Thought Leadership Council: CSPs Increasingly Rely Upon Automation in IoT Networks

Automation is slowly but surely becoming a part of the Internet of Things (IoT) network architecture, according to the latest survey results from the Thought Leadership Council (TLC). Twenty-four percent of this month's panel say their companies already have adopted automation to manage IoT, while another 36 percent will do so by 2020.

Furthermore, panel members reiterated the importance being placed on security as IoT networks continue to expand. Almost 80 percent of panelists say IoT will have a significant impact on network security; almost 90 percent of this month's panel members say investment into IoT security is a critical area of investment for their company's IoT strategy.

TLC is a unique Heavy Reading initiative founded in August 2017, in which a panel of highly targeted CSPs participate in strategic research. TLC members receive private invitations to take part in anonymous surveys, which enables them to provide insights that might otherwise go undisclosed.

The focus group covered in “Thought Leadership Council: CSPs Increasingly Rely Upon Automation in IoT Networks” was asked nine questions about the impact of IoT on network architecture. The results clearly indicate that CSPs increasingly are turning to automation as they build IoT networks, and they continue to focus on security as a primary area of concern in those networks.

TLC members were asked to rate the impact that IoT will have on various parts of their networks. Results are shown in the following excerpt. Not surprisingly, 76 percent of panelists said IoT will have a significant impact on network security. What is more surprising is that CSPs appear much less a concerned about IoT's potential impact on other areas of the network.

“Thought Leadership Council: CSPs Increasingly Rely Upon Automation in IoT Networks” is published in PDF format.

Table of Contents

1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Key Findings
• About the Thought Leadership Council

2.DEPLOYMENT ANALYSIS

• Figure 1: Rate the potential impact IoT will have on various areas of the network

• Figure 2: How far along is your company in adopting automation to manage IoT services?

• Figure 3: How far along is your company in adopting/utilizing SD-WAN to support IoT initiatives?

3.TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

• Figure 4: What is the likelihood company will utilize blockchain to support and enhance IoT services in the following ways?

• Figure 5: How far along is your company in adopting a unified resource management plan for IoT that provides a synergistic view into and management of IT, data center and telecom resources?

• Figure 6: Is your company's connectivity management service/platform suitable for 5G IoT operations?

• Figure 7: At what stage is your company in adopting AI/analytics-as-a-service to support IoT initiatives?

4.DRIVERS & OBSTACLES

• Figure 8: How important will investment into the following be on your company's IoT strategy?

• Figure 9: What are the biggest challenges your company faces in relation to IoT's impact on your network architecture?

TERMS OF USE