Cloud Native Enables Telcos' Digital Future

Mobile Internet and the Internet of Things are delivering a stream of new technologies, new services, and new business models. In particular, the rise of over-the-top (OTT) services has disrupted old value chains, and posed new challenges to telecom operators. But these changes also mean new opportunities. Telcos can find their way back to the top of the digital services pyramid, but they will need to build All Cloud networks, and go through their own digital revolution.

Now that ICT has united information technology and communications technology, new technologies and concepts can be a shared resource for both industries. For example, the Cloud Native concept came from IT, where it informed a new wave of distributed software design. This same concept is now being applied to the architecture of cloudified telecom networks. Network equipment is increasingly standardized and virtualized. With Cloud Native software, networks can become fully distributed and automated, meaning that they will be elastic, robust, and agile.

You want network scale out/scale in within seconds? Deployment of new services completed in minutes? An inspired user experience, anywhere, anytime? With a Cloud Native telecom network, it's a piece of cake.

Three strengths of Cloud Native networks

Cloud Native telecom networks offer three key advantages: elasticity, robustness, and agility.

Elastic: The Cloud Native network has a distributed architecture, so resources can be dynamically deployed wherever they are needed to support applications. It is a "sensing" network that recognizes the services deployed; and an elastic network that can adapt to support them. There are two types of elasticity: capacity elasticity and topology elasticity. Capacity elasticity means that all network resources are pooled. Network software can orchestrate any part of the fabric across multiple data centers, and capacity is no longer the bottleneck. Topology elasticity means the ability to deploy resources to whatever geographical location they are required, enabled by control/user plane separation and service orchestration.

Robust: An intelligent network builds in robustness at the network and service levels. The network is decentralized, with stateless elements, N-way redundancy, and inter-DC service provisioning. Active fault injection, monitoring, and self-healing processes are combined with big data analysis and management of services, enabling fault prediction and automated controls. Ultimately, an intelligent network can deliver reliable connectivity even over unreliable infrastructure.

Agile: Agility means service orchestration + programmability + A/B test. Flexible service assembly, service autonomy, and distributed deployment are achieved by decomposing network functions into micro services, and applying a service governance framework, data model, and a programmable user interface. Services and new functions can be delivered as needed, so the network can instantly respond to the needs of very different services required by different industries.

How Cloud Native networks bring value

A Cloud Native telecom network enables a telco to increase the efficiency of network asset usage. It supports more efficient O&M. It can cut the costs of trial and error, enable fast innovation in services, and support a telco through its digital transformation so that it can capture new business. There are three key areas in which a Cloud Native network delivers value:

Efficiency: A Cloud Native network uses standardized infrastructure: the same hardware, the same spare boards and equipment. This means savings in total cost of ownership. N-way redundancy in place of the old 1+1 backup model means more efficient use of resources. Centralized deployment and stateless design mean that the network can be self-healing. And offline debugging means lower costs for network operations and maintenance.

Inspired experience: A Cloud Native network can deliver carrier-class reliability even without high-reliability infrastructure. More importantly, with Cloud Native, telecom networks can remain elastic all the time and are able to adapt their resources and deployment topologies to services and scenarios. In this way, they can deliver the best user experience. For example, user plane functionality can be generated locally to support the very low latency required by virtual reality or connected driving services.

Agile innovation: Network-as-a-service architecture supports fast innovation in services, as well as fast service assembly. Network programmability and A/B test mean that the costs of trial and error can be reduced, enabling bolder, quicker, agile innovation.

Evolution of Cloud Native networks

NFV solutions alone will not enable telcos to address the challenges of the future. The entire network architecture needs to be cloudified to make telcos Cloud Native.

The Huawei Cloud Core Network has All Cloud architecture. It was designed entirely on Cloud Native principles: N-way redundancy, inter-DC provisioning, KPI-based active fault prevention and recovery. And Cloud Native VNF is already widely adopted on cloud core networks. As of January 2017, Huawei has won over 170 contracts for cloud core networks. In September 2016, Huawei's NFV solution was named Best NFV/SDN Solution at 5G Asia in Singapore, in recognition of its Cloud Native architecture, its leading capability to evolve to future networks, and commercial success.

Huawei is a strategic partner and co-innovator with Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and other leading world operators on their Cloud Native strategies. At MWC 2017, we will be presenting a Cloud Native demonstration developed with Vodafone. Looking to the future, Huawei will continue to help operators build more open, more innovative, more sustainable ecosystems around their Cloud Native networks. Together, we can create more new services and more value. Together we can succeed in the digital era.

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About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider. As a responsible and robust business player, innovative information society enabler, and cooperative industry contributor, Huawei is committed to building a Better Connected World. Through our dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, we have established end-to-end capabilities and strengths across carrier, enterprise, consumer, and cloud computing domains. Huawei's 180,000 employees worldwide create maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services have been deployed in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company that is fully owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com.