To combat this, many have moved these services to the cloud; removing the need for expensive, proprietary equipment and personnel by moving their systems to cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure. Companies like Twitter rely on these services as well. They purchase their data services from AWS. When Twitter sees a spike in use, they need more capacity. AWS Provides more capacity - and so the cycle continues.
Cloud Services and NFV – Not so Distant Cousins
Communication Service Providers face these same challenges, and then some. After all, they’ve developed some of the most demanding and complex networks on the planet. Their version of cloud services is called NFV.
Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is completely altering how we think about service provider networks - disrupting how they purchase, implement and manage both hardware and software. Just like businesses who have moved their IT infrastructure and services to the cloud, NFV is doing the same for communication service providers around the world, removing the need for costly hardware updates and greatly simplifying how software is purchased and updated as well. With NFV, you aren’t buying custom hardware appliances. Instead you are buying the services that run on the hardware. And this time, you only have to purchase what you need. No more, no less.
Just a Slice
Let’s use an apple as a metaphor for a piece of expensive proprietary network hardware. In the past, you may have only wanted two slices of apple, but you didn’t have that option. You had to purchase and store the whole thing. With NFV, now you can slice the apple any way you like- so you only have to buy as much as you need, when you need it. And better yet, if your business grows, the apple can become as big as you need it to be. In fact, it can become absolutely HUGE, instantly. For communication networks, whose requirements constantly wax and wane depending on subscriber demand, this is revolutionary. As business requirements change, you simply buy more or less as needed. Everything scales up and shrinks down in accordance with requirements, and if you need more or less tomorrow, that’s okay too.
Pay-as-You-Go
With NFV, services become ‘elastic’, so you can consume a little or a lot, depending on your needs. And costs are reduced as well. Since services are now sold on a pay-as-you-go basis, there is no need to purchase more than is needed for that moment in time. Compare a battery to a typical electric meter. With the battery you have to buy energy the way it is packaged, not the way it is consumed. But with a typical household electric meter, homeowners can use and pay for as much or as little electricity as they need. This shift in usage and payments may seem small, but it is revolutionizing the way networks are built and used.
Revenue Assurance for Elastic Billing – Real-time Rating and Billing Validation
The ability to apply elastic pricing and billing for network services is a huge cost-saver for communication service providers, but it requires more oversight. Instead of paying a flat rate for the whole apple, now payments are more complex, with rates fluctuating not just based on how many slices of ‘apple’ you want to buy, but on things like time of day, availability, KPI and QoS requirements, and even market demand. This requires extensive, real-time revenue assurance capabilities, to ensure the services that are purchased are those that are actually delivered, and at the correct rate.
A Symphony of Cloud Services
To manage this constantly evolving, dynamic flow of service requests and resources, an NFV Orchestrator is required. Just like the conductor of an orchestra who can create a crescendo from the violin or French horn section with just a wave the baton, the NFV Orchestrator oversees the use and management of complex cloud-based systems and tools, automating tasks across technologies and organizations.
At WeDo Technologies, we are working with the TeleManagment Forum (TMF) and technology partners on a catalyst program called ‘Maximizing Profitability with NFV Orchestration’. We will be showcasing our important work in this space at the upcoming TMF Live! Event in Nice, France from May 9 – 12th. We hope that you will join us there to see how service providers can automate their NFV infrastructure as well as service operations, saving both money and time.