NFV - Part 2: Are NFV & SDN Both Key to Driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution? Lanner

As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, several new technological trends have begun to transform the systems that enable us to both work and live. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is allowing network operators to both reduce their outgoings and speed-up the deployment of new services and this concept is currently becoming more and more widespread around the world. In this two-part series of articles, we'll be looking at what Network Function Virtualization is, how it works, how it compares to SDN, what its benefits are and, later, what it means for the Fourth Industrial Revolution alongside the likes of Software Defined Networking (SDN). As advanced automation, driverless vehicles, robotics, drones, AI, virtualization and 5G wireless communications technologies all drive us further into the future, it is already glaringly obvious that what has become known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution is well and truly underway. However, in order to truly unlock the promises of technologies such as automation and driverless vehicles, certain underlying architectures will need to be in place before we can begin to do so.