TM Forum has launched a blueprint that helps communication service providers (CSPs) address the industry-wide problem of managing hybrid network environments.

The industry association driving digital business transformation of the communications industry says it is the first such blueprint of its kind and it will provide practical resources to help CSPs to manage virtualised and traditional infrastructures simultaneously.

Deploying virtualised network infrastructure and systems alongside traditional ones creates many operational challenges. The ‘Implementation and Deployment Blueprints for Hybrid Environments’, provides a standardised and interoperable approach to solving the fragmentation between traditional and virtualised infrastructures and systems.

“Bringing our members together from across the industry to collaborate and create a standardised way to address the industry-wide challenge of managing hybrid network environments, is a great example of the pragmatic problem solving and innovation that TM Forum enables,” said Nik Willetts, CEO at TM Forum.

“As the telecoms industry rapidly transforms, it is essential that enabling technology and standards are put in place to allow existing infrastructures and systems to communicate with new and future architectures. The Hybrid Infrastructures Blueprint provides the practical help that TM Forum’s CSP members need to navigate what is a complex and lengthy digital transformation.”

The Hybrid Infrastructures Blueprint, goes beyond the very basic management capabilities typically deployed with NFV today. It provides CSPs with measured ways to manage the migration between virtualised and traditional environments, creating a smoother digital transformation.

This is a complete implementation and deployment blueprint for managing a multi-vendor, hybrid / NFV infrastructure. Collaboratively developed by leading service providers, vendors and other stakeholders in TM Forum’s ZOOM (zero-touch orchestration, operations and management) project, the blueprint contains practical solutions and information, which can be used by TM Forum members on demand. 

The launch of the Blueprint further builds on TM Forum’s commitment towards Open APIs, which provide a way to dramatically cut the time and risk associated with business transformation projects.

Milind Bhagwat, enterprise architect at BT, added: “Operators today are faced with the massive challenge of managing hybrid infrastructure composed of virtual and physical components. The intent-based, catalogue-driven and policy-enabled approach for management of the hybrid infrastructure platform delivered by the Blueprint allows us to effectively automate end-to-end service provisioning and management. And as it is now well known, automation is the key that unlocks the benefits of network virtualisation.”