High-profile live events can create the perfect storm for network providers. Any dip in performance can mean the difference between winning and missing out.
Next-generation devices that allow for high-quality video streaming, IoT integration and 5G connectivity are at the centre of an explosion in data consumption on a global scale. When peak moments occur, and a worldwide audience tunes in to stream, share, and converse, legacy networks face unprecedented demands that they weren’t designed to accommodate.
In a previous blog we looked into why automation alone isn’t enough to address these challenges. To ensure that customers can enjoy richer, more connected experiences, providers need to go beyond automation.
Here are four key ways an Adaptive Network can help:
1) Increasing network agility and efficiency. Because the Adaptive Network turns the network into a dynamic, programmable infrastructure built on analytics and automation, it helps meet growing bandwidth needs with on-demand scalability. As well as helping operators to handle incremental traffic growth and unpredictable demand peaks, an Adaptive Network supports real-time scaling and resource-allocation to support differentiated QoS for different applications and use cases, paving the way for commercial 5G services.
The agility of an Adaptive Network also helps operators to maximise efficiency by automating a wide range of manual networking processes, from routine service provisioning and turn-up, to resource discovery and traffic routing over the best available components and paths. In this way, it helps operators compete effectively with even the largest connectivity providers.
2) Future-proofing the network with industry leading packet-optical solutions. Ciena has created the industry’s most scalable portfolio of programmable, packet-optical network infrastructure to help operators meet massively growing bandwidth demand up to the edge. Our packet-optical solutions cover the metro edge, between data centres, the backbone core, and submarine. This packet-optical market leadership, enabled by consistently high R&D investment, is based on our deployed 100G, 200G, and 400G capable in-house modem technology, supported by a unique combination of software intelligence to bring the best of optical innovation to the market.
Our leading technology portfolio also supports seamless convergence of voice and data traffic for mobile operators. This will allow operators to integrate 4G and 5G traffic in the future, and to deliver it extremely cost effectively across a unified infrastructure.
By ensuring that the network can keep pace with exponential increases in bandwidth demands and new services requirements (low latency, high availability) our packet-optical portfolio protects our clients’ business for the long-term.
3) Helping avoid vendor lock-in with open networking. Many network providers design their portfolios to work together, however, infrastructure is becoming increasingly complex, needing to integrate components and processes in multi-vendor environments. This approach requires large-scale “lift-and-shift” infrastructure upgrades which are costly and disruptive, as well as reducing ROI on existing network equipment.
To maximise cost efficiency and value for our clients, Ciena’s portfolio of hardware and software are designed on the principle of openness. This allows operators to tie an entire network infrastructure together into a single environment that delivers value for the business and end-customers long-term.
As well as integrating all equipment – both legacy and new – Ciena can help monitor and manage multi-vendor networks with a centralised, integrated set of tools. This capability is delivered by Ciena’s Blue Planet software suite and our Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) software, which gives full visibility of resources and services across multi-vendor domains, with tools to troubleshoot and manage diverse infrastructure components remotely.
4) Driving network innovation in strategic partnership. Finally, but equally importantly, Ciena is a strategic partner for global operators. Based on our financial and operational stability, we are able to commit to continual innovation of our portfolio, ensuring that our clients can embrace emerging opportunities and take future network challenges in our stride.
