ORLANDO, Fla. – Network functions virtualization may be a new technology for telecom operators, but NFV has a successful history in the data center world, which Hewlett-Packard said should calm the nerves of telecom operators looking to deploy the technology.
Werner Schaefer, VP of network functions virtualization at Hewlett-Packard, provided some guiding insight at this week’s Genband’s Perspectives 15 event for telecom operators still struggling with their NFV plans.
Schaefer noted that one of the main reasons for telecom operators to make the move to NFV is so they can better compete against over-the-top players that traditionally use a more agile web-based operating model to quickly roll out and update services. Schaefer explained that while these OTT players do have the advantage of agility – for now – telecom operators have the ultimate advantage in being a direct point of contact for customers.
Schaefer acknowledged that technology maturity remains one of the biggest concerns for telecom operators, which typically look for “carrier-grade” solutions that the NFV world is still trying to attain. There are also concerns over the need to enhance workforce knowledge of virtualized technology; how to calculate the total cost of ownership and return on investment for the move toward virtualization; and how to orchestrate between virtualization and legacy operations.
Hewlett-Packard has been aggressive in attempting to migrate telecom operators toward NFV, software-defined networking and virtualization. The company recently bolstered its NFV platforms with the launch of numerous updates designed to ease the transition to virtualized services for telecom operators.
The updates include the launch of its HP NFV System, which the company said is a “pre-integrated” NFV platform designed to allow service providers to accelerate production of NFV deployments. The pre-integrated aspect of the platform is the inclusion of Hewlett-Packard’s Helion OpenStack Carrier Grade open source-based cloud platform, which builds on the company’s previously announced Helion platform that was part of a $1 billion investment plan for OpenStack.
Genband paid for travel accommodations to the Perspectives 15 event
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