To thrive and differentiate in this new era, metro architectures must evolve to keep pace with unrelenting demand and expectation for capacity, agility, and quality of service. This is no longer a prognostication, the dynamics of this new world are materializing as expectations, network evolutions, or some combination of both.

To meet networking demands―largely driven by the migration to the cloud by both customers and content service providers (CSPs) ―network operators must apply cloud principles to architecting, building, and operating their metro networks – a Cloud Metro. Core principles of the emerging cloud metro include the following:

• An architecture designed to scale up and scale out (spine-leaf)
• Open interfaces and open application programming interfaces (APIs)
• Network automation that applies artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)
• Cloud-based delivery of networking tools and applications (i.e., software as a service [SaaS])
• Heavy emphasis on networking sustainability principals & opportunities

Aimed at understanding and measuring the progress of the metro network evolution of CSPs, Heavy Reading launched its first Cloud Metro Survey in 2022 and conducted a Year 2 version of the survey in May 2023, with input from 84 network operators globally. This webinar will present a comprehensive and compelling snapshot of the Cloud Metro evolution from the perspective of the analyst, the operator, the networking equipment vendor, and the system integrator. It will the key findings, including metro network modernization drivers, essential networking capabilities, network automation, and the foundational role of coherent pluggable optics.

Attend this webinar featuring:

• Sterling Perrin, Sr. Principal Analyst – Optical Networks & Transport, Heavy Reading
• Michael Fränkle, CTO Tele Columbus AG – their Cloud Metro deployment
• Tim Pennell, Sr. Director, Product Management, Juniper Networks
• Hiroko Ashida, Global xHaul Strategy Manager, NEC

Speakers:

Tim Pennell
Sr. Director, Product Management, Juniper Networks
Tim is a part of Juniper’s Automated WAN Solutions Product Line Management team with responsibility for Juniper’s ACX product portfolio. He is a veteran with 20+ years of experience in product development in the communications industry.

Hiroko Ashida
Global xHaul Strategy Manager, NEC
Hiroko Ashida is a Global xHaul Solution Strategy Manager at NEC Corporation. She has been with the company for over 10 years, helping telecommunication operators across all regions to transform their network infrastructure. As a solution strategy manager in the global system integrator, Hiroko works closely with global ecosystem partners to develop NEC’s Open xHaul Solutions that meet customer needs.

Michael Fränkle
CTO, Tele Columbus AG
Michael Fränkle joined Tele Columbus AG as CTO and Executive Board Member in February 2023 responsible for Technology, IT and production. Previously he was CTO and EVP for TDC NET A/S in Copenhagen/Denmark since 2017 and CTO and Managing Director at Munich based M-net since 2015. Since 1999 Michael was assuming for more than 12 years various technology management functions at Telefónica o2 in Germany which included the CTO role at Telefónica´s wireline business.

Sterling Perrin
Principal Analyst – Optical Networking & Transport, Heavy Reading
Sterling has more than 15 years’ experience in telecommunications as an industry analyst and journalist. His coverage area at Heavy Reading is optical networking, including packet-optical transport. He also authors Heavy Reading’s Packet-Enabled Optical Networking Market Tracker and Next-Gen Core Packet-Optical Market Tracker. Sterling joined Heavy Reading after five years at IDC, where he served as lead optical networks analyst, responsible for the firm’s optical networking subscription research and custom consulting activities. Prior to IDC, Sterling worked for Standard & Poor’s, where he delivered global industry analysis on a range of IT segments. He is a former journalist and editor at Telecommunications Magazine, and has also done consulting work for the research firm Current Analysis. Sterling is a frequent speaker at telecom industry events and a highly sought-after source among the business and trade press.

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