Helsinki, Jan 28 (IANS): Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia has created a customised digital assistant "MIKA" that will improve telecom operators' efficiency by providing engineers faster access to critical information.

MIKA that stands for 'Multi-purpose Intuitive Knowledge Assistant' -- is the first digital assistant trained specifically for the telecom industry, designed to provide automated assistance that saves time and frees highly skilled workers to focus on critical tasks.

"MIKA taps into the power of the Nokia AVA platform to provide quick and accurate answers, avoiding time wasted on fruitless searches. It is customised to support the specific needs of telecoms, and can deliver recommendations based on experience from networks around the world," said Igor Leprince, Head of Global Services at Nokia, in a statement.

MIKA combines augmented intelligence with automated learning to provide access to an extensive range of tools, documents and data sources.

These include the Nokia AVA knowledge library, a repository of best practices gathered from Nokia projects around the world.

Using the knowledge library MIKA can provide recommendations based on similar issues seen in other networks.

MIKA is available via a web interface and mobile agent so that engineers can tap into its knowledge base, wherever they are.

In addition to launching MIKA, Nokia introduces 'Predictive Repair', a service that will enable operators to reduce costs and improve network quality by moving away from break-fix approaches to hardware maintenance.

"The care service can predict hardware failures and recommend replacements up to 14 days in advance, with up to 95 per cent accuracy," the company said.