Transformation is a journey – learn how your NOC can evolve

A key goal for transformation initiatives is automation – but you can’t simply automate one system or process in different domains without reference to your overall NOC and assurance solutions. As you rollout automation across your networks and services, you need to be aligned with your NOC from Day 1.

Autonomous operations are the goal – which creates opportunities for smarter working

For many operators, transformation remains a significant challenge. We know that the desired destination of travel includes autonomous operations, but it will take a while to get there. This is required, not just to enhance efficiency and to support the agility demanded by today’s networks and emerging classes of service, but also to help operators optimize their workforces.

Put simply, it’s tough to get the right people – particularly for field staff. So, you need to make sure that you put people first – empowering them to work smarter and more creatively. That means automating routine tasks and delivering closed-loop operations, so your team can focus their attention where it matters. So, automation will bring better, more agile service delivery (and customer experiences), while creating opportunities for your staff to innovate. But this will take time – and affect all areas of your business.

Where do you begin?

So, of course you have to know where to start. One approach adopted, for example, by Elisa, is to automate processes in the Network Operations Centre, or NOC. Here, the implementation of algorithms that handle alarms and which determine the appropriate responses under different conditions gave rise to the Virtual NOC solution, which we have since taken to numerous operators around the world.

With Virtual NOC, automation takes care of manual faults – from detection and identification to resolution, enabling preventative alarm handling, so that incidents can be rectified before they impact customers. AI and ML mean that processes are trained, and efficiency is continually optimized.

As a result, your experts can focus on strategic changes and long-term network improvements. It also allows process innovation, as automation can be tuned to enable new workflows as business needs change.

How do you extend your automation footprint?

But what should we do next? There’s more to the network than the NOC, for example. Well, one area that is attracting significant attention is the RAN. Not only are operators concerned with optimized performance (and energy efficiency, for example), many are also investigating Open RAN and considering how the adoption of this decomposed architecture can enable coverage to be extended, more cost-effectively.

Similarly, there are new transport automation processes, such as FRINX Machine, which provides a comprehensive and easily extendable library of workflows to enable effective, closed-loop automation for transport networks – from the access to the core – easily extending to large-scale Tier 1 networks and CSPs.

Adoption of such solutions is imperative to meet transformation goals – but in doing so, we’re confronted with new sources of data and alarms that need to be integrated into the Virtual NOC environment – otherwise, we’re just reintroducing complexity and undermining the efficiencies we have gained by automation of operations assurance.

As a result, it’s important to note that transformation must be integrated across all domains, so that we don’t simply build silos (or islands) of transformed excellence. When we introduce new solutions and network elements – like Open RAN – they need to be aligned with the evolved NOC from the outset.

After all, we have to manage these new assets, which will behave in new ways and have new interfaces. And this must be applicable from day 1. Integration with automated NOC and assurance solutions cannot be delayed and must be considered as part of the overall deployment plan.

Gradual rollout doesn’t mean you can push integration down the tracks

That’s because many new solutions are adopted in a piecemeal manner – typically through trial deployments and PoCs – but as these are accepted into the network, the network must already be able to support them operationally, and at the requisite scale – which means they need to be integrated into the existing assurance processes from the very beginning. Luckily, that’s the approach we’ve taken.

Our Virtual NOC has already been extended to include integration with other automation investments – such as the Automation Engine for RAN (and Open RAN), as well as FRINX Machine. The business and operational requirements for any new network transformation project, must include integration with automated assurance processes from the outset. So, as you incrementally transform your network, across each domain, you can ensure that each step is tightly aligned with your Virtual NOC investments.

Successful transformation depends on an integrated approach to assurance

Transformation is a lengthy process. It includes both top-down aspirations and goals, which must be matched with practical steps on the ground. But no transformation step can be isolated from another – so, as you make network investments, these must be aligned with steps you may have taken earlier – such as NOC transformation.

By taking an incremental – but integrated approach, you can make sure that you move your organization forward in lockstep with the overall goals. And, you can eliminate friction by avoiding the accidental reintroduction of silos in different domains. Automation is one outcome of transformation – but process or service automation must always be synchronized with your operations.

And this also means that your team will move along with your automation activities – using the time liberated to focus on new innovation opportunities – a better experience for both them and your customers.