CSPs opt for cloud native technology, survey shows
A majority of CSPs surveyed are turning to cloud native technologies to remove barriers to rapid product and service development.
19 May 2021
CSPs opt for cloud native technology, survey shows
During the Covid-19 pandemic, communications service providers (CSPs) have supported rapid growth in demand for the connectivity that has helped people, businesses and public services such as healthcare and education to continue functioning. In doing so, many operators also accelerated the digital transformation of their own businesses, which includes faster adoption of cloud native technologies.
TM Forum’s 2021 Digital Transformation Tracker (DTT5) shows a marked increase in the percentage of CSPs that report being well down the road with their digital transformation programs and reaping significant benefits from them. The number stands at 38% in the 2021 report, compared to 23% in 2020.
Over the last year, the digitization of customer experience has ranked top on the list of CSPs’ higher digital transformation priorities, followed closely by the digitization of operations. The expansion into new lines of business, including ICT services and verticals, and the adoption of cloud native technology came in third and fourth, respectively.
It is clear why CSPs prioritized digitizing customer experience and operations as the world, including their own workforces, moved online. Cloud native technology goes hand in hand with this focus, as it allows developers to simplify and speed up the introduction and optimization of new products and services.
Cloud native technologies help remove the hardware and software infrastructure constraints that developers typically face by packaging IT workloads within containers, thereby disentangling them from legacy systems. This allows developers to focus on features that improve customer experience rather than worrying about how applications will work with existing operational and business support systems or network functions.
For example, Stefan Axelsson, Chief IT Architect at Telenor Sweden, explained in a recent TM Forum webinar how his company is using continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), along with TM Forum Open APIs and the Open Digital Architecture to build modular architectures and run microservices.
So, it came as little surprise that 60% of CSP respondents to the DTT survey want to use cloud native technology, even if is not suitable for every workload. And 22% went even further, saying they are absolutely committed to a cloud native approach for IT workloads.
TM Forum’s 2021 Digital Transformation Tracker (DTT5) shows a marked increase in the percentage of CSPs that report being well down the road with their digital transformation programs and reaping significant benefits from them. The number stands at 38% in the 2021 report, compared to 23% in 2020.
Over the last year, the digitization of customer experience has ranked top on the list of CSPs’ higher digital transformation priorities, followed closely by the digitization of operations. The expansion into new lines of business, including ICT services and verticals, and the adoption of cloud native technology came in third and fourth, respectively.
It is clear why CSPs prioritized digitizing customer experience and operations as the world, including their own workforces, moved online. Cloud native technology goes hand in hand with this focus, as it allows developers to simplify and speed up the introduction and optimization of new products and services.
Cloud native technologies help remove the hardware and software infrastructure constraints that developers typically face by packaging IT workloads within containers, thereby disentangling them from legacy systems. This allows developers to focus on features that improve customer experience rather than worrying about how applications will work with existing operational and business support systems or network functions.
For example, Stefan Axelsson, Chief IT Architect at Telenor Sweden, explained in a recent TM Forum webinar how his company is using continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), along with TM Forum Open APIs and the Open Digital Architecture to build modular architectures and run microservices.
“It is a great way for a medium-sized operator to punch above our weight,” says Axelsson.
So, it came as little surprise that 60% of CSP respondents to the DTT survey want to use cloud native technology, even if is not suitable for every workload. And 22% went even further, saying they are absolutely committed to a cloud native approach for IT workloads.
Hybrid clouds still dominate
Actual deployment of cloud native systems is a different matter. DTT 5 reveals that many operators are still in the early stages of moving IT functions into the cloud. They are also hedging their bets on private and public cloud usage.
As the graphic illustrates, only 15% of operators surveyed have moved between 25% and 50% of their IT workloads to the cloud, with 40% having transferred less than 10%.
Yet in addition to being less expensive, public clouds require fewer data centers and lend themselves to configuration rather than customization, which increases agility. The major sticking point remains security. Fully 97% of CSPs name security as a major consideration when deciding between public, private and hybrid cloud. Control is the second most important factor, at 84%.
The major cloud providers, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, however, are making every effort to win over CSPs to public cloud infrastructure. In addition to creating telco-specific cloud services, they address security by connecting their data centers with their own secure private networks, providing edge locations in many countries around the globe. And indeed, the report indicates signs that their endeavors are paying off.
Digital transformation does not begin and end in the cloud, of course. The DTT 5 explores how the telecom industry is tackling several keys aspects of digital transformation, including the strategic impact of 5G and the business of connectivity.
Download the report to find out more.
Nor is there a full embrace of public cloud: 66% of CSP respondents favor a hybrid public-private cloud, even though a hybrid cloud can be as costly as a private one. CSPs typically use private clouds to support their own customized services as well as those of large enterprises, which they can deliver over a private network or wide-area network (WAN).
Yet in addition to being less expensive, public clouds require fewer data centers and lend themselves to configuration rather than customization, which increases agility. The major sticking point remains security. Fully 97% of CSPs name security as a major consideration when deciding between public, private and hybrid cloud. Control is the second most important factor, at 84%.
The major cloud providers, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, however, are making every effort to win over CSPs to public cloud infrastructure. In addition to creating telco-specific cloud services, they address security by connecting their data centers with their own secure private networks, providing edge locations in many countries around the globe. And indeed, the report indicates signs that their endeavors are paying off.
Digital transformation does not begin and end in the cloud, of course. The DTT 5 explores how the telecom industry is tackling several keys aspects of digital transformation, including the strategic impact of 5G and the business of connectivity.
Download the report to find out more.
