CSPs need an evolutionary architecture to embrace cloud

In this second article in a two-part series, TM Forum’s George Glass looks at how the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) can help communications service providers (CSPs) transition to cloud-native applications and public cloud. In the first article he explained why the move to cloud is inevitable. Japanese Internet company Rakuten is setting an example of the art of the possible when it comes to cloud-native telco architecture. The company, which intends to launch LTE services soon, is fully cloud-based (including its network). As a result, it enjoys 45% lower total cost of ownership, according to CTO Tareq Amin. He also contends that Rakuten can build a 5G network for a third of the cost most mobile operators expect to incur, and while it takes an operator with a legacy IT environment two to three hours to onboard a new customer, it takes Rakuten just 10 minutes. AT&T also is convinced that public cloud is the way to go, at least for support applications. As noted in the first article in this series, the company is working with Microsoft to move all non-network apps to the Azure platform by 2024.

The benefits are real

As other CSPs build trust with cloud providers, they will move applications to the public cloud, eliminating the need to build and run data centers. They will embrace cloud because the benefits are compelling:

• Compute power in public could environments is cheaper because it is standardized infrastructure.
• Because of the ability to scale applications in the public cloud, planning data center capacity becomes a thing of the past. The hardware needed to supply the compute power automatically scales, which also allows it to manage infrequent spikes in demand more simply and cost-effectively.
• Disaster recovery is built into the model as automatic fail-over is a feature of the core design.
• Development or test environments can be provided on demand only for the period of time they are needed, reducing spending on hardware for development and test laboratories, which are often underutilized.
• Technical debt, which results from applications getting stranded on aging and out-of-date infrastructure, is erased because public cloud providers continually refresh their infrastructure. The application is insulated from the infrastructure through containers, which means end of service life is no longer an issue.

ODA is cloud-native

The big question for most operators is how to embrace cloud-native applications and public cloud. The ‘lift and shift’ approach of cloud-enabling an entire application and putting it into a container can deliver some quick benefits, such as tackling technical debt by removing dependence on legacy infrastructure, but this approach does not leverage all public cloud’s advantages. On the other hand, completely rewriting an application and transforming it to be cloud-native typically takes a long time and requires significant investment. CSPs need a middle ground that allows for gradual migration in a controlled manner to a cloud-native architecture. This is where the TM Forum Open Digital Architecture can help. Part of the Open Digital Framework, ODA is fundamentally designed as a component-based architecture, with the business services of a component exposed as a set of Open APIs. The ODA is a component-based architecture, with the business functions of each component exposed as a set of Open APIs. The component functionality is typically implemented as a set of services and microservices. The advantage of using services and microservices is that they can be independently managed on scalable infrastructure using Agile development practices.

Setting the vision

CSPs and other organizations can use ODA to set an architectural vision and plan relevant roadmaps to implement it. The transformation guides that are part of the ODA enable organizations to work backwards from their target architecture. Companies can use transformation techniques such as optimization, re-engineering or abstraction to select the desired path to cloud-based deployment of IT applications. This enables managed migration from the current hosting infrastructure – typically a combination of dedicated hardware, virtualized infrastructure, private cloud deployments and possibly some public cloud deployments – to a truly cloud-based environment. Controlling the migration allows operators to change the architecture of the IT estate gradually, moving relevant components to the cloud only when the business is ready. ODA accepts that not everything has to be cloud-native and that cloud-enabling some legacy components may well be appropriate to manage costs or avoid technical debt until a component is retired. Also, re-engineering or abstraction allows for the decomposition of a component into services and microservices enabling the organization to move to a cloud-native deployment for the relevant elements of the architecture. This supports an Open Digital Framework concept called ‘pace layering’, where components that support innovation and differentiation can be identified and abstracted from legacy infrastructure using Open APIs. They are then rewritten using DevSecOps techniques to provide continuous integration and continuous development (CI/CD). This helps CSPs deliver new services rapidly and maximize return on investment.

ODA enables NaaS

Telstra combined its network and IT teams using ODA concepts to build the company’s ‘Networks for the Future’ architecture, which moves away from traditional physical networks supported by silos of OSS/BSS to virtualized, software-defined networks supported and orchestrated by centralized IT. This software-driven architecture enhances speed to market through digitized and re-usable capabilities, which the company uses to offer simpler and more flexible products to customers. Telstra’s architecture supports near real-time activation and provisioning, end-to-end order tracking and dynamic service changes. This has resulted in reducing the time it takes to deliver new network services, which are made up of chains of components, from weeks to hours. “NaaS is truly transformational to our plans to lead the market and change the way our customers buy and consume our services,” Karim Nejaim, Executive, Product Engineering, Telstra, explains in a blog about the company’s work with TM Forum. If you’d like to learn more about how ODA can help in transitioning to cloud-based operations, please contact me directly.