Etisalat EMIX building a path to autonomous networking in partnership with Cisco

As Etisalat advances in the automation journey, the network intelligence and refined analytics will improve operational decision making and reduce time-to-outcomes, which is critical in preparing the network for future 5G capacity demands and service agility to deliver always-on connectivity to EMIX customers and partners. 

“Advanced automation is at the heart of Etisalat’s strategy in every corner in the network. It is critical to 5G success for improving operational efficiency and driving new services. We are focusing on service performance metrics and the real time experience of our customers with immediate and long-term benefits to transform our infrastructure and deliver the best in class customer experience.” 

Haitham Abdulrazzak, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat

The new automation framework is built on the proven foundation of open APIs in Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO), Cisco’s WAN Automation Engine (WAE), and Cisco AI/ML Platform to incorporate big data consolidation, machine learning, event correlation, and closed-loop change automation. 

“We opted for Cisco solution due to the outcome driven approach in automation that will have a major impact on network capacity management.” 

Saeed Al Zarouni, Senior Vice President – Mobile Network, Etisalat

With the support of intelligent ‘capacity planning’ application, Etisalat will manage to quickly scale the infrastructure which will translate into being able to maintain service levels when traffic levels are in flux. While predicting network capacity demands based on the recent usage patterns and trends, which can be very unpredictable during peak utilisation times, and maintaining a high level of the service quality by automatically routing the critical applications using AI to predict the best network paths for high applications quality and customer experience. 

“The next-generation networks that we’re driving supports our customers stay ahead of the curve and create new, ground-breaking experiences for their customers and end users for decades to come. We worked closely with Etisalat to realise their vision for open, autonomous and secure EMIX network that can proactively handle upcoming demands, improve operational decision making and reduce time-to-outcomes, to deliver the best in class customer experience.”

Adam MacHale, VP of Service Providers in EMEAR region, Cisco