Why Telecoms Needs a Cloud Native Manifesto

The imperative for Cloud Native engineering in the Telecomms sector is headlined by the clarion call from Orange for an industry manifesto.

Following the publication of the Cloud Native Manifesto by the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN), Laurent Leboucher, group CTO and SVP of Orange, joins TelecomTV to explain what the manifesto is, why it is needed and the impact it could have on the telecom sector.

The Cloud Native Manifesto, developed by the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN), outlines the principles and guidelines for building cloud-native architectures in the context of telco networks.

This manifesto aims to provide a framework for leveraging cloud computing technologies to enable scalable, flexible, and efficient mobile network infrastructure. It recognizes the need for agility, scalability, and automation in the face of increasing demands on telco networks.

Orange Leadership

As the TMF writes in this interview with Laurent, they are seeking to apply a Cloud Native approach to their core network infrastructure. In 2020 CIO Thierry Souche set the scene, saying that the Only Way is Cloud Native.

Laurent is extending the work he began for the IT systems of Orange, where he applied a Cloud DevOps model to transform their business systems and is now leveraging that learning to similarly modernize their core network.

Orange is testing how its vision will work in practice on Pikeo, an experimental, fully cloudified 5G standalone network, where they are developing network functions as microservices deployed in cloud infrastructure in containers orchestrated by Kubernetes, with the access network based on Open RAN principles and technologies.

In his TelecomTV interview Laurent describes the type of product innovations that a software-driven network is enabling for Orange, such as ‘Standalone 5G‘, where “network slicing” prioritizes certain slices to cover critical uses or specific needs and offer different levels of quality and security.

He says they will also leverage their Cloud Native capability and AI to better automate their network operations, using CI/CD DevOps practices.

At 3m:15s he is asked about network disaggregation and he says this is a key path to utilizing Cloud Native applications, allowing them to introduce more innovation as different network building blocks are split so that new industry players can provide these services. They have already begun to disaggregate some functions like L2 switches and IP routers, and are deploying Cloud Native 5G networking and are starting with OpenRAN.

From 7m:18s Laurent describes what he believes the keynote strategic goal for the Telco cloud industry should be.

While the industry is on the journey to adopt Cloud Native they are still doing so in silos – Vendors bring them virtualized network functions but each requires a slightly different flavour of Cloud infrastructure, meaning they would end up with multiple islands of small Cloud platforms to implement them.

Instead what is needed is an end-to-end homogeneous Telco cloud offering, one that is commoditized across the entire industry not just designed for single operators like Orange.

Orange has been an early adopter and innovator in this area, and in this Telecom TV interview Philippe Ensarguet, VP of software engineering, explains how they went about the process, what tools and partners they selected, and what lessons they learned along the way.

Conclusion

The Cloud Native Manifesto by the NGMN sets the stage for the adoption of cloud-native architectures in the mobile network domain. By following the principles and guidelines outlined in the manifesto, mobile network operators can leverage cloud computing technologies to build scalable, flexible, and efficient infrastructure that meets the demands of the digital era.