Zero‑Touch Network Automation for CSPs
Key Points
- Unpredictable events push Communication Service Providers toward cloud, virtualization, and AI to handle volatile network demands and deliver 5G/edge services.
- IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation enables CSPs to shift to zero‑touch operations, cutting operating expenses and accelerating service rollout from days to minutes.
- Network Service Engineers use intent‑based orchestration and CI/CD pipelines to create, test, and catalog service packages—such as vRAN or 5G network slices—without manual hardware installation.
- Customers can self‑order these services, with the platform automatically orchestrating required network functions or reconfiguring existing ones, eliminating the need for manual support calls.
- Integrated with IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps, the solution provides real‑time health dashboards for Site Reliability Engineers, automatically monitoring events, KPIs, and topology while allowing human validation when needed.
Sections
- Zero‑Touch Network Automation with IBM - IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation enables CSPs to use intent‑based orchestration and AI to rapidly design, deploy, and scale 5G/edge services, dramatically reducing manual effort and operating costs.
- IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation Overview - It explains how IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation uses AI-driven recommendations and zero‑touch operations to rapidly design, deploy, and scale services on any cloud via Red Hat OpenShift.
Full Transcript
# Zero‑Touch Network Automation for CSPs **Source:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmAcJJbunL4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmAcJJbunL4) **Duration:** 00:03:46 ## Summary - Unpredictable events push Communication Service Providers toward cloud, virtualization, and AI to handle volatile network demands and deliver 5G/edge services. - IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation enables CSPs to shift to zero‑touch operations, cutting operating expenses and accelerating service rollout from days to minutes. - Network Service Engineers use intent‑based orchestration and CI/CD pipelines to create, test, and catalog service packages—such as vRAN or 5G network slices—without manual hardware installation. - Customers can self‑order these services, with the platform automatically orchestrating required network functions or reconfiguring existing ones, eliminating the need for manual support calls. - Integrated with IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps, the solution provides real‑time health dashboards for Site Reliability Engineers, automatically monitoring events, KPIs, and topology while allowing human validation when needed. ## Sections - [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmAcJJbunL4&t=0s) **Zero‑Touch Network Automation with IBM** - IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation enables CSPs to use intent‑based orchestration and AI to rapidly design, deploy, and scale 5G/edge services, dramatically reducing manual effort and operating costs. - [00:03:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmAcJJbunL4&t=185s) **IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation Overview** - It explains how IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation uses AI-driven recommendations and zero‑touch operations to rapidly design, deploy, and scale services on any cloud via Red Hat OpenShift. ## Full Transcript
Unpredictable events can drive massive changes in network needs and traffic patterns, especially
for Communication Service Providers.
To handle extreme levels of network volatility,
they're embracing cloud and virtualization to deliver the 5G and edge services
that their customers' demand.
Also, many CSPs recognize the potential of
AI to automate problem detection and remediation.
Enter IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation.
Based on years of IBM experience working with telecom partners,
IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation helps CSPs transform their networks,
evolve to zero-touch operations, reduce operating expense,
and deliver services faster.
What does this mean for CTOs?
Their teams can rapidly design, deploy, and scale new
services in minutes instead of days, improving customer responsiveness.
But this transformation demands team players.
Imagine you're a Network Service Engineer.
You’re using the intent-based orchestration
within IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation to reduce the work required to launch a new
network service offering.
Bringing a new service online no longer means racking hardware or manual installation steps.
You start by creating a service package from a template.
It's composed of a set of network functions,
services running in containers, or services from your Virtual Network Functions.
You package and test the newly-assembled components before deploying them to production.
Once your team is satisfied the offering meets customer requirements and your quality assurance
standards, the fully tested package is added to the product catalog.
To save time and avoid human error, catalog additions are done following an automated
CI/CD process.
With the services available in the catalog, your customers can order them as needed.
For example, a Mobile Virtual Network Operator could quickly order a virtual radio access
network, or vRAN, service.
Or an enterprise could order a 5G Network Slice service for a specific time AND purpose.
Your customers don't need to know what's going on behind the scenes.
When the order is placed, IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation will decide which specific
network functions are required to deliver that service orchestrated from scratch.
Or, if the service is already up and running, making the appropriate configuration changes.
In this example, the service order and delivery were entirely self-service.
No call-in was required!
Once the service is deployed, IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation,
combined with IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps,
automatically monitors the environment by tracking events,
key performance indicators, and changes in the network topology.
Here's the main dashboard for network operations that interests your Site Reliability Engineers,
or SREs - it shows a real-time health status of the network and services along with correlated
events and a service topology overview.
Although automation may take place without human intervention,
the SRE can validate what the system has done.
They don't have to watch the dashboard minute-by-minute,
and they have a full history of key system events.
By proactively dealing with network anomalies ahead of customer impact, your operations
team will have fewer fire drills and less need for human intervention.
But sometimes applying an automated resolution isn't prudent.
For such cases, IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation notifies the appropriate engineer
with AI-based recommendations for next best actions.
So, to wrap this up, IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation can help you rapidly design, deploy,
and scale new services in minutes instead of days.
And it helps you lower costs by moving your team towards zero-touch operations.
The best part: since it’s built on Red Hat OpenShift, you can run it on any cloud, anywhere.
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