As operators’ “To-Do” lists get longer, Cisco is positioning itself as a “one-stop shop” for services
Just as humans evolved from Ramapithecus to Australopithecus to Homo Erectus to Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis, networks have evolved from Frame Relay to Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) to Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) to Software-defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN). Similarly, the cellular standard has evolved into its current form, 5G New Radio, with an ongoing branching evolution from Non-standalone 5G to Standalone 5G. Point being, according to a new blog from Stephen Spiers of Cisco, the notion and nomenclature of “network transformation is really…mis-leading…Network evolution is more appropriate and it’s a journey, not a destination, because next year, like Darwin recognized, our species of network will evolve further.”
The blog is partly a reflection on Geoffrey A. Moore’s new book “Dealing with Darwin: How Great Companies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution,” and partly a pitch for Cisco’s Business Critical Services suite. The goal of this Cisco product is to help service providers deal with concurrent shifts from hardware to software, from legacy systems to modern infrastructure, and “building an outside-in picture” to support network and organizational resiliency, adaptability and transformation.
In the context of 5G, service providers are in a tricky position at the moment. Internally, they’re moving to more IT-centric, cloud-native networks that require an overhaul of the network and the development of skill sets necessary to make highest and best use of this massive network investment—think fewer network engineers and more cloud architects, breaking down data silos for unified visibility, and embracing a DevOps culture. As operators do this for themselves, they’re also trying to sell this vision into enterprises which, as consumer mobile reaches a saturation point in developed markets (evidenced by stagnating ARPUs), are seen as the path forward in terms of generating new 5G-enabled service revenues.
Why’s this tricky? You’re only going to sell so many SIM cards, service plans, and devices to consumers. Enterprises, on the other hand, don’t necessarily think about let’s call it “digital” investments in those same terms. They want to buy business outcomes; that means operators need to understand the desired business outcomes of vertical sectors—automotive, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, retail, etc…—and deliver that in a manner that aligns with the consumption preferences of, well, look at the Global Fortune 500 list and pick a company.
Back to Spiers: “There will be more mature parts of your network, using technologies that have been deployed perhaps for a good number of years. Are you considering the implications of upcoming product ‘end of life’ schedules? Have you applied the latest patches and—perhaps more critical—security advisories? Have you considered how you continually optimize those parts of the network? Have you considered how you can reduce your power consumption and contribute more to your organization’s ‘green strategy’ objectives?
“At the same time, you may be challenged with rolling out 5G…NSA to more cell sites. While at the same time, planning your ongoing adoption of cloud-native 5G…SA, and figuring our your plan to introduce Open RAN cell sites into your network. This amounts to quite a ‘To-Do’ list.”
Given the billions of precious capital dollars operators are pouring into 5G, and the ever-amplified pressure to monetize those investments and realize not just ROI but revenue growth, the boxes on that “To-Do” list need to start getting checked off with a quickness. And that’s where Cisco sees itself fitting in. “Net-net,” Spiers writes, “…leveraging Cisco Business Critical Services can be your one-stop shop to help ensure [your] network’s ongoing evolution.”
