- Nokia is looking to boost network automation with its new Autonomous Network Fabric
- It partnered with Google Cloud to enable global deployments
- Appledore and Omdia forecasts have both predicted significant growth in this segment over the coming years
Google Cloud appears to be cleaning up in the network automation arena. A week after announcing a deal to host Ericsson’s new cloud-based 5G core stack, Nokia revealed a new Autonomous Network Fabric that – you guessed it – can be deployed globally using Google Distributed Cloud infrastructure.
The Fabric apparently comprises an army of “telco-trained AI models, integrated security and AI apps” that work together to allow the network to “behave as one adaptive system” rather than a series of siloed operations.
This is achieved in part through unified data management which utilizes a data mesh architecture. And before you go try to Google it, data mesh architecture just refers to a decentralized approach to collecting, managing and access data rather than a centralized, siloed approach.
“In an era of increasingly complex and vulnerable networks, customers are eager for fully autonomous networks, which depend on good data,” Nokia SVP of Product and Engineering for Cloud and Network Services Kal De said. “There is no good AI without good data.”
Speaking of AI, Nokia’s Fabric uses Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and BigQuery for network traffic and subscriber experience monitoring as well as anomaly detection and remediation.
The announcement comes a week after Google Cloud unveiled its Autonomous Network Operations framework and listed Nokia and Ericsson as two of its ecosystem partners. The same day, Ericsson debuted its 5G-focused Ericsson On-Demand cloud core offering. At the time, Google Cloud said Ericsson’s offering went hand in hand with its automation playbook.
It’s no surprise that Nokia, Ericsson and the like are pushing network automation. Market forecasts vary (in part due to what each analyst firm includes as part of the segment), but all signs point toward rapid growth.
Omdia has predicted the telco network automation market will grow at a 10% CAGR from $4.6 billion in 2024 to about $8.4 billion in 2030. Meanwhile, Appledore Research forecast the Network Automation Software market grow at a 14% CAGR from $7.7 billion in 2024 to $14.8 billion in 2028.