How Oracle 'Communications Application Orchestrator' Can Help Operators Deploy Network Functions in a Hybrid World

As more and more operators are looking up to deploy virtualized network functions, Oracle has updated its Communications Application Orchestrator and packed in more power to drive network function virtualization for operators in a hybrid ecosystem.

The ultimate goal of network function virtualization (NFV) is to support a communications world that operates with a more cost-effective and agile infrastructure. To help communications service providers (CSPs) realize this goal, Oracle Communications released the newly updated Oracle Communications Application Orchestrator, making it easy to deploy and manage network functions in a hybrid environment that is as open as possible.

This release of Oracle Communications Application Orchestrator offers new capabilities for CSPs that enable them to:
Deploy and manage both physical network functions (PNFs) and virtual network functions (VNFs), combining the benefits of agile VNFs with the density and cost-effectiveness of purpose-built PNFs
Easily deploy and manage closely related network functions, also called composite network functions (CNFs)
Rapidly integrate with third-party VNFs with the new plug-in development kit, which includes an intuitive interface to help onboard and deploy both VNFs and lifecycle management services

Since first releasing Oracle Communications Application Orchestrator in June 2014, Oracle has released several new products to help CSPs accelerate their journey to NFV, including: Oracle Communications Network Service Orchestration and Oracle Communications Evolved Communications Application Server.

Additionally, Oracle has continued to evolve its product portfolio, releasing new versions designed for use in NFV deployments including Oracle Communications Session Border Controller, Oracle Communications Converged Application Server, Oracle Communications Core Session Manager, Oracle Communications Services Gatekeeper, and Oracle Communications Policy Management.

“Cost-cutting alone isn’t enough to realize the potential of NFV; CSPs must gain agility in how they operate. And we believe that the path to doing so is paved with interoperability, creating a truly open network infrastructure,” said Doug Suriano, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications. “The new release of Oracle Communications Application Orchestrator aims to advance this kind of openness by enabling CSPs to rapidly and cost-effectively define new functions, physical or virtual, via third parties.”