On this week’s NFV/SDN Reality Check we talked with Simon Osborne, CTO for service orchestration at Comptel, on looking beyond capital expense and operating expense when moving towards virtualization platforms such as network functions virtualization and software-defined networking.
The move towards virtualized platforms is paved with challenges, including financial issues that still need to be tackled. One of the claimed benefits to virtualization for telecom operators is the savings on capex, opex or both, though many think those potential savings should not drive adoption plans.
A recent report from IHS found that 35% of telecom operators are planning to deploy NFV this year, yielding yet more evidence that despite its still nascent nature, carriers are moving rapidly toward NFV and virtualization platforms.
Osborne discussed the financial challenges embedded in the move towards virtualized platforms, and how he sees the industry working through those issues. Osborne also noted that fear of the unknown remains a significant hurdle for broader acceptance of virtualization by telecom operators as they move towards a business and operations model they are unfamiliar with.
Make sure to join us on July 17 for our next live episode of NFV/SDN Reality Check when we are scheduled to speak with Ken Dilbeck, head of Collaboration Program at the TM Forum on the challenges telecom operators face in rolling out NFV solutions.
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