Interest in software-defined networking is ramping up across numerous industries, but nowhere is it as palpable as the telecom sector. For carriers, SDN holds a much larger appeal due to the central position networks hold within their operations. Other organizations may be stuck with the outdated view of the enterprise network as a tool, but telecoms know all too well that it is, in reality, the foundation for business functionality.
By decoupling the network's control plane from the data-forwarding plane and centralizing various control plane functions, telecoms can greatly improve the performance and efficacy of their internal systems. It can be easy to get lost in the technical details of SDN, and most telecom decision-makers are not as concerned with those finer points as they are with how they can take advantage of the technology. The question on the minds of these enterprise leaders then becomes: What are the benefits of software-defined networking?
- Cost savings – The first order of business for any new tech investment is to demonstrate some financial benefits. From the outset, SDN can help organizations bring down their capital expenditures. Most organizations have been built upon networks comprising expensive, uniform components. Before SDN emerged as a viable alternative, companies were forced to create entire networking environments with hardware from the same manufacturer or provider.
These circumstances offer little wiggle room when its comes to equipment investments. One of the most immediately felt advantages to SDN deployment is the ability to create a network with best-of-breed components. This gives telecoms the ability to balance cost and performance as they see fit, ultimately resulting in lower expenditures.
Once SDN has been fully implemented, carriers can see cost-saving benefits in other operational aspects as well. As RCR Wireless previously noted, the automation capabilities of SDN-enabled networks allows for more streamlined processes that require less manual intervention. Telecoms can use these capabilities to significantly cut back on their labor expenses.
- Increased uptime – Few organizations are as concerned about network uptime as telecoms. When a carrier experiences a prolonged period of service disruption, it may see its customers jump ship and sign up with a competitor. If not addressed, these circumstances may result in damaging customer churn rates that will be difficult to correct. The automation and streamlined processing noted above will translate into fewer bottlenecks and network errors that result in downtime. For example, by partnering with NTT Com and utilizing its SDN services, Yamaha Motor has been able to increase uptime to great effect.
Stay tuned for the second and final part of this series, where we will dive deeper into some of the most useful performance-based software-defined networking benefits.
