The diagram explores the idea that “pockets” of 5G assurance capabilities will be developed by vendors – assuming that vendor priority will be to expand their capabilities in areas of current expertise.
The box colours denote: Blue = network assurance, Green = service assurance, Purple = enterprise-focussed assurance, Pink = new or niche capabilities, Grey = capabilities outside of most telco-focussed assurance vendor’s interest in the mid-term.
In summary:
- The left hand column moves from traditional performance/fault monitoring to closed-loop self-healing – this is the natural place for existing network assurance vendors – although, non-NEPs will need to message against the bundling of assurance capabilities into larger NEP deals
- Going up the column, there are a number of new capabilities which offer opportunity for all vendors – although, a couple in pink boxes are either new or niche – and may only appeal to a subset of vendors
- The middle column includes all existing service assurance but demonstrates the additional complexity of assuring new 5G services. All services could require an enterprise-focused assurance product to be available – but assurance for private network and slices are thought to be likely to require the most functionality for enterprises
- The pink boxes in the middle column demonstrate a couple of areas where requirements are quite specific and only certain vendors have previously chosen to create products
- The area of enterprise-assurance will be one that all telco-specific vendors will need to consider. There are benefits and drawbacks to entering this market but it does offer potential new markets if and when telcos are successful with their 5G/edge services.
