The current service provider landscape and the potential of automation

Communication service providers (CSPs) navigate a dynamic landscape where success requires delivering more value while optimizing resources and exceeding customer expectations. Your networks must handle explosive data growth and service proliferation while meeting customer demand for premium experiences and smooth connectivity.

A thoughtful automation strategy is essential for success in today's environment. Relying on traditional manual processes can lead to bottlenecks, added complexity, and restricted scalability. CSPs may face challenges with network provisioning delays, longer service delivery times, higher field deployment costs, and more frequent service-impacting incidents.

Automation has the potential to provide significant advantages in service quality, market responsiveness, and cost savings.

Enter Cisco Crosswork Network Controller

To meet this need for strategic automation, Cisco created Cisco Crosswork Network Controller (CNC). Part of the Cisco Crosswork Network Automation portfolio, CNC transforms how you manage IP transport network deployment and operations. This multi-vendor automation solution delivers comprehensive network automation capabilities across the full lifecycle of your network infrastructure, regardless of which vendors you use.

CNC addresses six core use cases:

• Service provisioning and fulfillment
• Network optimization and traffic management
• Automation and remediation
• Operational management and maintenance
• Network visualization and path analysis
• Service health

Whether you're provisioning Layer 2/Layer 3 VPN services, optimizing traffic flows, or troubleshooting network issues, CNC centralizes complex operations into streamlined, automated workflows.

A $20.46 million opportunity

The benefits of automation with CNC aren't just theoretical. An independent study by Appledore Research found compelling financial impact for typical national operators. Based on analysis of real-world deployments across multiple CSPs, Appledore identified that CNC can deliver annual benefits of $20.46 million through three key value drivers:

• CapEx savings (about $3.39 million annually): CNC allows for higher network utilization, potentially delaying expensive capacity upgrades. Advanced traffic engineering and automated bandwidth-on-demand capabilities can help maximize existing infrastructure investments.
• OpEx reduction (approximately $7.57 million annually): Automation eliminates manual provisioning errors and can significantly accelerate or streamline service delivery. Field engineering costs may also go down as centralized configuration replaces on-site technical visits. Additionally, troubleshooting can become more efficient, saving valuable time.
• Revenue growth opportunities (about $9.5 million annually): Network resilience improvements can reduce customer churn and service-level agreement (SLA) penalties, while CNC's service customization capabilities can increase the proportion of customers purchasing premium services.

Over three years, estimated accumulated benefits reach $46.7 million, further confirming that automation is a strategic imperative rather than an operational luxury.

Your automation journey starts now

The evidence is clear: Network automation through CNC has the potential to give you measurable financial returns while positioning your network for future demands.

Download the complete Appledore Research ROI analysis to explore detailed benefit calculations, customer case studies, and more insights.