IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is designed to help
communications service providers improve networking and deliver new
services in days, rather than months
ARMONK, N.Y., June 28, 2021 /CNW/ -- At Mobile World
Congress 2021, IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced new hybrid cloud AI-powered
automation software for communications service providers (CSPs) to
help deliver on the promise of 5G, including zero-touch operations,
reduced costs and the rapid delivery of innovative services to
customers. Using IBM Cloud Pak for Network
Automation, CSPs can use AI-powered automation to stand up and
manage networks quickly, in a wide range of environments, and is
engineered to scale new services in days, rather than months.
CSPs provide a vital lifeline for citizens and enterprises
globally, and even more so today, as unpredictable events can drive
massive changes in network needs and traffic patterns. In fact,
according to an IBM Institute for Business Value study, 82% of
leading CSPs surveyed identified faster time-to-market of new
services as the most important element for successful automation
initiatives1.
"As the telco industry races to capture new value from 5G and
Edge computing, many are transforming their networks to
software-defined platforms that can deliver on this promise. Yet
our customers have identified that limited automation and the lack
of real- time visibility across networks have hindered their
ability to deliver innovative services to customers fast enough,"
said Andrew Coward, General Manager,
Software Defined Networking, IBM. "To help address these growing
demands, IBM's new Cloud Pak for Network Automation software uses
AI-powered automation to enable zero-touch provisioning of new
services which can facilitate the simplification of the management
of network functions from the core to the edge."
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, which is engineered to run
in a wide range of environments on Red Hat OpenShift, provides a
full suite of AI-powered automation capabilities to implement 5G
and edge services by managing multi-vendor software-based network
functions, which supports the evolution to autonomous operations.
The software brings together advanced analytics, machine learning
and AIOps to help CSPs discover hidden patterns and trends in
networking data, so they can continually optimize network
operations and performance with minimal human intervention. With
the integration of IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps and edge
solutions including IBM Edge Application Manager, CSPs can automate
the delivery of resources where they are needed dynamically.
With the addition of IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation to the
IBM Cloud Pak portfolio, CSPs can benefit in the following
ways:
- Generalized Network Lifecycle Modeling: creates and
automates vendor-agnostic models of physical, virtual and container
network functions.
- Intent-driven Orchestration: Models the desired
optimal operational state of a network that is automatically
created rather than preprogramming workflows.
- Automated Service Design and Testing: Automation for the
service itself and all underlying resources for test,
pre-production, and production environments.
- Real-time View of Live Network Performance: Real-time
view of all network and cloud infrastructures to monitor
network uptime, performance optimization and faster automated
problem resolution.
- Closed-loop Operations: Coupled with the IBM Cloud Pak
for Watson AIOps, operators could realize a feedback loop between
assurance and orchestration as they evolve to zero-touch or
'lights-out' operations.
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is designed so that a
network engineer could use it to turn up a site in a matter of 4-5
days. The solution enables hundreds of thousands of network
functions, including hostname details, server ports, network
architecture, tenants, IP address plans and more, to be organized
and brought together (i.e.: "orchestrated") in real-time to deliver
a holistic network service.
With the recent close of the acquisition of Turbonomic, IBM
plans to deliver the needed analytics and monitoring capabilities
required of virtualized, automated networks. IBM plans to offer IBM
Cloud Pak for Network Automation with Turbonomic network
performance management and assurance. Turbonomic provides the
ability to ingest large amounts of telemetry information and
provide insight into performance and services to manage day-to-day
operations. Through this planned integration, customers will have
access to network recommendations from analytics, which will become
dynamic actions within the network.
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is one of the IBM
Automation Cloud Paks that include a set of shared automation
services supported by more than 30 ecosystem partners that helps
professionals self-automate routine tasks so they can focus on
high-value work. Today's announcement follows IBM's recent launch
of IBM Watson Orchestrate to provide AI-powered automation to
business professionals, and the acquisitions of Turbonomic,
myInvenio, Instana and WDG Automation to build out a complete
end-to-end AI-powered automation portfolio of software for
transforming business processes and IT operations.
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is built on Red Hat
OpenShift®, can run in a wide range of environments including
hybrid multi-cloud and multi-vendor, and can manage divergent
networking vendor infrastructures, including edge networks. IBM
Cloud Pak for Network Automation is available now. For more
information, please visit
https://www.ibm.com/cloud/cloud-pak-for-network-automation
Media Contact
Tyler Allen
IBM Media Relations
tballen@us.ibm.com
1 IBM Institute for Business Value "Re-envisioning
the CSP network" report
https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/73NVRNRY
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SOURCE IBM