Research
published today has revealed that the emergence of IoT and increased
M2M communications is the biggest driver for mobile operators' network
assurance. Over 34 percent of respondents (MNOs and industry players)
cite IoT/M2M as the main factor, with the increasing need to improve
network quality as a market differentiator ranked next with 28 percent
of respondents. These figures reflect a continuing requirement for
operators not only to manage growing network complexity, but also to
drive competitive advantage through the quality of experience they can
deliver to their subscribers.
The findings, published today in the Future of Mobile Networks Outlook 2015
report by Telecoms.com Intelligence and sponsored by MYCOM OSI, found a
growing demand for automated network assurance, tempered by a
reluctance to turn over critical infrastructure completely to algorithms
and a need for manual programmability. The case for automation is clear
with 58 percent of respondents claiming that they "have to trust
automated network assurance because it's too complex and vast to control
manually". However, they overwhelmingly agreed that there must be a
"balance between trust of automation and manual programmability", with
over 75 percent wanting to retain control over their network.
Increasing
complexity and network risk can also be seen at play in operators'
attitudes to NFV, over which the industry is divided as to the best
approach. While 25 percent believe that NFV will be siloed into various
areas of the network, a further 31 percent predict that it will bring
about a new approach to network management, forcing operators to
effectively start all over again. However, a significant number (44
percent) do see NFV as part of their end-to-end network assurance
strategy, believing NFV management will be absorbed into their OSS
systems.
Other key findings from the global survey include:
- 82% think assurance of a future network should be managed from a converged, cross-domain, end-to-end perspective
- 80%
of operators surveyed agree that quality of service will be the most
important priority for strategic investment in future networks
- 77% think assurance of the future network should be approached from a customer-centric perspective
- 52%
of operators plan to prioritise the use of big data and real time
analytics to improve customer user experience, over and above use of
network virtualization to drive assurance innovation
"It's
not surprising that IoT and network quality head the list of drivers
for future network assurance and that it should be managed from an
end-to-end perspective whilst injecting customer-centricity via
analytics," said Ian Meakin, Global Head of Marketing, MYCOM OSI. "But
this research also reveals that despite being confronted by ever
increasing complexity, operators dare not relinquish control of the
network assurance or entrust it completely into the hands of black-box
automation and closed algorithms. There is a clear demand for automation
with control via open, programmable automation platforms such as MYCOM
OSI provides with its ProActor solution."
MYCOM OSI,
the leading independent provider of next generation service assurance,
automation/orchestration, and analytics solutions to the world's largest
communications service providers (CSPs), sponsored the research
conducted by Telecoms.com Intelligence. The Future of Mobile Networks
Outlook 2015 questioned mobile operators and telecoms industry vendors
around the world on their attitudes and strategies to 4G and evolution
of 5G and what the next generation of mobile technology needs to
encompass.