Network functions virtualization has begun to receive a lot of attention as wireless carriers look for ways to rein in spending as they roll out next-generation networks and services. A recent blog post from Ciena notes that in 2014 the move to NFV will merge with increased reliance on cloud-based services to allow greater virtualization possibilities and perhaps revenue opportunities.
“NFV allows the service control logic and data plane processing functions to be virtualized and performed on common off-the-shelf hardware servers, with each function elastically grown and shrunk as necessary. Sound familiar? Network operators expect the same agility, efficiency, and operational gains that cloud computing brought to enterprise IT to be realized when delivering telecom services,” explained Mitch Auster, senior director of market development at Ciena.
Auster went on to explain that a telecom operator providing cloud services could “leverage a common cloud data center to support a whole range of virtualized workloads. Since they all require physical compute, network and/or storage resources, delivering them all from a shared pool can provide additional economies of scale.”
If accomplished, the combination could lead to the ability to offer “NFV-infrastructure-as-a-service” targeted at third-party telecom providers that may lack a footprint to support their enterprise customers. This in turn could help drive revenue for the hosting company and turn NFV deployments in a money maker.
“The cloud has allowed enterprises to meet ever-increasing and continually evolving application demands without purpose-built, dedicated IT hardware,” Auster concluded. “Now, the cloud, leveraging the concepts of NFV, is poised to bring similar flexibility and expense containment benefits, as well as new revenue opportunities, to telecom service delivery.”
A similar argument was made by Vitesse Semiconductor CTO Martin Nuss, who in making predictions for 2014 noted: “NFV … promises a faster path for carriers to offer new revenue-generating services at the IP edge with less risk and investment needed. With NFV-ready equipment, carriers can create services in software rather than dedicated hardware, thus making centralized and virtualized servers the launchpad for these new services.”
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