NTTDATA Unlimited Future

5 • Edge Smart Spaces is an advanced concept that illustrated the importance of pervasive intelligent in the cloud. Use of Edge devices makes it possible to provision any service at very high speed, at any location which has network connectivity- and in practice, with the roll-out of 5G, that is starting to mean just about anywhere. It is the key to creating effective disaggregated network services, which are essential for distributed and collaborative working. Edge Smart Spaces enables almost immediate creation of a secure working hub wherever you need it, and then makes it possible to connect each hub to create virtual collaborative spaces for which distance is not an issue. This reflects the ways in which large enterprises are increasingly working today, with locations that are geographically distributed, and a movement towards virtualised working spaces, rather than physical hubs. Smart Edge Spaces provisions each physical location, but applications do not have to replicated onto Edge devices: they can be managed centrally, with functionality delivered to the Edge, which further reduces the set up, investment and management effort. Smart Edge can also be used to set up standalone working units (including for B2B2C use) with the same kind of ease. • Network slicing is a key technique for rapid, customized service delivery. In simple terms, by treating connectivity and data processing as discrete components within the network, it is possible for users to define their own targeted services (within the limits of what is available in the network, of course), and then configure the appropriate elements into a specific service. This complement NaaS in some key ways. Just as automated NaaS, enabled by AIOps, provides environments and virtual working spaces on demand, so Network Slicing can be used to deliver customizable services for access and use within these distributed environments. Used together, these capabilities will have a revolutionary impact on the market as a whole and, above all, on the communication companies that are able to maximise the potential of these new technologies. Fernando Rex López Head of Networks and Operations NTT DATA Europe In conceptual terms, we are serving geographically distributed working locations through development of wholly disaggregated networks, based on intelligent cloud, in which Edge devices are used to ensure that intelligence is pervasive throughout the entire network. Within this low latency, high bandwidth strategic environment, we use automation techniques, enabled by AI and ML, to deliver truly composable solutions for user self-service. Whole areas of established business, from traditional IT to high-capacity physical environments, become- if not irrelevant- yet much less important than they once were. What matters now is the capability of the network itself, its intelligence and the quality and composability of the individual toolsets within the network. The rise of hybrid NaaS places connectivity providers at the heart of future working practices, collaboration in the cloud and remote/distributed working. Other players may be important but, in this world, the network is what really matters.