Networks have been built and operated in roughly the same way for more than 30 years. A handful of vendors dominated the market with monolithic (integrated hardware and software) devices, each with a single product line and a limited feature set focused on specific use cases. As with all closed solutions, changing vendors meant swapping out the entire installation—sometimes even the architecture—which was prohibitively expensive.

As edge computing, next-generation cloud platforms, and opportunities to disrupt started to drive innovation at an accelerating pace, the “hyperscalers” pioneered disaggregation. They invested in their own unique brand of “open” network operating system (NOS) stacks to accommodate exponential traffic growth, increase agility, and reduce costs…

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Chris Grundemann

Creative BizTech & TechBiz Consultant

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