Will operations-defined automation get you to real virtuality?

Now that software-defined networking (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV) and automation are finally taking off, communications service providers must prevent familiar problems from raising their (sometimes ugly) heads.

SDN and NFV are definitive requirements to aim for in any business transformation project – they are designed to dramatically improve business operations by implementing new software technology. However, we have seen far too many historic examples of communications service providers rushing into new technology without due process or the involvement of all aspects of the business that will be affected by it.

This has produced that one true enemy of the agile, software-driven telco: the silo. We need to ensure that we use these new initiatives to break down existing silos, and equally important, make sure that we do not replace old silos with new.

Telecom’s climate change

We are seeing the beginning of exponential demand on networks. The closest analogy would be to compare it to the symptoms of climate change – mega-storms and storm surges. The challenges cannot be under-estimated and are the key drivers for ‘virtual’ and ‘orchestratable’ environments that go hand in hand with intelligent automation designed to manage network loads seamlessly.

Apart from the growing demand on capacity, which is growing more random and extreme, service providers must continually strive to reduce costs. Customer applications and how offerings are designed and managed are also becoming more complex. And, of course, operators have the legacy of older network and IT components that need be being utilized fully (or sweated) or because they support legacy services that cannot be easily replaced, resulting in ‘hybrid’ networks.

A TM Forum Catalyst project called Real Virtuality is addressing these challenges and investigating ‘operations-defined automation’ (ODA). The project is championed by BT and NTT with Tech Mahindra, TierOne, TEOCO and HPE as participants. The aim is to create a programmable operations environment for hybrid networks using SDN and NFV, and the team sees this as a key step towards the goal of self-learning – programmable – operations of the future.

Policy is key

A key to the success of this high-profile Catalyst is the role of policy and how policy management is integrated into operations. It is, in fact, aiming at a policy-driven programmable operations framework.

The Catalyst is no ‘blue-sky’ concept, either. It is based on practical applications and goals, and the team has a series of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) in place to measure effectiveness. These include the number capacity flexes per month (for example, increased change requests against reduced turnaround times), number of trouble tickets avoided, number of ‘go live’ launches per day, partner on-boarding and, of course, time to market.

Building a new OSS

Future will emphasizes the need to adopt a software approach, which will be a challenge for many service providers. A software approach aims at fast development times with continuous improvements being applied in a live environment, whereas the traditional telco approach is to launch something only when it is deemed to be perfect.

The TM Forum Catalyst program adopts this iterative approach itself, and each has key feedback cycles and messages for the program as a whole. The key message is that programmable operation is the first step towards true future mode operation and how policy-driven remediation should result in a new ‘steady state’.

The Real Virtuality Catalyst has the potential to break down existing operational silos and avoid building news ones as we move towards intelligent automation for network operators and is, without question, a key initiative within the TM Forum.