What the world wants from its networks is changing.
Streaming video and online gaming are pushing bandwidth and latency expectations ever higher, and now AI promises to change the game again, with Omdia predicting that nearly two-thirds of traffic will involve AI by 2030.
For network operators, surging demand creates opportunities to move out of commodity connectivity and create new revenue streams from value-added services. The challenge is meeting today’s customer expectations—and tomorrow’s—with yesterday’s infrastructure.
Most operators are eyeing some kind of network transformation, but ensuring that it’s planned, designed and deployed effectively, and that it’s fit for the future as well as for now, isn’t easy. From our experience of leading hundreds of network transformation projects for customers worldwide, we believe there are four things to keep in mind to ensure success.
1. Get visibility of your whole network
Every transformation must start with a full understanding of the current (as-is) state, as well as the desired (to-be) state. For network transformations, that means knowing what infrastructure and systems are in place now, so the most effective transformation can be planned.
But for operators that have grown over decades—and especially if growth has come from mergers and acquisitions—the result can be a patchwork of network management systems (NMS) that each only show part of the picture. In fact, EMA has found that 75% of organisations only have full visibility into 40% or less of their technology stack.
Establishing a single source of truth, with visibility into the whole network, is a good first step to planning and executing a successful transformation. A transformation partner with a proven toolset for achieving unified network visibility can save time, cost and effort here.
2. Build a compelling business case
A network transformation usually (although not always) represents significant capital investment in new infrastructure, and often requires new skills and new ways of working, especially if it’s supporting changes to the company’s commercial model.
With operator margins still thin and senior management teams being typically risk-averse, a compelling business case will be needed to gain C-suite buy-in to the changes.
While it’s not always possible to calculate the precise financial ROI of every aspect of the transformation, there are some elements that can be accurately modelled. Upgrading to the latest-generation coherent optics, for example, can dramatically reduce physical space requirements and power per bit.
A good example is global connectivity provider Arelion, which has achieved a 50% space and power per bit reduction, as well as 15% higher spectral efficiency, by adopting the latest and most energy-efficient optical innovations.
3. Find time to innovate
Often the challenge is simply finding enough time to think about how the network could be transformed to meet current and future customer needs. When everyone is focused on the day-to-day running of the network, taking time out for innovation isn’t always an option.
And even if there is time to research changing needs, plan new services and model the new infrastructure needed to support them, taking it to the next stage is equally challenging.
Teams need to be split between designing and deploying the new network and managing the existing one. If it’s a stretch even to manage the current network, freeing up time for the new one isn’t always possible—especially given the ongoing industry skills shortage.
This is where working with an experienced partner can make a significant difference. A partner can either take over aspects of day-to-day network management freeing time for innovation, or work with the business to research, plan, design and deploy the new network.
4. Meet evolving regulations
Network transformation isn’t always driven by changing customer demand. Regulatory changes can also be a catalyst—as we’ve seen in some jurisdictions where operators have been instructed to remove specific vendors’ equipment from the network.
While regulatory compliance can be seen as an expensive chore, it can also be an opportunity to re-think the network and take advantage of new, cost-saving technologies. As we saw above, replacing legacy equipment with next-generation optics, for example, can offset the cost of removing outdated or undesirable equipment from the network.
With a well architected and fully-observable adaptive network in place, compliance with future regulatory changes also becomes easier.
Get expert help to start your network transformation journey
Embarking on a network transformation can be daunting, for all of the reasons explored above. But working with an experienced partner can lower the cost and risk of the project and ensure that the resulting network is aligned to the needs of customers, regulators and the business—today and into the future.
Ciena has over 30 years’ experience of working with the world’s largest network providers, helping them to build some of the most adaptive, customer-centric networks. If you’d like to know more about our network transformation services, visit knowledge.ciena.com/services.