Amdocs, Netcracker, Nokia and Oracle Communications are adopting TM Forum's Open Digital Architecture which provides a framework for software used in operating service provider networks.
BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Telenor are also among 11 new signatories to TM Forum’s Open API and Open Digital Architecture Manifesto.
Other backers include Chunghwa Telecom, Vidéotron, Globetom, 30 other organizations.
The TM Forum estimates that CSPs spend about $90 billion each year on IT. On top of that, the process of selecting and procuring software alone costs the industry approximately $1 billion per year. Open Digital Architecture aims to cut these costs while significantly reducing time-to-market for new services and delivering cutting-edge digital experience – factors which are crucial to remaining competitive and unlocking growth in the 5G era.
“As we shift to the infrastructure-agnostic cloud native IT architecture needed to underpin a multi-service operator like Orange, it’s imperative that we are able to invest in the things which make a difference rather than spending millions of euros in integrating again and again legacy solutions and customization,” said Thierry Souche, Group Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Orange Lab Services. “The Open Digital Architecture offers a modern approach and the standards required for the industry to thrive, avoiding rigid, complex customized solutions. This is not about commoditization of IT software. It’s about freeing us to focus on delivering new and differentiated services.”
“Telco operators are evolving from a traditional mindset to truly embrace modern ways of working,” added Enrique Blanco, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Telefónica Group. “The Open Digital Architecture is a true enabler to accelerate this digital transformation, allowing limitless scaling and multi-tenancy while remaining agnostic to the choice of underlying compute platform. This architecture paves the way to leverage cost-effectiveness, flexibility and scalability avoiding infrastructure lock-in while embracing true continuous integration and continuous deployment cycles.”
Bhaskar Gorti, President of Nokia Software and Nokia Chief Digital Officer, said, “Nokia is pleased to give its added support to our TM Forum partners. Telecom networks and the supporting business, operations and experience systems are rapidly changing to one that is software-based, automated, intelligent, and customer- and experience-centric. In short, a network architecture that gives CSPs many new opportunities and use cases, like network slicing, that allow them to better serve their customers. And those endpoints are what we are driving towards with the announcement today.”
