Creating A Network Slicing Strategy

In an earlier network slicing article, I asked;

?"Imagine a data networking service where the business user could specify the desired technical specifications and the accompanying quality of service metrics by adjusting this service on demand based on the consuming devices and end-users connectivity environment."

I also presented the potential value of network slicing and the top business use cases for deploying this service in that piece.?Based on the thousands of views it received, it continues to resonate with my audience. I always try to "give the people what they want," so this article will reveal the network slicing building blocks and the path communications service providers (CSPs) should follow to make network slicing a part of their standard commercial offering.

Network slicing has been on the horizon for many years. Discussions on the technology and implementation have now given way to a focus on business value. This most recent priority is centered around three questions:

• Identifying the most suitable use cases and early revenue opportunities for network slicing;
• Building a specific business case and obtaining the required technical resources; and
• Socializing the necessary strategy, internal policies, and leadership actions.

Taken together, answers to these questions outline the needed transformation journey that all CSPs need to consider. To help guide organizations beginning this journey, Ericsson Digital identified the top 10 industry segments holding the most potential value to service providers. Through extensive market analysis, internal R&D, and a focus on identifying profitable end-to-end industry solutions, Ericsson was also able to uncover the necessary building block for 5G deployment success.

Building Blocks for Future Growth

From a future business perspective, the delivery of advanced 5G network services has become business-critical. Operationally, 5G enables the delivery of Internet of Things (IoT) services and solutions to enterprises. Economically, this requires the deployment of network services customized to meet each customer's specific requirements. To maintain business agility in delivering such a complex, dynamic, and highly "personalized" model, CSPs need to virtualize and fully automate network core management. The path to this type of change begins by adopting cloud-native infrastructure and virtualizing just about every network function. Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVi) enables operators to deploy virtual network functions (VNFs) or cloud-native functions (CNFs) from multiple vendors, as well as OSS and BSS applications, with speed while keeping total cost of ownership low.

CSPs must also leverage key 5G capabilities and networking functions . To do this, telecommunications executives should avoid visualizing network slicing as a traditional network service. Network slices can create, manage, and deploy dynamic services as logical networks that serve a defined business purpose. However, a particular case exists in which network slices serve industries or enterprises as a "wholesale" type of service. Resources can be categorized as physical, virtual, dedicated to a particular slice, or shared across multiple network services.

The final building block is end-to-end network orchestration , and these solutions aren't limited or restricted by industry verticals or a single organization's requirements. Flexibility enables a "network-as-a-service" (NaaS) business model. This approach delivers the visibility, control, and adaptability an enterprise may need. Service capacity expansion can also accommodate anticipated demand like that created by a major sporting event. Services based on network slices will support any customer-required service level agreement. An enterprise could even request new services on demand.?

Figure 1- CSP building blocks toward delivering network slicing are NFVi, 5G network capabilities, and end-to-end network orchestration.

The Transformation Journey

The journey toward implementing a network slicing strategy starts with understanding and identifying current and future services requirements and use cases. This starting point includes market-sizing key opportunities and mapping out subsequent customer segmentation. Current network capabilities will drive future possibilities.

?Figure 2 - The CSP journey to network slicing starts with understanding and identifying current and future services requirements and use cases.

Targeted user geography and network topology will drive Enterprise use cases. These realities will help prioritize industry penetration goals, customer segments, and target use cases. A slicing product roadmap based on the chosen network slicing go-to-market model (direct B2B/B2C versus a B2B2X approach) will help determine the appropriate service enablers. Pricing strategy revisions are also needed to reflect a value-based rather than a cost-based model.

CSPs must finally modify business and operational processes to use orchestration and automated deployment of designed generic use case templates like augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), video surveillance, or tracking. These templates enable customized service design. ?When deployed, each network slice is assigned resources and stored in the product catalog. Run-time commands launch SLA monitoring and continuous life cycle management of each network slice. Network service providers monitor the run-time SLAs provisioned with network slicing to assure fulfillment of all designated metrics. Slices can also be life cycle managed like network functions.

Future of Business

The value this model delivers to CSP customers revolutionizes the network service business. The CSP gains an ability to provide services based on individual customer service level requirements (SLAs). Enterprise customers can now control key network parameters. This offering delivers the visibility, control, and adaptability of a privately built and operated physical network without the customer bearing the usual risk and cost of such an undertaking.

With network slicing, CSPs can provide self-service offerings to enterprise customers. Service providers can also offer independent operations and management to customers and allow them to take full operational responsibility for their network services. In addition to these improvements, CSPs will have the ability to deliver customized network monitoring and analytics.

Network slicing is the path towards increased revenue and profit. To learn more about the journey, check out two of the most recent articles from Ericsson Digital:

• Essential Building Blocks of E2E Network Slicing ; and
• Network Slicing Transformation Journey .

These references represent the industry best practice playbook for successfully navigating the path toward network slicing nirvana.

Ericsson Digital Services sponsored this article.