THE RISE OF MORE SOFTWARE IN THE TELCO TOWN

As software replaces telecom systems, hardware, and infrastructure, the looming threat of security breaches and performance bottlenecks cannot be ignored

- PRATIMA HARIGUNANI

The joke was that hardware is anything in a computer that can be thrown out of the window. Perhaps, that is how frustrated users can sometimes feel. After all, hardware can sometimes get exhaustingly slow, complicated, heavy and difficult to maintain.

That should explain why software began to elbow out hardware in so many places in telcos’ systems, infrastructure, and back-end areas. From storage to network to control panels, a lot of hardware is now being ‘softwarised’ and virtualised.

Enter the age of SDN, SDDC and NFV. And wait, there is more on the way.

MEET SOFTWARE - IN THE HEGEMONY OF HARDWARE

Software is about fluency, softness, and flexibility. This essence can break many dead-ends that hardware would struggle with. With the software, one can partition things, simplify stuff, can carry less weight than before, and also play around with it.

SDN or software-defined networking does something that completely changes the hardware paradigm of networking. It separates the control plane and data plane and, thus, gives traffic control, and network efficiency. This explains why many communication service providers (CSPs) began investing in SDN for end-to-end network and service administration and control.

Automating network administration can lead to easier provisioning, configurations, visibility, agility, and flexibility of networks, which in turn can help CSPs reduce Capex and Opex through data-driven digitalisation and softwarisation.