The Path to AI-Native Telco Service Provider: Amdocs, Dell, and Red Hat Propel New Era of Network Operations

12 Feb 2025

The Path to AI-Native Telco Service Provider: Amdocs, Dell, and Red Hat Propel New Era of Network Operations

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The telecommunication service provider industry is in the midst of a 5G business and network transformation, fueled by the promise of blazing-fast speeds, ultra-low latency, and the rise of innovative services.  But this transformation brings new challenges. Service providers are grappling with increasingly complex networks, a surge in data volume, and the need to manage a growing ecosystem of multivendor network workloads while reducing operational costs.  To stay ahead, leading service providers are focusing on increasing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve business and operational outcomes by optimizing network performance, predicting and preventing outages, and automating critical tasks.

This shift towards more AI-driven networks necessitates a new approach to operations. Traditional methods are no longer sufficient to handle the complexity and scale of 5G. Enter Amdocs Network AIOps, which applies AI and machine learning (ML) to network operations for intelligent automation and enhanced network management.  Amdocs, a leading provider of software and services to service providers, is collaborating with Dell Technologies and Red Hat to develop a service provider-tailored AIOps solution for the hybrid multicloud architectures.  This powerful platform offers a unified approach across both public and on-premises clouds to help service providers monitor and manage multi-vendor services across 3G, 4G, and 5G networks, leveraging AI for predictive analysis and automated remediation.

A Hybrid Multicloud Approach to Network AIOps:  Amdocs Network AIOps on Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks for Red Hat and Red Hat OpenShift AI

The diagram below illustrates a hybrid cloud architecture specifically designed for Amdocs’ Network AIOps solution for service providers looking to develop and train their AI models in the cloud which can then be migrated into secure, on-premises production data centers powered by Dell and Red Hat infrastructure solutions.

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This hybrid multicloud approach offers significant advantages for service providers:

  • Agility and innovation: Leveraging the hybrid multicloud for development accelerates the large language model (LLM) lifecycle, enabling faster innovation and time to market for new AI-powered services.
  • Security and control: On-premises deployment with Red Hat OpenShift AI and Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks (DTIB) for Red Hat offers enhanced data security, regulatory compliance, and control over critical AI assets.
  • Cost optimization: This approach allows service providers to optimize costs by using hybrid multicloud for temporary resource-intensive training and leveraging on-premises infrastructure for longer term deployment and inferencing.

In collaboration with Dell and Red Hat, Amdocs has developed a Network AIOps solution for hybrid multicloud architectures. The solution leverages the cloud and AI technologies to analyze telemetry data from a multi-vendor, cross-domain network to provide deeper network insights.  These insights can help enhance overall operational efficiencies and network resiliency while driving down operational costs through Amdocs closed loop automation workflows.  This blog provides a high-level overview of the Network AIOps platform and the solutions from Amdocs, Dell Technologies, and Red Hat that drive it.

Amdocs Network AIOps Solution:  Addressing the Challenges of AI-Driven 5G Networks

Amdocs Network AIOps is a comprehensive platform designed to address the complexities of modern telecom networks. Amdocs Network AIOps is a network operations AI framework that consist of four layers (Ingest, Decide, Observe, and Act) that leverages AI and ML to automate network operations, optimize performance, and enhance service reliability. 

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AIOps - A New Approach to Network Operations

Key Capabilities behind the framework of the Amdocs Network AIOps Solution:

  • Data Ingestion and Mediation (Ingest Layer): The platform ingests data from diverse sources across the network, including network elements, OSS/BSS systems, and probes. 
  • AI/ML-driven Insights (Decide Layer): Leveraging Red Hat OpenShift AI with NVIDIA Inferencing, Amdocs Network AIOps provides actionable insights in support of use cases like predictive analytics and root cause analysis. This integration empowers operators to harness the power of cloud-based AI/ML capabilities for enhanced network automation enabling proactive network management thereby reducing the mean time to resolution (MTTR) for incidents.
  • Correlated Workflow Observability (Observe Layer): The platform correlates fault management and performance events and service KPIs providing cross-domain observability in a single pane view of the network service.
  • Closed-Loop Automation (Act Layer): Amdocs Network AIOps employs a closed-loop approach, where the system automates routine tasks, such as network configuration and incident remediation, opening tickets, developing Method of Procedures (MOPs), and executing MOPs, while it continuously learns from previous actions and data patterns to improve its accuracy and efficiency over time.

Predictive Maintenance with Network AIOps

Network downtime is a major concern for many service providers, often leading to lost revenue and dissatisfied customers. Amdocs Network AIOps solution tackles this challenge by gathering network telemetry data through Amdocs’ Ingest layer into an on-premises data lake with the predictive power of AI/ML technologies running on Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks for Red Hat with NVIDIA graphical processing units (GPUs).

By training AI/ML models on historical network data, including performance metrics, fault logs, and environmental factors, this solution can accurately predict the likelihood of future network failures and accelerate remediation. This significantly streamlines operational processes and allows service providers to proactively schedule and complete maintenance tasks within allocated maintenance windows, replace aging equipment, scale up or down resources to optimize network configurations, minimize downtime and ensure uninterrupted service.

Amdocs Network Platform for Operations with its GenAI Network Assistant: Your Intelligent Network Copilot

Managing the complexity of 5G networks can be overwhelming for even the most skilled network engineers. The Amdocs Network Platform for Operations, integrated with an Amdocs generative AI (genAI) Network Assistant and Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks, provides a single pane of glass for comprehensive network monitoring and management.

This genAI-powered assistant acts as an intelligent copilot for network engineers, offering:

  • Proactive alerts and insights: The assistant continuously monitors the network, analyzing telemetry data from the telecom operator’s mobility and core networks along with its infrastructure as the Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks and Red Hat OpenShift to identify potential issues and proactively alert engineers.
  • Automated troubleshooting and remediation: By leveraging its deep knowledge base and AI capabilities, the genAI assistant can automatically diagnose common network problems and even take corrective actions, such as restarting services, rerouting traffic, replacing failed nodes, or scaling resources up or down resources to meet fluctuating demand requirements.
  • Natural language processing (NPL): Network engineers can interact with the assistant using natural language, asking questions, seeking recommendations, and receiving clear, concise answers.
     

This solution directly addresses the key challenges faced by service providers in managing their evolution toward 5G networks:

  •  Complexity: 5G networks are inherently complex, with a multitude of new technologies and network functions.  The AIOps solution provides a unified platform for managing this complexity, simplifying operations, and reducing the burden on network engineers.
  • Scale: 5G networks generate massive amounts of data. The solution's AI engine can efficiently process and analyze this data, extracting valuable insights and enabling proactive network management.
  • Multi-vendor environments: Most service providers rely on equipment from multiple core network and RAN vendors. This solution provides a vendor-agnostic approach to network monitoring and management, ensuring seamless interoperability.
  • Skill gaps: Finding and retaining skilled personnel to manage AI-driven networks can be challenging. This solution automates many complex tasks, freeing up valuable resources and reducing the reliance on specialized expertise.

Benefits and Value Propositions

By implementing this AIOps solution, service providers can reap significant benefits:

  • Reduced downtime: Predictive analytics and automated remediation minimize service disruptions, improving customer satisfaction and protecting revenue.  
  • Improved network performance: AI-driven optimization ensures optimal network efficiency and resource utilization, leading to enhanced service quality. 
  • Increased operational efficiency: Automation streamlines workflows, reduces manual intervention, and ensures maintenance tasks are completed within allocated windows, freeing up resources for strategic initiatives.
  • Lower operating costs: Optimized resource allocation and reduced downtime translate to significant cost savings.
  • Faster time to market: The solution accelerates the deployment of new 5G services, enabling service providers to capitalize on emerging market opportunities.

For example, leading service providers could leverage this solution to analyze network traffic patterns, predict congestion points, and dynamically adjust network resources to ensure a seamless user experience.  This could result in a significant increase in customer satisfaction and a reduction in churn.

A Hybrid Multicloud Approach to Network AI Operations: Leveraging the Cloud for LLM Development and On-Premises for Secure Deployment with Red Hat OpenShift AI

The telecommunications industry's embrace of AI, particularly gen, is transforming network operations, customer service, and service innovation. However, building, deploying, and managing these powerful models presents unique challenges. Service providers require a robust and secure platform that allows them to leverage the scalability and flexibility of the public cloud for development while maintaining control and security with an on-premises deployment for production.

This is where a hybrid multicloud approach emerges as a game-changer, combining the strengths of Red Hat OpenShift AI and Dell Infrastructure Blocks for Red Hat, while leveraging the AI investment by the leading hyperscale public cloud vendors.

Building and Training LLMs in the Cloud 

Developing sophisticated LLMs requires access to massive datasets and powerful computing resources. Service providers are partnering with leading hyperscalers who offer perfect environments for this.  This allows service providers to develop highly specialized LLMs tailored to their specific needs, such as network optimization where LLMs can analyze network traffic patterns to predict congestion, optimize resource allocation, and proactively prevent outages.

Secure Deployment and Management On-Premises with Red Hat OpenShift AI and Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks for Red Hat

Once an LLM is trained and optimized in the public cloud, it needs to be deployed in a secure and controlled environment for production. This is where Red Hat OpenShift AI and Dell Infrastructure Blocks come into play.

Red Hat OpenShift AI automates the MLOps pipeline, enabling:

  • Model packaging and repatriation: Trained LLMs from Gemini AI are packaged into containerized images and securely transferred to the on-premises data center.
  • Secure deployment and management: Red Hat OpenShift AI integrates with Dell Telecom Infrastructure Automation Suite, included with Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks, to automate the deployment and lifecycle management of on-premises resources, enabling the LLM to be integrated with existing network infrastructure.
  • Continuous monitoring and updates: Red Hat OpenShift AI provides tools to monitor the performance of deployed LLMs, identify potential issues, and facilitate updates and retraining as needed.

Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks provides the pre-integrated and validated on-premises cloud stack infrastructure with embedded automation for deployment and lifecycle management:

  • High-performance computing: Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks, powered by NVIDIA GPUs, and the addition of the NVIDIA AI Enterprise suite, provides the necessary compute power for running demanding LLM inference workloads.
  • Dell Telecom Infrastructure Automation Suite, included Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks, automates common tasks like scaling up or down server resources, system upgrades and node replacements.  It also provides rich server telemetry from across the network to enhance the analysis of performed by Amdocs Network AIOps. 
  • Security and isolation: Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks offers a secure and isolated environment, crucial for protecting sensitive data and ensuring the integrity of the LLM.
  • Scalability and reliability: The Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks are designed, tested, and factory integrated to ensure scalability, interoperability and high availability, ensuring the LLM can handle growing workloads and maintain continuous operation.
  • Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks for Red Hat simplify support by offering one call support for the cloud stack that meets telecom SLAs.

The Amdocs Network AIOps solution built with Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks for Red Hat and Red Hat OpenShift AI represents a significant leap forward in service provider network management. By harnessing the power of AI and ML, it empowers service providers to navigate the complexities of 5G more efficiently, optimize network performance, and deliver enhanced customer experiences. This collaborative effort from Amdocs, Dell, and Red Hat sets a new standard for AI innovation in the telecommunication industry, paving the way for a future of intelligent, self-healing networks.

To learn how Amdocs Network Intelligence can transform your network operations, visit www.amdocs.com/products-services/intelligent-networking-suite

For more information on Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks on Red Hat (DTIB) and how it can transform your network operations, visit www.dell.com/telecom-infrastructure-blocks

 

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