Why simple ideas are great

As we build the networks of the future, the key will be eliminating complexity

In today’s digital era, customers are more demanding, knowledgeable and empowered than ever. They want applications that are personalised to their specific needs, anywhere and anytime. Their expectations from products and services are compelling network operators and engineers to devise solutions that are similar in nature to consumer apps and can function according to demand while delivering the highest quality.

Due to these developments, backend networks have become more complex than ever whilst operating under unique operating conditions. They must seamlessly cater to a multitude of consumer demands across multi-cloud and multi-device environments. While the cloud is powered at its heart by the data centre, it also places immense pressure on this data centre to function smoothly and profitably.

Network operators are thus investing significant resources towards scaling their infrastructure in a cost-effective manner to meet these enterprise and consumer demands. This is leading to the usage of complex programming languages and highly skilled developers. Additionally, human-machine interactions have also now come into the mix to further complicate matters. While the future appears promising due to the emergence of self-driving networks, the reality is that we have a long and winding way to go in order to achieve such a future.

As organisations and network operators strive towards building such an infrastructure, engineering complexity often impedes their ability to respond. This forces them to relook at their network infrastructure and operations, and work towards making them as simple as possible. As we move to a more complex world, rising degrees of complexity can hinder innovation and negatively impact its rate of adoption and the trust that users ultimately have on the digital economy of the 21st century. This is why engineering simplicity is of utmost importance.

For any enterprise, dealing with the emergence of 5G, internet of things (IoT), edge computing and more, is leading to a situation of increased complexity that requires a relook at how network operators design and deploy their IT infrastructure. Advanced networks are some of the most resource-intensive IT operations and for IT operators, the challenge posed by this is often difficult to work with. Whether they must perform maintenance work or move new services to the cloud, they are required to divert hours and money towards operations. Thus, the simpler the better.

Engineered simplicity can greatly lower operational complexities, make network infrastructure more secure and also lead to innovative services as enterprises transform themselves in the digital era of 5G and IoT. With simplified architecture and self-driving networks, enterprise IT operators can thus simplify the management and the operational complexity of a network through automation, intent and machine learning.

Modern IT operators are realising that they now need a flexible network architecture that can be easily "sliced" into isolated networks that eliminate the inherent complexities of traditional IT.