Applying AI/ML to Workflow Automation

With an industry forward by GSMA Intelligence, “The application of AI/ML to workflow automation for complex networks” offers communications service providers (CSPs) a window into turning operational data oceans into a competitive differentiator.

Recognizing the massive increase in network complexity and growing subscriber expectations for speed and performance delivered with network slicing and mobile edge computing, the whitepaper, published by Mobile World Live in partnership with NETSCOUT, aims to encourage CSPs to prosper against rising energy and labor costs through clear understanding of the current state.

• Increased network complexity: With the transition from 4G to 5G still in progress, CSPs must navigate a diverse landscape of technologies and systems to serve their customers and maintain profit margins.
• Advanced automation requirements: The volume of data available to guide critical decisions outpaces human capacity to analyze and take corrective measures or fine-tune the network for optimized performance. Experienced personnel need a way to leverage predictive insights for consistent real-time visibility so they can focus on the more intractable issues aligned with their level of expertise.
• RAN-forward nature of the 5G era: Increased cell densities are driving the need for automation in operations and RAN optimization tasks while still accounting for communications with existing core network functions. As a result, CSPs are wise to adopt strategies that leverage critical domain knowledge for unmatched packet-level visibility.
• Enhanced focus on impacted users: Artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) routines designed to highlight the individuals impacted by network events can assist CSPs in ranking the severity of populations for resolution efforts, triaging for hands-on intervention, and shared outlier characteristic identification.

With a section dedicated to analytics service chaining, the whitepaper highlights the importance of solutions that guide CSPs from business impact to outlier detection to deeper analytics and smart outcomes.

The figure above illustrates this model further and showcases how CSPs can accurately monitor how well services and infrastructure are performing, surface issues that would otherwise go undetected, identify scenarios that occur an abnormal distance from other values in a sample population, and more accurately assess the business impact for unique subscribers.

To illustrate this approach further, the 13-page paper dives into a carrier aggregation use case featuring an acceleration of return on spectrum investments through a greater understanding of supported band combinations, band combination utilization metrics, localization of dropped sessions and cell/handset involvement, and presence of “unsuccessful” handovers masquerading as graceful releases.

Download the whitepaper.

Learn more about NETSCOUT’s solution for automated observability.