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There is intense competition in the telecom sector. Customer expectations have increased.

That’s why telecom operators can no longer afford to use legacy network infrastructure. They are not built for the current type of services. Network infrastructure modernization has become so important in this context. The modern network infrastructure is more resilient and scalable than the legacy infrastructure. It helps prepare telecom operators to thrive in a hyper-competitive space. One way to modernize the network infrastructure is through network virtualization.

Unlike the traditional networks dependent on physical hardware, the virtualized ones deliver the network resources through software. So, operators are able to respond to market changes quickly and with more agility.

In fact, Network Function Virtualization (a kind of network virtualization that allows operators to virtualize specific network resources) is growing so significantly that a study predicts its market size to grow at a CAGR of 22.9% by 2024.

Let’s delve further to understand the impact it could have on the telecom sector.

Impact Of Network Virtualization On The Telecom Sector

Prepares for 5G

There will be 3 billion active 5G subscriptions in Asia and North America by 2024. 5G is expected to be a boon for the connected world we live in right now as it lowers the latency, reduces costs, accelerates the data speed, and reduces battery consumption. Considering that 5G will become a mainstay in the future, operators need to be prepared for it. However, 5G requires flexible and scalable infrastructure, which the monolithic architecture of the legacy network cannot promise. Operators need to virtualize their network architecture to support 5G capabilities. 5G works on the foundational idea of delivering all types of telecom service from anywhere, so it cannot work well with proprietary infrastructure. It works well with a service-based architecture in which multiple software networks are supported. Network virtualization can offer that flexibility. Network slicing is another 5G feature that virtualization could support, i.e., the physical network could be sliced into different virtualized networks to exchange resources efficiently.

Reduces costs

Network virtualization could reduce operation costs by 60%. Legacy network architecture required heavy investments in physical hardware. Operators had to also provision for more hardware investments in the future. Network virtualization is software-based and could potentially solve some of these issues. Operators can save costs on different network resources such as switching, routing, firewalling, etc. They are pooled and delivered through software and only require an IP packet forwarding from the physical network. Operators don’t have to worry about future scalability. The network resources can be scaled up if the demand grows and the capacity to scale up is available.

Provides more agility

Telecom operators can no longer rest on their past innovations for years to generate revenue. They have to innovate to stay agile and meet customer demands. Unfortunately, legacy network architecture cannot support such quick changes. Network virtualization provides that agility. The scalable and elastic nature of network virtualization allows operators to virtualize their hardware resource pool, improve their workflows, and support a range of applications. It helps the operators to launch services quickly and respond to the market changes by reducing the time-to-market.

Improves network security

Network virtualization enables telecom operators to support complex network security needs. As connected devices and data exchanges increase, the need for network security has increased. Legacy networks lack the capability to secure the increasing workload. Network virtualization enables operators to improve network security to safeguard data centres across the world and thus secure the data. Also, considering that technologies such as 5G require network slicing, there’s more network security guarantee. Network slicing separates the network resources. Each of these slices has its own authentication process. So, it’s easier to detect changes in behaviour patterns and traffic and mitigate the security risks accordingly.

Enhances operational efficiency

Network virtualization has become a necessity for operators to enhance their operational efficiency. First, the operators can save time on deploying hardware and other support systems. They also don’t have to follow the legacy processes that, by design, function in silos or rely on the IT team to configure each hardware system manually. Virtualization enables operators to automate the processes, so the teams can quickly deploy solutions to the increasing customer demands and achieve operational efficiency.

Conclusion

Network virtualization is changing the way operators consider business. It has opened more opportunities for operators to keep pace with emerging technologies like 5G and IoT and open a new revenue stream. However, mobile operators need to rethink the network architecture. They need to move away from using monolithic architecture and plan how to deploy it in their organization. A partial or complex overhaul of the network architecture could get complicated. That’s why operators need to work with experts who understand the virtualization model thoroughly and can help them with the transition and leverage the full potential of network virtualization.

Business phone systems have undergone massive transformations since their early days of using manual switchboards and a complex web of exchanges and lines to present-day infrastructure that predominantly operates via internet-based VOIP mechanisms.

Talking about the present, VOIP also is in a phase of transition as businesses seek to leverage more flexibility and ease of use in their telephone infrastructure. Networks have improved and so has SaaS technology. This has given rise to cloud telephony services taking the market by storm. Virtual exchanges set up on the cloud enable businesses to leverage a global platform for operating their business phone number from literally anywhere on the planet. Studies estimate that by 2027, the cloud telephony market will be worth over USD 40 billion globally.

The COVID 19 pandemic of 2020 was an eye-opener for corporations across the world as millions of employees worldwide had to quickly move into a remote working mode as offices and establishments remained shut. Even though the world is slowly limping back to normalcy, the corporate work culture may never be the same again. Surveys by McKinsey pointed out that nearly 80% of respondents were happier and enjoyed remote working. With minimal instances of productivity loss, companies too may not be too inflexible with their work location policies in the future.

In short, we are looking at a blended workplace model in the future where the focus is on getting the job done irrespective of where the employee chooses to work from.

But then comes the tougher challenge of empowering and equipping staff with the necessary tools and resources to help them work remotely without disruption. A key item in the minds of enterprise CIOs in this regard would be business communication systems and cloud telephony make for an optimal case here.

Now coming to what CIOs must take note of while looking to implement a business phone system based on cloud telephony in their organization. Let us explore the 5 essentials that enterprise CIOs need to factor in while transitioning into cloud telephony for their business phone system:

Unlimited Extensions

As an organization extends its geographical bases of operation, more departments may end up distributed across locations, geographies, and countries. For end customers, their need is simple. They want a quick connection and minimal extensions dialed to reach the desired department or personnel. While setting up the cloud telephone network for a business, CIO’s must ensure that the platform or service provider they choose offers unlimited extension dialing globally for the configured business phone numbers. This is a powerful communication feature that is in high demand for enterprise phone systems worldwide today.

Targeted Localization

When businesses run marketing campaigns targeting specific geographies or localities within countries they operate, it is imperative to provide a contact number that local residents can identify as being localized to their region. That will improve the trust and credibility of the business and can drive more ROI from marketing campaigns. The cloud telephony system that the business selects should be able to offer dedicated phone numbers that can be localized to regions where new promotions or campaigns are being exclusively pursued by sales and marketing teams.

Collaborative Conferencing

In the age of remote work, the seamless collaboration of peers is a key factor that determines impact and productivity. Also, there may be instances where a set of customers or potential customers may have to be engaged through a joint meeting or audio-conferencing session. The cloud business phone system that an organization selects should be able to provide a seamless audio-conferencing framework for organizing quick meetings. It should facilitate easy on-boarding for diallers, have unlimited capacity, and offer high-end reliability.

Device Flexibility

Employees who need to use the business phone system will require access to the system from a wide range of devices like their laptops, office computers, or even their smartphones and Tablet PCs. Given that we are in the digital age, these devices could again be diversified into Android or iOS devices. CIOs need to ensure that the business phone system deployed at the organization offers a global mobile dialing system via VOIP that empowers employees to make or receive calls from the business phone network through dedicated apps on devices of their choice. This flexibility will be a key requirement in the future where more employees worldwide are likely to remain working from home with the accompanying device complexity.

Easy Deployment and Resilience

A business phone system is a crucial communication tool that is likely to become the backbone of the collaborative infrastructure of any organization. Once implemented it should be able to support a wide range of desired communication features and policies as expected by any modern-day enterprise. With cloud telephony in the picture, CIOs need to ensure that they drive investments on a platform that has been proven for resilience, flexibility, and easy deployment.

Every business requires seamless communication infrastructure to nurture relationships between customers as well as among its employees. Enabling a highly functional business phone system via cloud telephony can put a business on the right track to achieve this kind of communication excellence. CIO’s, while making the decision to switch to cloud telephony, must ensure that they select the right platform for setting up a guaranteed and disruption-free telecommunication ecosystem that can truly power their organization.

Category: SMS

A Look At Network Virtualization And The Impact On The Telecom Sector