Implications of Network Slicing for the Network Automation and Orchestration Sector

"Slice orchestration is likely to be the biggest barrier to the successful deployment of network slicing."

Network slicing is still in the early phases of development, but it may become a key part of 5G roll-outs. The orchestration of network slices is likely to be the most challenging aspect of development, so communications service providers (CSPs) should consider whether proprietary, end-to-end approaches offer a higher chance of success than the more ambitious open-RAN-based approaches when planning network slicing offerings as part of their 5G deployments.

Key questions answered in this report:

• What are the implications of network slicing for the network automation and orchestration (NAO) sector?

• What will be required of NAO vendors to enable network slicing to become a reality?

• What network slicing solutions do key vendors have that are associated with network orchestration and automation?

• What must orchestration solutions offer in order to compete with private enterprise solutions?

Case studies included in this report:

• Network equipment providers:
  • Ericsson
  • Juniper
  • Nokia

• Independent software vendors:
  • Amdocs
  • Ciena