The Transition to Cloud-Native Communications

In the past, communications service providers (CSPs) had networks running on purpose-built infrastructure. Over the past two decades, this has been updated to include virtualization, but now providers are moving on to the next step: cloud-native communications. Transitioning is critical for modernization and meeting the needs of customers, but it also represents a major step in digital transformation.

A move to cloud-native is different for each telco, but many organizations share similar challenges. The benefits tend to outweigh any concerns, but the right path needs to be chosen for the transition. There are several good reasons to pursue cloud-native communications:

• Cloud communications as a cloud-native function offers the option of incremental investment for service providers utilizing 5G.
• New use cases are made available through cloud-native functions that further drive automation and separation of application logic from infrastructure that is already moving that direction.
• Technological advancements are driving an environment of de-facto orchestration with Kubernetes.

While there are good reasons to make the move to cloud communications, the shift doesn’t come without some concerns. CSPs are forced to address some challenging issues:

• Choosing the best solution for communication workloads, whether private, public, or hybrid.
• Managing the dual demands of cloud-native functions and virtual network functions without duplicating costs.
• Choosing an ideal solution that meets needs for communications.

In order to choose the right cloud, IT teams need a plan to reap the benefits through a detailed cloud migration strategy. The first consideration of such a strategy is, of course, which cloud model is best:

Public: Choosing a public cloud model streamlines the overall implementation of cloud-native communications in areas like time to market, cost, and geographic reach. Public cloud migrations often offer a quicker process by eliminating the need to address underlying infrastructure concerns. The main drawback of this option is that public cloud was not designed for real-time communications workloads. Customization is also limited.

Private: A private cloud offers complete control, but since the infrastructure is not outsourced, it requires internal maintenance which can be time-consuming and costly.

Hybrid: A hybrid solution should not be considered a situation where your organization simply chooses, cafeteria-style, the parts of public and private clouds that work best for you. Effectively implementing a hybrid cloud requires an in-depth understanding of infrastructure and a clear strategy for the future. Hybrid solutions can be an excellent option if needs and goals are clearly defined and a company can articulate where they are now and where they want to go in the future.

Moving to cloud-native communications is a complex process, but you can eliminate many of the challenges with the right guide. Contact us at One Connect for information about how to initiate a migration and ideas to leverage the right solutions for a seamless process.