV) management platform to service providers, developers and vendors. The company said it is moving parts of its product suite to the cloud as a way to "create a path to NFV technology and give service providers choices on which key network services to deploy to the cloud. For more, see this FierceTelecom article.