Architecture and applications, by Dr. Sun Dong, Chief Architect of Digital Transformation Solutions, Huawei.

March 9, 2016

5 Min Read
Digitizing with Huawei Telco OS

Huawei's Telco OS, a next-gen digital operations system, is the figurative space shuttle for operators' digital transformation journey. Deployment takes place top-down with focusing on user experience, and building up the core competence through strategic planning and business innovation.

Digital operators aren't just about providing digital communications services. As builders of new, integrated digital ecosystems, they are in fact enablers of the digital economy in multiple contexts, including mobile, cloud, big data, IoT, and social.

Everything-as-a-Service (EaaS)
Our brave new Internetized and digitized world means that operators can no longer rely on fixed, pre-defined products as killer applications.

Because customer requirements continually change, they need to start running flexible business models that provide everything as a service.

Such a model must cater for long-tail applications and customized services, and meet customer requirements ROADS-style. EaaS can be furnished by smart pipelines, digital service enablement, Open Digital Ecosystem Enabler (ODEE), or a mixture of several models.

Building it the digital way
Changes in end-user behavior patterns and experience requirements have triggered a need for total, end-to-end (E2E) digital transformation that spans new operations models and personnel.

Digital transformation requires operators to formulate top-down digital enterprise architecture in three steps: plan at the company level, create new business models, and implement new processes and technical infrastructure.

Under a governance model, the enterprise architecture built by digital operators is set to include strategic objectives and business models. Breathing life into both will be implementation architecture for applications, services, tech, and information. The digital enterprise architecture of telecom operators is abstracted as Three, Two, One.

Three strategic objectives:

  • ROADS user experience for consumers, enterprises, partners, and O&M personnel.

    • Open Digital Ecosystem Enabler for transformation from traditional communications service providers to digital ecosystem enablers.

    • Agile digital operations using IT technology to transform traditional support systems into business enablement and production systems.

      Two platforms:

    • Cloud OS: a cloud-based, virtual platform. Tech like NFV, SDN, and vDC will cloudify and virtualize infrastructure capabilities.

    • Telco OS: a digital operations enablement platform for business and agile operations. This OS will provide IT backend capabilities such as BSS, OSS, SDP, and big data.

      One ecosystem: an open digital ecosystem for building an industry alliance for the digital economy.

      Operators need to retire their current business models and then implement an EaaS model that's geared towards long-tail applications and customization.

      Current models are predefined, long-cycle, packaged, and offline teller-style. The EaaS model is a quick, on-demand, and customized online digital model that suits fast fail, iterative development, and integrated digital operations that leap with agility.

      These core requirements feature in Huawei's Telco OS. Telco OS orchestrates user requirements, business processes, and end-to-end resource scheduling and allocation to transform what users want into services and products.

      As a business enablement and production system, Telco OS is the brain and central nervous system of digital enterprise architecture — it is the orchestrator, manager, decision-maker, and monitor of executive capabilities.

      Telco OS architecture
      Telco OS contains three systems: Business Enabling System (BES), Infrastructure Enabling System (IES) and Big Data.

      BES: enabling business agility
      The BES covers all the capabilities of the BSS, and provides much more besides:

    • Offers diverse product classifications and management methods.

    • Simplifies and automates business processes.

    • Optimizes user experience.

    • Applies a flexible partner business model.

    • Uses the latest cloud technology to provide flexible, elastic, and scalable capacity.

    • Enables fast, efficient and cost-effective deployment.

      Big data, big brain
      Big data capability is the system's brain for smart operations. Network-wide big data analysis boosts user experience and enables real-time, on-demand, and agile operations.

    • Collects data on network, services, and users in real time.

    • Analyzes and correlates applications in real time so data becomes useful.

    • Follows and automatically triggers processes.

    • Makes decisions in real time.

      IES: enabling ICT infrastructure automation
      IES is an enablement system for automating O&M in ICT infrastructure that comprises SDN, NFV, and the whole cloud infrastructure.

      ICT infrastructure automation is highly complex because many different types of equipment and processes are in play. So, automating and integrating O&M E2E is based on policy configuration and business templates that define use case processes and lifecycle management.

    • ICT-O: unifies, orchestrates, and schedules resources for rapid business innovation and service provisioning in real-time.

    • ICT-A: provides a network-wide, full-service guarantee service that supports intelligent and efficient network-wide monitoring, fault location, and network optimization.

      The operations of IES are policy-based: ICT-O carries out ICT resource provisioning and application deployment based on policies. In this case, service design personnel specify the deployment policies of each network service for the ICT-O to follow when determining and deploying resources.

      ICT-A then coordinates with ICT-O. ICT-A monitors and analyzes services in real time. Based on the policies that are set, the system triggers the ICT-O to troubleshoot and optimize the network.

      How is Telco OS deployed?
      Top-down in three steps:

      Step 1: Define the specs for digital enterprise architecture.

    • Build core platform capabilities, the key capability is E2E orchestration. Modularize, atomize, and servicize back-end functions (BSS/OSS).

    • Enable support for real-time, online user experience and large-volume and concurrent user transactions online.

    • Remodel the business model and business processes as follows: user demand for customization, support for real-time intelligent decision-making and dynamic orchestration capabilities (sales, service, operations, and platform), on-demand closed-loop business, resources, and big data.

      Step 2: Make the solution business-driven and pioneer business initiatives

    • Build capabilities in line with business scenarios to make operations business driven. Prioritize business enablement and operating capabilities. Enable governance on big data network-wide to enable digital operations.

    • Position new services, new users, and new systems like cloud services and IoT as starting points.

    • Transform traditional business and systems, upgrade systems to shorten ROI, and gradually phase out traditional business models.

      Step 3: Perform iterative development and operations

    • Apply the integrated approach of DevOps to build platform capabilities based on service requirements and gradually strengthen capabilities.

      Digital transformation is a long-term process. Operators need to keep in mind that their overarching goal is to meet user demand and build capabilities upon strategic planning and service innovation.

      As an operations enabling system for digital transformation, Telco OS is essential to help operators and traditional businesses for full digital transformation, entry to the digital economy, and a ROADS experience.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like