The Cloud-native computing for telcos: definitions, challenges and opportunities
Communications service providers (CSPs) are weighed down by the legacy software architecture that proliferates across their organisations, including in their foundational asset, the network. This software has not been designed for digital service provider (DSP) infrastructure – the cloud – and CSPs software capabilities are uncompetitive with those of web-scale companies. Those CSPs aiming to become treu DSPs must adopt cloud–native computing across their businesses.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mastery of cloud-native computing is critical for DSPs, but adoption is fraught with challenges
Telco industry players should prioritise cloud-native computing if they are committed to becoming DSPs
Key recommendations
IS BECOMING A DSP THE RIGHT STRATEGY?
Not all CSPs are willing or able to transform themselves into DSPs
DSPs expect to gain significant business benefits over other types of telco, but need a strong appetite for risk
UNDERSTANDING CLOUD-NATIVE COMPUTING
The principles of cloud-native computing have developed over the past 5 years and its definition is still evolving
Microservices oriented: Applications need to be developed as, or refactored into, microservices
Containerised: Applications must be packaged in containers
Dynamically orchestrated: Application containers must be centrally and dynamically orchestrated
ACCELERATING CLOUD-NATIVE ADOPTION
True believers must do more to accelerate their own rate of adoption, while hybrids have a vested interest in accelerating that of their vendors
Key telco barriers to cloud-native computing must be understood and addressed before mainstream adoption can take place
Selecting the right base technologies is tricky in a fragmented ecosystem, but the current winners are emerging
VENDOR SNAPSHOTS
Canonical
Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)
Docker
Mesos
Rancher
Red Hat
VMware
ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND ANALYSYS MASON
About the authors
Analysys Mason’s consulting and research are uniquely positioned
Research from Analysys Mason
Consulting from Analysys Mason
List of figures
Figure 1: Drivers of digital transformation and recommendations for CSPs
Figure 2: Benchmarks for cloud-native computing KPIs set by FANG companies
Figure 3: Three ways in which CSPs should advance cloud-native network function virtualisation
Figure 4: Characteristics of the three types of CSP
Figure 5: KPIs for the three types of CSP
Figure 6: The evolution of cloud-native computing
Figure 7: The CNCF’s definition of microservices oriented
Figure 8: Example of how a virtual network function might be decomposed into microservices
Figure 9: CNCF’s definition of container-packaged applications
Figure 10: Comparison of containers and virtual machines
Figure 11: CNCF’s definition of dynamically orchestrated
Figure 12: Overview of the container platform and container engine
Figure 13: Strategies for accelerating cloud-native adoption
Figure 14: Four key barriers to rapid adoption of cloud-native computing
Figure 15: Overview of the CNCF tooling taxonomy
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