Telco Cloud: Why it matters, how to make it happen, and how to measure success
If NFV/SDN, cloud native and cloud business practices are areas of interest or challenge, our insight and support can help.
Does telco cloud still matter?
Telco cloud technology was supposed to change the face of telecoms networks. Network functions virtualisation (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) were sold as a platform for operators to operate faster, cheaper and more effectively than ever before. But deployments to date have unlocked limited business value, and the industry has grown weary.
Yet telco cloud matters more than ever. Operators are investing heavily in 5G, whose use-cases depend on cloudification of network and IT infrastructure. In other words, if we don’t figure out telco cloud, 5G will never pay off.
Telco cloud tools and insight
STL Partners has been working with operators and technology companies since 2012 to help them understand and unlock value from telco cloud. These insights are drawn from our extensive research into what’s going on, and where the industry is headed next.
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Overview
What is telco cloud and why does it matter?
This overview explains the essentials about telco cloud, including virtualisation, NFV and SDN.
Research
NFV Deployment Tracker
Access our unique database of live commercial deployments of NFV and SDN by leading telcos worldwide. The latest update contains details on 572 deployments made up of 1100+ sub-components
Latest update: November 2019
Research
5G core and NFV: Different sides of the same coin?
The 5G network core is supposed to be fully virtualised and cloud-native. But formulation of the 5G standards has not been harmonised with the broader NFV project. What impact will this have on service innovation? Includes Rakuten case study.
Published: October 2019
Research
Open RAN: What should telcos do?
Alongside the roll-out of 5G cores and radios, the Radio Access Network (RAN) is evolving to a more open, virtualised and distributed architecture. What are the opportunities and risks for telcos?
Published: April 2020
Article
Will open RAN help telcos reduce their physical infrastructure footprint
Open RAN will have serious consequences for the physical distribution of the mobile network. What strategies are operators adopting and how will this affect operations?
Article
Latest NFV News & Announcements
A selection of what we consider to be some of the most exciting recent developments in NFV & SDN, all of which have real potential to transform the current landscape.
Research
Telco Cloud: Why it hasn’t delivered, and what must change for 5G
Telco cloud made big promises for the transformation of telecoms. It is a fundamental enabler for 5G and the exciting opportunities ahead. Why hasn’t it delivered yet – and what needs to change?
Published: February 2020
Webinar
5G Telco Clouds: Where we are and where we are headed
In this webinar, we will argue that 5G will only pay if telcos find a way to make telco clouds work.
Article
Who cares about Telco Cloud?
Telco cloud, NFV, SDN… Many dismiss it as over-technical, over-hyped, or just plain boring. Deployments to date haven’t delivered much. Yet it is a fundamental enabler for 5G growth opportunities, so now is the time to get it right.
Research
NFV Deployment Tracker: Asia-Pacific points to the future
Asia-Pacific is the leading region in the global NFV/SDN market: highest volume of deployments and consistent record of innovation. The region points the way ahead for the global market.
Published: November 2019
Article
Rakuten’s network: is it really cloud-native, multi-vendor and fully-virtualised?
Japanese new-entrant operator Rakuten claims to have built a fully-virtualised, cloud-native, multi-vendor network, which is a world’s first. We evaluate the nature of Rakuten’s employment, breaking it down based on what each factor means and the extent to which these claims are true.
Webinar
Virtualisation: Reaching tipping point
A webinar on NFV and SDN. What operators are deploying, what this means, and how 5G is likely to accelerate progress. Based on our unique data on NFV deployments
Live event: May 2019
Telco Cloud
Unlocking the core and enabling growth
Research stream, including around 8 reports a year
Our dedicated research stream covers why telco cloud matters in the 5G era, how to make it happen, and how to measure success. NFV SDN, and beyond. It also includes access to the NFV Deployment Tracker, our industry-leading database of deployments.
The data intelligence you can expect from our NFV tracker
Telco Cloud
Unlocking the core and enabling growth
Research stream, including around 8 reports a year
Our dedicated research stream covers why telco cloud matters in the 5G era, how to make it happen, and how to measure success. NFV SDN, and beyond. It also includes access to the NFV Deployment Tracker, our industry-leading database of deployments.
The data intelligence you can expect from our NFV tracker
Research
3 telco business models: Soft-net, compute-net, cloud-net
Telcos must adapt to virtualisation and changing customer needs in the Coordination Age. Our three models offer a realistic agenda for telcos to build up the stack into the IT layer – either by themselves or through partnerships
Published: March 2019
Research
NFV Deployment Tracker: North America update
New deployments in N America are increasingly driven by 5G, with a striking role for open source and telco self-builds. N American deployments account for around 24% of the global total
Published: June 2019
Research
SD-WAN: enterprise challenges, flavours and future pathways
A three-part mini-series exploring SD-WAN technology from an enterprise perspective. How can SD-WAN help with enterprises’ challenges, what flavours are on offer and how do they work, and where will it go next?
Published: June 2019
Article
NFV Architectural Framework
NFV architecture needs to establish the virtualisation of diverse sets of network functions, and encourage the standardisation of NFV by addressing interoperability and enable VNFs to be used in a way that is independent of the vendor supplying them. This article explores the NFV architectural framework established by ETSI
Webinar
Telco SD-WAN: What’s happening, and how to do it?
In this webinar, hosted by Juniper Networks, we share our independent view on why SD-WAN should be an operator’s first VNF-based service. We also discuss models for deployment
Recorded: March 2019
Article
Introduction to SD-WAN
This guide provides an introduction to SD-WAN. Covers use cases, benefits for businesses and the future of the technology
Data chart
Proprietary vendors still dominate NFV
NFV promised to deliver truly open hardware and software platforms. Yet the space is still dominated by proprietary vendor solutions. We look at the data around this
Published: January 2019
Article
Benefits of SD-WAN: SD-WAN benefits over a traditional environment
SD-WAN brings with it several benefits over a traditional environment. Here, we explore the core benefits of SD-WAN and explain some of the nuance surrounding these.
Article
What is SD-WAN as a service?
SD-WAN does not have to be delivered in a hardware-centric way. Enter SD-WAN as a Service. SD-WAN as a Service is about applying the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model to SD-WAN
Meet the telco cloud team
Matt Pooley
Virtualisation Practice Lead
Yesmean Luk
Consultant
Miran Gilmore
Consultant
David Martin
Associate Senior Analyst