NETSCOUT Will Extend Its Visibility Without Borders into IBM Cloud for Telecommunications

NETSCOUT Extends Its Visibility Without Borders into IBM Telco Cloud 
Bruce Kelley

Carrier service providers (CSPs) are rapidly moving to cloud platforms to realize digital transformation goals and innovate with technologies such as 5G, 5G Enterprise, virtualization, business analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). By using platforms that optimize their ability to deploy capabilities such as network slicing, edge computing, and big data analytics, CSPs can build new revenue streams from enterprise and consumer services that extend far beyond standard connectivity.

While such a strategy represents enormous opportunity, it also creates complexity. CSPs must now deliver flawless user experience with an infrastructure that sprawls across multiple domains comprised of disparate networks, private and public clouds, as well as a variety of voice, video, and data services delivered via physical, virtualized, containerized, SDN/NFV, and other infrastructures.

IBM and NETSCOUT Will Collaborate to Support Cloudification of the Telco Network

With cloudification being the new normal, CSPs are looking to utilize hybrid cloud offerings, such as IBM Cloud for Telecommunications. The IBM Cloud for Telecommunications is an open, hybrid cloud architecture designed to accelerate business transformation with the power of edge and 5G and addresses the unique requirements of operators, partner ecosystems, and their enterprise clients. Built on IBM Cloud Satellite and leveraging Red Hat OpenShift, clients can deploy cloud services anywhere: on the cloud, on premises, or at the edge, while addressing industry-specific regulatory and security requirements.

The IBM Cloud for Telecommunications Ecosystem is an initiative to help network equipment providers, independent software vendors (ISVs), software-as-a-service providers, and hardware partners accelerate business transformation by unlocking the power of 5G and edge. NETSCOUT Systems, a market leader in service assurance, DDoS security, and business analytics is joining IBM’s ecosystem. NETSCOUT’s solutions rely on end-through-end Visibility Without Borders, which is based on continuous monitoring and processing of traffic data at the source and generating smart data. NETSCOUT smart data is based on ultra-high-definition metadata used for actionable intelligence on subscribers, voice, video and data services, physical, virtual, and hybrid networks across any technology, including mobile, fixed and Wi-Fi.

Having service assurance continuity across the entire technology lifecycle CSP services, from planning and design through trials and launch and onto ongoing operations and optimization, is critical to realizing successful adoption. With smart visibility, it is possible to maintain service assurance continuity throughout each of these lifecycle phases. Smart visibility produces smart data to feed the portfolio of applications that enable CSPs to innovate with technologies such as 5G, 5G Enterprise, virtualization, business analytics, and IoT.

Moving to the IBM Cloud for Telecommunications with Confidence

IBM and NETSCOUT plan to combine their strengths to enable CSPs to innovate with confidence in hybrid cloud environments. NETSCOUT’s smart data applications for service assurance, analytics, and security are designed to support CSPs, enabling them to cost-effectively operate and maintain a robust hybrid telecommunications network cloud built on IBM’s modern containerized and virtualized platform. This collaboration will help CSPs to build an open, secure, multi-access, multi-service network cloud using NETSCOUT’s comprehensive service assurance and security portfolio, which provides Visibility without Borders for 5G, 5G Enterprise, virtualization, business analytics, and IoT.