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CSP automation software spending will grow steadily through 2027, according to Appledore Research.
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All service providers are starting to get into automation but some are much more involved than others.
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Appledore expects network automation software will entirely replace OSS in the foreseeable future.
Operators are expected to spend $9 billion more annually on network automation software in 2027 than in 2023, analysts at Appledore Research told Silverlinings, with revenue steadily increasing each year between now and then.
Appledore’s definition of network automation software includes operational support system (OSS), fulfillment and service assurance. 5G, disaggregation, cloud and AI services. It noted that changing business models are making communications service providers (CSPs) not only increase but also re-structure their software spending plans.
The analysts said that software required to manage network technology domains remains the largest area of spend.
“Who’s deploying automation?” asked Patrick Kelly, principal analyst at Appledore. “I think we typically see aspects of it in every service provider.”
AT&T, Telefonica and Vodafone are among the big carriers getting into the automation game. Kelly, however, said that operators such as Rakuten and Dish Wireless are “more innovative in the market.”
These operators want to take the cloud hyperscale model and apply it to the stodgy old world of service providers, he said. They are looking at “how do I get a lot more efficiency in the organization without throwing bodies at it?"
The analyst described these operators as “fringe examples” in the CSP game though.
It should also be noted that Dish is getting crunched on spending to deploy its greenfield 5G network. Still, operators like Dish and Rakuten are the ones that people are watching because they are moving fastest in the market.
Kelly expects that “every single CSP in the world” is going down the network automation software path, maybe kicking and screaming, but nonetheless moving along it.
“Probably 10 to 15 years from now...network automation software will have fully replaced OSS. As you imagine [though] it is not a simple task... it is not an overnight task,” the analyst concluded.
Read more about automation in our automation channel here.