IBM unveils new AI-powered automation software to deliver 5G/edge services faster

Announced at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2021 event in Barcelona, the IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is designed to run in a wide range of environments on Red Hat OpenShift, including hybrid multi-cloud and multi-vendor.

IBM today announced the expansion of its Cloud Pak portfolio with the addition of IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, an AI-powered telco cloud platform that enables the automation of network operations so that communications service providers (CSPs) can transform their networks, evolve to zero-touch operations, reduce operating expenses (OPEX) and deliver 5G and edge computing services faster.

The software brings together advanced analytics, machine learning and AIOps to help CSPs discover hidden patterns and trends in networking data, so they can continually optimize network operations and performance with minimal human intervention.

The new software delivers the following benefits:

• Normalized lifecycle modelling
• Intent driven orchestration
• Automated Service Design and Testing
• Dynamic service assurance
• Closed-loop operations

"As the telco industry races to capture new value from 5G and Edge computing, many are transforming their networks to software-defined platforms that can deliver on this promise. Yet our customers have identified that limited automation and the lack of real-time visibility across networks have hindered their ability to deliver innovative services to customers fast enough. To help address these growing demands, IBM's new Cloud Pak for Network Automation software uses AI-powered automation to enable zero-touch provisioning of new services which can facilitate the simplification of the management of network functions from the core to the edge," said Andrew Coward, General Manager, Software Defined Networking, IBM.

Further, IBM plans to integrate the new software with Turbonomic network performance management and assurance. Turbonomic provides the ability to ingest large amounts of telemetry information and provide insight into performance and services to manage day-to-day operations.

Announced at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2021 event in Barcelona, the IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is designed to run in a wide range of environments on Red Hat OpenShift, including hybrid multi-cloud and multi-vendor. According to IBM, the software is engineered to scale new services in days, rather than months.

The software is available now.