Does anyone else get the sense that we might be entering an unsettling period of unease, tension and internecine backstabbing as the full implications of NFV sink in? Or is it just me?

I hope it's just me. But I get the feeling that the remainder of 2015 and beyond might be characterized by some drama of an unwelcome kind.

And that's because not everyone's getting their way.

Up until now we have had a communications networking industry that has been dominated by a set of very large technology suppliers that have had the muscle to steer the industry in their preferred direction, influencing standards and mopping up a more than healthy slice of the resulting business.

But what happens when the rules of engagement change? What if major communications services businesses can be successfully run using technology that doesn't have to come from the incumbents and their partners?

People panic. Strategies are disrupted. Business is undermined and individuals come under pressure to seize some sort of control or power for the benefit of themselves, their employers and their shareholders. And that's when the Cold War of Communications starts. And there I was thinking it was just the end of summer...

Not everyone's gearing up for a fight, of course. Some have already positioned themselves to benefit from numerous outcomes -- Intel looks like the company around which much of the NFV action will revolve in the coming year.

Others want a similar role, though, in terms of being able to influence the direction the industry is taking. And what has, so far, been some jostling for position in the mosh pit of virtualization is, I think, about to turn into a rather more eventful and bitter war of words, industry politics and money, with the upcoming industry conference and events season the battleground for some public spats.

With a few exceptions, NFV strategy is going to sort the winners from the losers. The next year, I think, will highlight which side of the fence some companies will fall.

— Ray Le Maistre, , Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading