Speaking about the industry's growing focus on autonomous operations, Oracle's Tony Gillick, VP of product management, monetization applications for Oracle Communications, told Fierce Network's Diana Goovaerts at TM Forum's DTW Ignite 2026 that much of the discussion has centered on network automation. While operational efficiency remains important, Gillick said operators also need to address the business side of the equation if autonomous telco initiatives are going to generate sustainable returns.
Oracle's strategy centers on connecting network operations with BSS, revenue management and customer experience functions. The goal, according to Gillick is to create a financially viable path toward autonomous telecommunications operations rather than treating network automation as a standalone objective.
He sees AI and agentic technologies as key enablers of that vision, particularly when applied across increasingly complex business workflows.
AI must deliver financial outcomes
Gillick also noted that AI adoption comes with real costs, making monetization a central question for service providers.
While automation can help improve operational margins, he believes some of the biggest growth opportunities lie in enterprise markets, including B2B and B2B2X services. Applying AI to those customer and revenue journeys could help operators expand reach, improve efficiency and drive new sources of growth, Gillick said.
Trust remains a key challenge
Despite growing enthusiasm around AI, operator concerns have largely shifted from questioning AI's value to determining whether its outputs can be trusted, Gillick added. He pointed to areas such as revenue management, revenue assurance and customer experience, where automated decision-making could generate significant efficiency gains. However, Gillick argued that trust, confidence and repeatability will be essential before operators are willing to hand over more business processes to AI-driven systems.
For Oracle, Gillick said the future autonomous telco is not just about self-optimizing networks. It's about creating an autonomous business model where operational intelligence and financial outcomes are tightly linked.
Read and watch all of our coverage from DTW Ignite 2026 right here.