Nokia, in collaboration with research firm Analysys Mason has launched the Quantifying benefits of optical network automation report. Amongst its findings, the report detailed that operators can expect up to 81% cost savings after deploying optical network automation for network and service lifecycle management.
To conduct the report, Nokia and Analysys Mason interviewed global operators who have deployed network operations and service automation processes with Nokia WaveSuite, a platform that automates optical transport.
The role of automation in network and service lifecycle management
Analysys Mason found the benefits of optical network automation could span multiple areas of network and service lifecycle management, such as reducing network lifecycle management operational costs by up to 56% by simplifying complex network operations tasks for shorter time to provision, configure, deploy and manage optical networks.
The 81% saving on service delivery, said the report, could be achieved by reducing the labour taken to complete service order orchestration, service fulfilment and service assurance processes.
Meanwhile, operators could save 26% on capital expenditure by optimising network resources and retiring legacy network equipment and even see a 10% uplift in anticipated revenue from the improved win rates, combined with an accelerated time-to-market for services and the ability to offer differentiated services through optical network slicing and network-as-a-service business models.
Network automation and service order fulfilment
The report also predicted that automation could decrease the time taken for service order fulfilment, from an average of 10 days to 24 hours, which could contribute to around 90% savings in operational costs. This, said the companies, enabled a Tier-1 North American operator to improve their win rates by 5x.
Justin van der Lande, Research Director at Analysys Mason, says: “Optical network automation is providing tangible benefits in real-world deployments. The technology is now moving past the early adopter phase and network operators who don’t implement optical automation will be at a considerable disadvantage in terms of cost, ability to generate additional revenue and time to market for new services.”
Ravi Parmasad, Optical Network Automation Leader at Nokia, adds: “Customers who have adopted the advanced automation capabilities of Nokia WaveSuite are reaping the benefits at every stage of the network and service lifecycle. It’s helping them plan, configure, deploy and manage their networks using fewer resources and less time, reducing time to market.”
