28 September, 2017NFV – Where are we now?
Networks with virtualised functions bring communications service providers the power to provision services quickly, analyse and automate networks, release creativity for designing new services and take advantage of general-purpose platforms in data centres, writes Sanjay Bhatia, the vice president of solutions and marketing strategy at Genband.
Network functions virtualisation was designed to help the telecoms industry accelerate innovation and launch services quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. This is done primarily by replacing hardware-centric equipment with cloud-native and microservices approaches that allow key core and edge functionality to be virtualised in telecoms networks.
Multivendor ecosystem
Along with increased service agility, these virtualised functions provide communications service providers (CSPs) with the ability to seamlessly operate in a multivendor ecosystem environment and offer improved security and operational efficiencies while taking advantage of cloud technologies. The pressure to realize cost savings and drive revenues quickly while securing networks from an ever-expanding list of threats has been among the main forces driving the adoption of network functions virtualisation. As service providers fight to maintain their dominance in the communications value chain, they must be more responsive to customer demands. This means being more efficient and quickly turning services up or down, optimising traffic on their networks and introducing new, innovative services. Network functions virtualisation promises to help service providers bring about all of these benefits and more. The alternative is to risk losing customers to more agile competitors. The transformation from hardware-based equipment to software is a journey that started many years ago by moving switching, security, and session management software sets into software loads that work brilliantly on Intel-based architecture or on servers of the service providers’ choice. Although the transformation from hardwired and big-iron networks to cloud-based, software centric virtualised networks is challenging, some of the largest service providers in the world are already reaping the benefits of network functions virtualisation.
Specific advantages
These benefits include networks being less expensive to operate, easier to maintain and providing more agility to build and deploy new services. The network functions virtualsation revolution allows service providers to upgrade the grid and replace the plumbing in their networks while also providing IP services, IP session management, network security, network interconnection and interoperability. For example, earlier this year du, a United Arab Emirates-based service provider deployed Genband’s network functions virtualisation based session border controller to enable industry-leading interconnect capabilities and allow seamless connectivity among disparate communications networks, a first-of-its kind deployment in the Middle East.
Key trends
So where does the network functions virtualization revolution stand now? Here are a few key trends that advance the revolution:
- With provisioning of services – such as with virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE) – possible within seconds rather than hours, months, weeks or even days, services can be launched immediately with connectivity embedded. This represents a sea change for our industry because connectivity can now be bundled with applications and no longer be considered a separate service.
- Because networks with virtualised functions are all software driven, the ability to see into these networks, understand their performance and isolate issues is vastly improved. Network analytics may one day be as easy and convenient as Google analytics for the web.
- Automation of certain network functions can be programmed, including adding artificial intelligence on the backend to observe the network based on policy, requiring fewer humans to manage network operating centres, which are giving way to network management services. This is another great new revenue opportunity for communications service providers as they approach their enterprise customers with new offerings – replacing maintenance service and other revenue sources that are quickly evaporating.
- Far above and beyond operational improvements for the communications service providers, the network functions virtualisation revolution will open up the floodgates for creativity, digital agility and the development of new services for consumers and enterprises, including in the exploding world of the internet of things.
- Many service providers that we speak to are still figuring out how they want to approach this network functions virtualisation revolution. Although some are simply looking to virtualise certain functions to take advantage of general-purpose platforms in data centres, others are looking to fully embrace network functions virtualisation to gain all of the benefits mentioned so far, and more besides. It is important that service providers know what their end objectives are and select the right partners to help get them there. The network functions virtualisation revolution means network design in the future may be as easy as spinning up virtual machines and launching new services in days or even hours — no longer taking us months or years. It is certainly an exciting time to be in this industry.
