The service-driven network: evolving today’s network to meet tomorrow’s needs
By looking at the network as a service, rather than as an enabler, the full potential of the network is unlocked.
28 Sep 2018
The service-driven network: evolving today’s network to meet tomorrow’s needs
When today’s networks deliver a service, they do so in a pre-defined, pre-programmable way. But as we venture further into the digital era, the time has come to think beyond simple connectivity. A service-driven network goes beyond just communications: it looks at how service providers define, launch and assure services on the network in an intelligent way.
The service-driven network provides an approach that links business enablement systems with the transformed network to accelerate innovation and service agility. This includes:
Leveraging the latest IT technologies such as cloud, virtualization and analytics-driven automation to create a programmable network and enable the network as a service
Defining the intention or expectation of a service, and what it needs to deliver to the customer
Adjusting the network to deliver the services customers expect by dynamically mapping service intentions to the required network capabilities
Enabling and assuring services on the network through a full understanding of the end-to-end service context
Empowering advanced customers like enterprises to build their own network (BYON) so that they can, for example, add capacity on demand, pay only for what they use or create a new, secure collaboration network.
All this is achieved through intuitive, clickable design and self-management interfaces. And while the approach promises agile service delivery and enhanced customer experience, doing so requires a much deeper connection between the network and the service provider’s business. By looking at the network as a service, rather than as an enabler, the full potential of the network is unlocked.
Fig. 1. The service-driven network - enabling service innovation and agility
Network transformation: a prerequisite for digital transformation
In the digital world, CSPs are facing a surge in user sophistication and customer expectations, as well as intensifying competition from flexible, cloud-based OTT players like Amazon and Google. These market changes are forcing them to shift from traditional communication service provider to digital service provider – a shift that demands digital transformation strategies to meet the future needs of consumer and business customers. As a result, CSPs are being driven to sharpen their focus on customer experience by employing digital technologies and providing a seamlessly integrated and complex array of service offerings.
Becoming a flexible, innovative digital service provider is dependent on introducing the right BSS/OSS capabilities, up-to-date operational processes, and even organizational and cultural change. Also key to success in the digital world is the transformation to software infrastructure designed for re-use and automation. Network virtualization opens a new way to deploy and operate networks with greater flexibility and agility.
Why evolve to the service-driven network?
Networks must be closely integrated with the business, operations, inventory and customer management functions. For CSPs, this means creating tight integration between the service creation environment, service catalog, customer management, ordering and inventory systems, as well as network policy and assurance systems. The goal is to create a harmonized platform that can manage network scaling and resources in real time, with an awareness of services, the associated customer experience and SLAs.
According to TM Forum’s ‘Digital Transformation Tracker 1: The race is on’ however, the lack of agile BSS/OSS and sophisticated orchestration capabilities are the top operational inhibitors for CSPs’ NFV deployments.
Fig. 2 Ranking the operational inhibitors for NFV, TM Forum’s Digital Transformation Tracker 1: The race is on
The service-driven management layer addresses these challenges by providing a programmable network administration and management interface between the network and the business. This Network as a Service (NaaS) enablement layer is the necessary “glue” between the business and the network. Virtualization, orchestration, automation, analytics and cloud are the building blocks of this layer. Together, they provide the means to move from a static network to an agile one – with highly efficient network resource allocation, real-time performance monitoring and control, as well as the ability to monetize new capabilities like network slicing and network-on-demand. For business customers, this introduces the ability to customize their own services through BYON and capacity-on-demand.
5 steps to the service-driven network
Evolving to a service-driven network incorporates one or more of the following steps:
Transition to a virtual network: accelerate service innovation and time to deliver through orchestration and automation, open source and partnerships, intelligence and analytics
Hybrid network operations: enable a smooth transition to hybrid network operations through IT modernization, harmonizing complex operations such as design, fulfilment, inventory or order orchestration across hybrid physical and virtual networks
Network rollout acceleration: boost network densification, speed and quality of experience through highly automated processes to significantly reduce time and cost of deployment
Autonomous service assurance: service intent-driven automated service assurance, which paves the way for fully autonomous / zero-touch operations
5G readiness: transition to 4.9G and 5G with business-driven, intelligent network densification and analytics.
The link between BSS and the network
The service-driven network management layer binds the network domain (a network cloud for advanced service providers, or a hybrid network) to the services domain (customer-facing, with commerce and care functions, for example).
The goal of the service management layer is to abstract the network to make it service-aware and agile, thereby exposing network capabilities to the different services, and adjusting them according to use cases and other relevant parameters. Meanwhile, the service-driven network layer provides integrated service lifecycle management incorporating service creation, service catalog and inventory, customer management and billing, ordering and fulfilment, as well as policy and assurance systems. Together, they create a harmonized platform that manages network scalability and resources in real time based on awareness of the overlying services, SLAs and ultimately, the customer experience.
The end-to-end service lifecycle is simplified by:
Software control and advanced analytical and statistical capabilities to orchestrate and operate the end-to-end service
Simplifying network processes through policy-driven automation so that service providers can optimize operations to address customer needs
Design capabilities for all aspects of the service, including BSS definitions, policies and SLAs, for modeling, fulfillment and repair processes.
Fig. 3 End-to-end network service lifecycle management
In addition, real-time service fulfilment, resource allocation and provisioning deliver the business agility necessary for success in today’s digital era through closed-loop automation, and rapid innovation and monetization. For CSPs, this opens access to new high-margin revenue streams – in particular, expanded opportunities to offer business customers value-added services such as BYON.
Why Amdocs for the service-driven network?
In the digital era, CSPs face disruption from increasing customer expectations, new market players – and the network itself. What was once a static, structured network has become dynamic, agile, open and multi-vendor, software-controlled and programmable. To fully realize these benefits, the network needs to be service-driven and aware of its capabilities - no matter what the underlying network layers are, the connection between network and services is the game-changer.
Amdocs Service-Driven Network offering provides the smart software to autonomously operate a software-based network. We have the software products, the open source community and the open network ecosystem, as well as the expert services and experience, to help major CSPs worldwide to deliver a true digital experience – all the way from the customer and the employee to the network.
About Amdocs
Amdocs is a leading software & services provider to the world’s most successful communications and media companies. As our customers reinvent themselves, we enable their digital and network transformation through innovative solutions, delivery expertise and intelligent operations.
Amdocs and its 25,000 employees serve customers in over 85 countries. Listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Amdocs had revenue of $3.9 billion in fiscal 2017. Find out more about Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.