How MEF is Driving Huge Momentum in LSO API Adoption

MEF, a global industry association of network, cloud, security, and technology providers accelerating enterprise digital transformation, has announced unprecedented momentum in its Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) API adoption and innovation, with more than 160 global service providers from 65 countries involved in the adoption lifecycle.

This momentum is underscored by MEF’s transformative initiatives, including an enhanced enterprise API portfolio, the innovative LSO Payload Factory program and new smart contracts work. These initiatives, coupled with new certification programs and LSO partner-finding tools, mark major progress in MEF’s mission to accelerate NaaS automation and digital transformation across the global NaaS ecosystem.

“The rapid adoption of MEF’s LSO APIs across our global ecosystem reflects an ongoing shift towards automated, standardized service delivery,” said Daniel Bar Lev, Chief Product Officer, MEF. “With expanded capabilities for enterprises, the LSO Payload Factory program, and blockchain-driven smart contracts, we’re enabling a new standard of efficiency and flexibility in Network-as-a-Service. MEF’s commitment to collaboration and innovation ensures that every stakeholder in our ecosystem—from service providers to enterprises—can leverage open standards to deliver seamless, automated experiences.”

Key Progress / LSO Developments

Enterprise API Innovation

Over the past year, MEF has expanded its APIs for business to also serve enterprises, enhancing the LSO offering and driving broader industry adoption. A key example is MEF’s Circuit Impairment & Maintenance (CIM) Service API, which bridges the gap between networks and applications, supporting the growing focus on network APIs. Demonstrated at GNE 2024 by AT&T, Bloomberg, Prodapt, UMPC, Verizon, and Williams-Sonoma, the CIM Service API exemplifies how real-time notifications can improve network management for enterprises. Through these open-standard APIs, enterprises gain access to NaaS capabilities, such as automated ecosystems, multi-domain connectivity, and enhanced management and visibility.

Industry Standardization & Collaboration

Its commitment to industry-wide API standardization has yielded significant results through MEF’s strategic industry collaborations with TM Forum and others.

The coordinated approach enables each standards organization to focus on their core strengths while ensuring seamless integration across the ecosystem. For example, MEF LSO APIs provide business and operational automation between parties in an ecosystem while TM Forum Open API standards provide automation within each ecosystem partner’s systems.

LSO Payload Factory Program

The new LSO Payload Factory program accelerates the standardization of machine-readable product descriptions for use in NaaS offerings. This innovative approach enables rapid development of pre-standard product payloads through member collaboration, which can be standardized in a later phase, addressing the market’s need for faster introduction of connectivity, cybersecurity, clouds, and resource products.

Blockchain Integration

MEF is pioneering the integration of blockchain technology and smart contracts in automated NaaS ecosystems to eliminate business friction between buyers and sellers. Through its adoption of a groundbreaking ‘mutual endorsement in real-time’ approach, MEF has become the first telecom industry consortium to standardize blockchain usage for business between ecosystem partners.

This innovation was demonstrated in a NaaS Accelerator project, where members successfully developed and piloted automated SLA reporting—creating the industry’s first smart contract-based solution that ensures immediate agreement between parties and dramatically reduces service delivery disputes.

Future Roadmap and Initiatives
Product Payload Evolution

MEF’s LSO product payload roadmap continues to expand with significant additions planned for Q4 2024, including standardized descriptions for wavelength services, cloud connectivity, cross-connects, Internet access, edge compute, and CAMARA Quality on Demand.

This growing portfolio of standardized payloads, developed through the LSO Payload Factory program, will enable service providers to rapidly integrate new services into their NaaS offerings throughout 2025, accelerating time-to-market for innovative network services.

LSO API Certification Program

A new phase of MEF’s LSO API Certification Program will launch in Q4 2024, combining development-stage IT testing with market-ready certification validation. The updated certification framework provides definitive proof of LSO API interoperability readiness for service providers and enterprises. As API-driven automation becomes increasingly critical for business operations, MEF’s certification program ensures participants can confidently engage in standardized, interoperable API implementations across the NaaS ecosystem.

LSO Partner Identification Tools

A comprehensive interoperable partner identification platform will launch in Q4 2024 that will dramatically speed up the connection of LSO API implementers with potential partners. This dynamic platform will provide real-time visibility into the LSO API capabilities of participants, enabling companies to quickly identify and engage with compatible partners.

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