Telefónica, a century-old telecom giant, is on a transformative journey to modernize its data architecture in pursuit of autonomous network capabilities. Under the leadership of Paola Saputelli, Global IT Director, the company is overcoming legacy system challenges by focusing on data democratization and strong governance. This transformation is not just about technological innovation but also involves significant cultural shifts within the organization. As Telefónica strives to become a truly data-driven entity, it is essential to integrate both technological advancements and comprehensive changes in organizational mindset to leverage business data effectively.
Overcoming Legacy System Challenges
Telefónica has long dealt with issues such as data replication, duplication, and silos stemming from outdated legacy systems. The company recognizes that to become truly data-driven, it must address these challenges head-on. Data democratization and strong governance are foundational to this effort, aiming to break down silos and ensure data consistency and quality. Telefónica’s strategy for data democratization involves implementing common data models across different business units to create an environment where data is easily accessible yet tightly governed.
A crucial part of the strategy involves adopting data mesh and data fabric concepts. By leveraging data virtualization, Telefónica can share information across business domains without replicating data, thus promoting efficiency and consistency. Data mesh facilitates organizing and structuring data into domains, ensuring each domain takes responsibility for data quality and integrity. On the other hand, data fabric provides the flexibility needed for interconnecting data across various domains. This dual approach aims to balance the necessity for data access with the maintenance of governance standards.
Focus on OSS Data and Assurance
Telefónica’s modernization journey began with Operations Support Systems (OSS) data, which are vital for the company’s Autonomous Network (AN) strategy. The primary focus has been on inventory and assurance data, with the goal of achieving Level 4 AN for assurance within the year. This requires a comprehensive overhaul of data architecture to improve accessibility, organization, and governance. OSS data is central to managing network alarms and incidents, which are critical components for maintaining network integrity and performance.
Carlos Medina Gonzalez, Head of Mass Market, Channels & Digital Enablers Architecture, emphasizes the importance of creating a common data model for all of Telefónica’s operating companies and domains. This common model is essential for the subsequent development of new data architectures that can support the company’s ambitious goals. By standardizing the data models, Telefónica ensures that data from various domains can seamlessly integrate, providing a holistic view essential for advanced network operations and management.
Ensuring Data Quality and Security
One significant challenge Telefónica faces is maintaining uniformity of information across various domains, such as customer engagement, OSS, and finance. To address this, the company has developed a robust data governance model to ensure data quality and security across the board. This model integrates data lakehouse technology, combining storage with analytics, and employs both public and private clouds alongside on-premises storage. The integration of these diverse storage solutions enables flexible data management while ensuring data security and quality.
Collaboration with major hyperscalers and other technology partners is a key element of Telefónica’s strategy. These partnerships help provide telco cloud and data virtualization capabilities necessary for modernizing the data architecture and ensuring seamless and secure data access. By leveraging the capabilities of these partners, Telefónica can focus on its core strengths while benefiting from the technological advancements in cloud and data storage offered by hyperscalers. This synergistic approach is vital for scaling the company’s data infrastructure to meet future demands.
Embracing Data Mesh and Fabric Approaches
Telefónica adopts data mesh and fabric approaches to democratize data access and usage. Data mesh focuses on organizing and structuring domains responsibly to guarantee data quality, with roles like data stewards and owners ensuring data integrity. Each domain is responsible for its data quality, promoting readiness for sharing across the organization. This domain-centric approach ensures that data quality and governance are maintained at the source, reducing the risk of data inconsistency as it moves across the organization.
The data fabric approach enables the interconnection of data, allowing flexibility in sharing data between domains. Data virtualization plays a critical role by facilitating real-time sharing of data products. Robust data governance ensures the maintenance of quality and traceability throughout the organization. The combination of data mesh and fabric approaches not only enhances data accessibility but also ensures that the data is trustworthy and ready for analytical and operational use, providing a robust foundation for the company’s autonomous network ambitions.
Advocacy for Industry Standardization
Telefónica, a historic telecom leader with a century of experience, is undergoing a significant transformation in the quest to modernize its data architecture and achieve autonomous network capabilities. This ambitious initiative is spearheaded by Paola Saputelli, the Global IT Director, who is guiding the company through the intricate process of overcoming legacy system hurdles. Key to this transformation are the principles of data democratization and robust governance. It’s not merely about integrating cutting-edge technology; the journey also requires profound cultural changes within the organization. As Telefónica aspires to evolve into a fully data-driven enterprise, it’s crucial to blend technological advancements with a holistic shift in organizational mindset. This approach will enable effective utilization of business data, ensuring the company stays ahead in the competitive telecom landscape by leveraging data for strategic advantage.
