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Blog
20 October 2025
Author
Telco automation is proceeding at different rates, and it’s not just a journey in technology. Here, we explore the state of automation.
Blog
20 October, 2025
Author
"Operators are moving on different tracks, different speeds - but pointing in the right direction"
Thomas Nilsson, CPO at Polystar
Vision and Governance Go Hand-in-Hand with Technical Progress
At the same time, the vision – the aspiration – needs to be clearly articulated. This requires cross-functional teams, training, and overarching governance – to ensure that the organization can flex to adopt the new ways of operating via a growing footprint of automation.
All of which makes sense, but it’s important to remember that operators will continue to move at different rates and that it will take time for each to move up the automation maturity curve.
So, what we have is a very mixed landscape – but, nevertheless, there are promising signs, and we do have a unified vision. The question is, how can we help operators that have yet to cement their plans to move forwards?
Well, there are clearly obstacles to overcome between each maturity level. You can accomplish a great deal to achieve, say, Level 1, but there’s a threshold that you need to pass before you can begin the work required at the next. We think that there are two key thresholds that need to be crossed.
Specifically, we’re focused on moving from Level 1 to Level 2, and from Level 3 to Level 4. Both points provide clear demarcation and boundaries: reaching each demonstrates real and substantial progress towards autonomous networks and important transition points. But how do we pass these thresholds?
Vision and Governance Go Hand-in-Hand with Technical Progress
At the same time, the vision – the aspiration – needs to be clearly articulated. This requires cross-functional teams, training, and overarching governance – to ensure that the organization can flex to adopt the new ways of operating via a growing footprint of automation.
All of which makes sense, but it’s important to remember that operators will continue to move at different rates and that it will take time for each to move up the automation maturity curve.
So, what we have is a very mixed landscape – but, nevertheless, there are promising signs, and we do have a unified vision. The question is, how can we help operators that have yet to cement their plans to move forwards?
Well, there are clearly obstacles to overcome between each maturity level. You can accomplish a great deal to achieve, say, Level 1, but there’s a threshold that you need to pass before you can begin the work required at the next. We think that there are two key thresholds that need to be crossed.
Specifically, we’re focused on moving from Level 1 to Level 2, and from Level 3 to Level 4. Both points provide clear demarcation and boundaries: reaching each demonstrates real and substantial progress towards autonomous networks and important transition points. But how do we pass these thresholds?
Getting to Level 2
– data is the key
The first breakthrough is data. Building a data strategy and getting it right takes effort – but the effort pays off, because understanding how data can be sorted, managed and made accessible is key to enabling the automation required at Level 2.
Because data is so fundamental, it crosses all domains and departments – which means that the data strategy, must, pace STL, encompass the necessary governance that will be required for further progress.
With respect to the data strategy, this requires an understanding of the availability and accessibility of data before it can be consolidated or triaged into a source that can be used across domains. It also requires – and here’s a governance issue – a clear understanding of the sovereignty rules in place, as well as alignment with international data protection requirements, such as the GDPR.
Learn more about data availability and accessibility in the previous article Data-driven operations
Getting to Level 2
– data is the key
The first breakthrough is data. Building a data strategy and getting it right takes effort – but the effort pays off, because understanding how data can be sorted, managed and made accessible is key to enabling the automation required at Level 2.
Because data is so fundamental, it crosses all domains and departments – which means that the data strategy, must, pace STL, encompass the necessary governance that will be required for further progress.
With respect to the data strategy, this requires an understanding of the availability and accessibility of data before it can be consolidated or triaged into a source that can be used across domains. It also requires – and here’s a governance issue – a clear understanding of the sovereignty rules in place, as well as alignment with international data protection requirements, such as the GDPR.
Learn more about data availability and accessibility in the previous article Data-driven operations
