Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives

Network automation survey:

CSPs’ automation initiatives

Anil Rao
Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 2

About this report

Analysys Mason conducted a survey in June 2019 to assess the GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE
key business drivers and motivations for network automation. We
▪ Worldwide
surveyed 52 communications service providers (CSPs) from Asia–
Pacific, Europe and North America, across all CSP tiers, and
carried out detailed interviews with 10 CSPs. Survey participants
provided answers to a series of close-ended questions and the
interviews entailed in-depth conversations with senior CSP
executives. All participants were from CSPs that are advanced in
their thinking and deployment of network orchestrators. This
report provides the results of a subset of our questions; please
refer to our white paper1 for the full survey results.

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS REPORT WHO SHOULD READ THIS REPORT

▪ How important is increasing network automation overall to your ▪ Executives that are responsible for the following business functions
company? within CSPs.
▪ What is the status of network automation initiatives at your company? − Network engineering
▪ What is driving your network automation initiative? − Network and service operations
− Head of network automation and OSS
− Director in network transformation

1 For more information, see Analysys Mason’s End-to-end network orchestration: CSPs are taking a stepwise approach.
Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives

Contents Executive summary

Analysis and key findings

About the author and Analysys Mason

Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 4

Executive summary

Network automation is becoming a key strategic initiative for Figure 1: Key findings from our survey about the state of
communications service providers (CSPs). Our survey found network automation
that network automation use cases are being implemented
widely, and opex reduction was cited as the top business driver.
The use cases are still in their infancy; efforts are limited to
automating repetitive configuration and provisioning tasks and
the orchestration of a single networking domain.1
Analysys Mason conducted a survey of 52 CSPs in June 2019,
followed by in-depth interviews with a subset of 10 CSPs. The
panel included a range of CSPs from North America, Europe and
Asia–Pacific from large Tier-1 group CSPs to smaller Tier-4 CSPs.
This report presents the key findings from our survey about the
state of network automation among CSPs.

K E Y F I N D I N GS

1. Network automation is a top-three initiative for 50% of the

CSPs that were surveyed; 75% listed it in their top five.
2. More than half the CSPs surveyed have already
implemented some network automation and are now
working on advanced automation.
3. Opex reduction was the main motivation for CSPs to
implement automation, followed by improved operational
accuracy and reduced time to market.
Source: Analysys Mason

1 For more information, see Analysys Mason’s Network automation: a solution framework for service agility and cost economics in
cloud-enabled 5G networks.
Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives

Contents Executive summary

Analysis and key findings

About the author and Analysys Mason

Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 6

Network automation is a top-three initiative for 50% of the CSPs surveyed

The operational complexity introduced by NFV, SDN and cloud- Figure 2: The importance of increasing network automation for
native 5G networks, combined with the need to support CSPs, 20192
complex digital services based on network slicing using intent-
driven networking is driving CSPs to prioritise network
automation.
The CSPs in our survey that were based in Asia–Pacific placed a
particularly strong emphasis on automation; 82% of them
classified network automation as a top-five initiative, compared to
around 70% of CSPs from Europe and North America. Tier-1 and 2
CSPs were more also committed to network automation than
smaller CSPs; 82% of them considered it to be a top-five initiative,
compared to 67% of Tier-3 and 4 CSPs.1
The subset of CSPs that we interviewed largely concurred with the
sentiment from the wider group of surveyed CSPs. Most of them
considered there to be a close link between 5G and network
automation.

“We have a huge, complex network consisting of fixed, broadband,

television, mobile, data, and enterprise solutions. As the entire telecom
industry is getting ready for the introduction of 5G, network virtualisation
and automation is the need of the hour. On top of that we have more than
400 million mobile customers and we consider automation is one of the
top three initiatives to enhance customer experience.”

Tier-1 multi-country CSP from Europe

1 For more information, see Analysys Mason’s End-to-end network orchestration: CSPs are taking a stepwise approach.
2 Question: How important is increasing network automation overall to your company?; n = 52.
Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 7

More than half the CSPs surveyed have already implemented some network
automation and are now working on advanced automation
52% of the CSPs surveyed have implemented network Figure 3: The status of network automation initiatives within
automation in some form. 17% of CSPs have deployed cross- CSPs, 20191
domain orchestration with the aim to achieve closed-loop
automation.
Our interviews revealed that most CSPs recognise that the
journey to full network automation is stepwise, and will progress
by automating one domain at a time and scaling up as more
domains are virtualised. The majority of the CSPs stated that they
have started their automation journey in a single domain using an
SDN controller or a component of the ETSI MANO (VNF manager
or NFV orchestrator), and that they have a roadmap to implement
multi-domain SDN control and end-to-end orchestration.
CSPs noted that hurdles to full network automation remain. For
example, achieving handovers between orchestration systems is
proving difficult due to issues with the automatic configuration of
VNFs. “We are actively
developing our own cross-
domain orchestration and
“We are trying to achieve automated zero touch network provisioning and doing pilots with multiple
configuration. This includes on-boarding of services and configuration of VNF vendors as well as
backhaul with minimal human interventions. The focus is first on the orchestrator vendors.”
automation of core network functions. Orchestration benefits will become
visible once the domains are virtualised and cross domain integrations
are in play.”

Tier-1 single country CSP in Asia

1 Question: What is the status of network automation initiatives at your company?; n = 52.
Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 8

Reducing opex and manual errors were the main drivers of network automation, and
about 50% of CSPs are using network automation to launch services more quickly
CSPs are under pressure to significantly reduce operational Figure 4: The drivers of CSPs’ network automation initiatives,
costs to make up for flatlining revenue, even as they execute 20191
their network virtualisation strategies. The complexities of NFV,
SDN and cloud technologies will cause opex to increase further
if CSPs persist with the existing operational model that is highly
manual and reactive.
Network automation is an essential component of most CSPs’
strategies to reduce opex and increase operational accuracy.
Furthermore, the dynamic nature of the virtual network enables
intent-driven networking, thereby allowing rapid service innovation
and reduction in service provisioning times.

“The current market is extremely price competitive and thus there is

limited scope to increase profits via existing revenue streams. Therefore,
for increased profitability, cost regulation initiatives via network
orchestration are being considered.”

Tier-1 CSP in North America

“Introduction of 5G”
“Requested by customers”
“We face a big challenge in reducing the operational costs and human
errors caused by developers and engineers that result in network
downtime. The downtime leads to a bad customer experience that further
negatively impacts the NPS.”

Tier-1 multi-country CSP from Europe

1 Question: What is driving your network automation initiative?; n = 52.

Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 9

Key findings

1
Network automation is a top-three initiative for 50% of the CSPs that were surveyed; 75% listed it in their top
five.
The operational complexity introduced by NFV, SDN and cloud-native 5G networks, combined with the need to
support complex digital services based on network slicing using intent-driven networking is driving CSPs to
prioritise network automation.

2
More than half the CSPs surveyed have already implemented some network automation and are now working
on advanced automation.
The majority of the CSPs surveyed stated that they have started their network automation journey in a single
domain by deploying either an SDN controller or a component of the ETSI MANO (VNF manager or NFV
orchestrator), and that they have a roadmap to implement multi-domain SDN control and end-to-end orchestration.

3
Opex reduction was the main motivation for CSPs to implement automation, followed by improved operational
accuracy and reduced time to market.
CSPs are under pressure to significantly reduce operational costs while supporting the massive operational scale
and capacity that is required for future 5G use cases, even as they execute their network virtualisation strategies.
The complexities of NFV, SDN and cloud technologies will make the existing manual operations model
unsustainable.
Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives

Contents Executive summary and recommendations

Analysis

About the author and Analysys Mason

Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 11

About the author

Anil Rao (Principal Analyst) is the lead analyst for the Automated Assurance and Service Design and Orchestration research programmes,
covering a broad range of topics on the existing and new-age operational systems that will power operators’ digital transformations. His main
areas of focus include service creation, provisioning and service operations in NFV/SDN-based networks, 5G, IoT and edge clouds; the use of
analytics, ML and AI to increase operations efficiency and agility; and the broader imperatives around operations automation and zero touch
networks. Anil also works with clients on a range of consulting engagements. He is a frequent speaker and chair at industry events, and holds a
BEng in Computer Science from the University of Mysore and an MBA from Lancaster University Management School, UK.
Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 12

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Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 13

Research from Analysys Mason

Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives 14

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Network automation survey: CSPs’ automation initiatives

PUBLISHED BY ANALYSYS MASON LIMITED IN MARCH 2020

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