Cloudera, the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics and AI, is advising telecom operators to act now and modernize their data infrastructure if they are to unlock the full potential of AI and advanced network analytics.
As the telecoms industry faces mounting pressure to cut costs, modernize infrastructure, and meet rising customer expectations, the need to transform the network experience is clear.
Cloudera, which works with 80 of the world’s top 100 telecom providers, highlights that without trusted, unified data, telcos cannot scale AI – and without AI, they could fall behind in a hyper-competitive, low-growth market.
“Telcos are drowning in vast volumes of operational and telemetry data – yet they can’t act on it effectively,” says Anthony Behan, Global Managing Director, Communications, Media & Entertainment at Cloudera.
“Regulatory compliance, cyber threats, and the slow pace of network virtualisation show just how overstretched networks already are. AI can really help, and the problem isn’t a lack of data – it’s that it’s siloed, unstructured, and untrusted. Without strong data foundations, telcos can’t scale AI.”
Cloudera empowers telecommunications companies to enhance network analytics and embrace AI. Demonstrating this dedication, Cloudera recently joined the AI-RAN Alliance, a group of global telecom and AI pioneers such as Dell, NVIDIA, SoftBank, and T-Mobile. This alliance aims to integrate AI into the development of advanced telecommunications infrastructure.
“The next phase of AI will be about scale and production,” Behan predicts. “Private AI allows for that kind of automation in the network, at carrier scale.”
Cloudera advises telecom operators to take control of their data and prepare for scalable AI deployment by:
- Supporting hybrid workload mobility across cloud and on-prem environments with Private AI
- Delivering unified data governance across disparate data assets both in the Data Platform Domain and in the BSS/OSS Stack
- Allowing AI workloads to be trained on-prem and deployed in the cloud, or in the network
- Reducing vendor lock-in and enabling operators to run workloads where they make the most business sense
Recent Cloudera research shows AI is already being deployed in some areas within telecommunications such as customer service (49%), experience management (44%), and security monitoring (49%). But the next frontier – predictive maintenance, automated anomaly detection, real-time optimisation, and proactive service delivery – depends on scalable data and AI infrastructure.
With a strong data foundation in place, telcos can unlock AI’s full potential across the network. With AI-native networks telcos can automate operations, cut costs, optimize performance with 5G and edge, and open up new revenue opportunities in areas like smart cities and autonomous tech.
Behan concludes, “If I could wave a magic wand and build the ideal telecom network, it would have GPUs in every base station and use AI not just for communication, but for distributed, sovereign, local intelligence.
“That’s where Private AI comes in – you can’t run everything in the public cloud, especially with sensitive data. You need on-premises capabilities for control and security, but also the flexibility to use the cloud where it makes sense.
“The network would be highly secure, fast, and elastic – capable of spinning up virtual resources automatically to handle congestion or block fraud in real time. While this vision is still perhaps five to ten years away telcos must begin laying the groundwork now. More investment and experimentation are needed today to realize the network of tomorrow.”
About Cloudera
Cloudera is the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI. With 100x more data under management than other cloud-only vendors, Cloudera empowers global enterprises to transform data of all types, on any public or private cloud, into valuable, trusted insights. Our open data lakehouse delivers scalable and secure data management with portable cloud-native analytics, enabling customers to bring GenAI models to their data while maintaining privacy and ensuring responsible, reliable AI deployments. The world’s largest brands in financial services, insurance, media, manufacturing, and government rely on Cloudera to be able to use their data to solve the impossible—today and in the future.
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