Earlier this month, Telefónica Germany announced it will use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to virtualise its 5G core for a proof of concept (POC) in an industrial use case and plans to move to commercial deployment in 2021. Part of the POC process is to ensure compliance with all applicable data protection guidelines and certifying them according to relevant industry standards.
“With the virtualisation of our 5G core network, we are laying the foundation for the digital transformation of the German economy. This collaboration with AWS is an important part of our strategy for building industrial 5G networks”, said Markus Haas, CEO of Telefónica Germany.
Sentiment about cloud – especially public cloud – has been on a slight roller-coaster ride since they emerged back in the “noughties”: From initial reluctance to reluctant acceptance – to customer driven enthusiasm to scaling back and migrating back data and apps to on-premises data centres or private clouds to a more recent acceptance, that most enterprise resources may work best in a hybrid or public cloud environment.
Still, the viewpoint of many is still that core resources for the most part belong on-premises – especially if they are essential for the running of the business or involves sensitive data.
It is in this light that the Telefónica Germany announcement is interesting. On the face of it, it may appear that this is a possible major validation of public cloud as a platform for core systems and sensitive data. Although the core network components will remain on a different platform delivered by Ericsson, there is clearly an element of that.
Perception on Public Cloud
Many organisations remain sceptical with regards to public cloud. Ecosystm data shows that almost 40% have private cloud as their primary cloud deployment model (Figure 1); roughly a third have gone for a hybrid model and only around one quarter have chosen a public cloud model.
Most cloud deployment strategies ultimately come down to an evaluation of cost vs. risk and this evaluation is clearly demonstrated in Ecosystm data. Close to 80% of those choosing an on-premises private cloud model mention security and compliance as a main reason whereas cost considerations are the main reason for those opting for a public cloud model (Figure 2). What our data also shows is that public cloud providers are not necessarily winning the argument of cost savings among users.
For many organisations today, security and compliance concerns are still a valid point against public cloud as a primary deployment model. However, as we see more and more initiatives like Telefónica Germany, this argument diminishes – and it will become harder for IT organisations to convince senior management that this is still the way to go.
The Edge Complements the Cloud
The other noteworthy take-away from the Telefónica Germany initiative is how cloud-enabled edge computing is being embraced by the network design to ensure lower latencies for those who need it. The company states, “If companies use 5G network functions based on the cloud-based 5G core network of Telefónica Germany / O2 in the future, they will no longer need a physical core network infrastructure at their logistics and production sites, for example, but only a 5G radio network (RAN) with corresponding antennas.”
As I’m sure that you are an avid reader of Ecosystm Predicts every year, this should not come as a surprise as we wrote about something like this in the Top 5 Cloud Trends for 2020. Although some are touting Edge computing as the ultimate replacement of Cloud, we then believed – and still do – that it will be complimentary rather than competing technology. Cloud-based setups can benefit from pushing computing heavy workloads to the Edge in much the same way as IoT and provides a great platform for managing the Edge computing endpoints.
But to go back to the private cloud bit – while private cloud is not going away in the foreseeable future, we may be starting to see its demise in the more distant future.
To paraphrase a famous Brit: Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning for private cloud.
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