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WebNMS 2016 Predictions: Orchestration Implementation Drives Network Differentiation

Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2016.  Read them in this 8th Annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Contributed by Prabhu Ramachandran, Director of WebNMS

Orchestration Implementation Drives Network Differentiation

1.     Innovation trumps stability

Telecom network operators have always relied on technology but have often taken a conservative approach, valuing somewhat inefficient stability from antiquated systems over improvements through risky innovation. This conservatism has tied telco networks to proprietary solution silos from their equipment and IT vendors. Faced with a rising tide of user expectations from the flood of OTT services, telcos have now shifted their priority to streamlining their operations, improving the customer experience with real-time, agile services. To shift toward this new operations model, network owners will look beyond their traditional technology suppliers and seek out innovation. In 2016, this innovation quest will lead telcos down new technology paths, often along trails blazed by smaller, visionary vendors on a mission to disrupt the status quo.

2.     OEM orchestration evolves into pseudo-SDN controllers

In 2015, telcos interest in multi-vendor service orchestration solutions surged. Driven by this customer interest, many equipment vendors have invested in their own software platforms to deliver end-to-end service orchestration. This long list of vendor solutions includes in-house developments at Alcatel-Lucent and Juniper as well as technology acquisitions such as Cisco/Tail-f, Ciena/Cyan and Huawei/Amartus. In 2016, despite the best of intentions, these OEMs will realize that their captive technology will not satisfy the mandatory multi-vendor requirement. The operators will look to ISVs to provide a true multi-vendor service orchestration layer. Nevertheless, this layer will need to be integrated through APIs with the network control plane. To minimize the integration costs of their own equipment into this new architecture, the end-to-end OEM software platforms will evolve into pseudo-SDN controllers that present the orchestration layer with an open API that abstracts away their underlying equipment. This will drive increased collaboration between OEM software and ISV orchestration solutions in the coming year.

3.     Virtual interoperability

To differentiate with Network Function Virtualization (NFV), network operators need end-to-end, automated service provisioning and assurance that unifies the geographic reach of their physical networks with the elastic virtual machines hosted in the cloud. In the coming year, telcos will chain orchestrated WAN network services, such as MEF Carrier Ethernet, with data center SDN services. By flexibly chaining these dynamic services, telcos will offer agile, assured business services that OTT providers without their own network will find difficult to match. Longer term, dynamic service chaining will drive the need for certified NFV interoperability - enabling an efficient market for the exchange of network services.

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About the Author

With over 14 years of experience delivering service provider software solutions, Prabhu Ramachandran directs WebNMS, the service provider division of Zoho Corporation. Prabhu leads strategic marketing, product management, customer support, partnerships and professional services for WebNMS. Leveraging the technology of the corporation's flagship WebNMS Framework, Prabhu has expanded the business from its longstanding leadership position in multi-vendor network and element management software into vertical solutions for Carrier Ethernet, MPLS, broadband, LTE and satellite networks. In 2012, Prabhu began driving WebNMS into network orchestration, SDN, NFV and IoT/M2M platforms, all critical enablers for service providers to grow profitable businesses. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics and Communication from Madras University, Chennai, India.

For more information about WebNMS, please visit http://www.webnms.com, and follow the company on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/webnms and on Twitter @WebNMSTech.
Published Thursday, December 03, 2015 8:58 AM by David Marshall
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