The legend is that Almon Strowger invented automatic telephone switching in order to stop human operators deliberately or accidentally misdirecting phone calls. This was an early (patented 1891) example of using machinery to improve security and reliability in the telecommunications network. However, it was primarily the need to manage growth that drove automation of the phone system. And since then, through various stages of electromechanical, electronic and computer driven developments, the telecommunications networks of the world have benefited from increasingly high levels of automation. Most of this time, the underlying pattern of advancement stayed the same.

The catalyst builds on last year's demonstration which was awarded'Most Significant Contributor to a Catalyst Program of New Technology Solutions'. It will be showcasing the ability to dynamically adjust virtualized network functions in real time and monitor them constantly to maximize both technical performance, resource utilization and, critically, business profitability. Achieving this enables the service provider to continually achieve a network that is truly optimized, not only technically but also against business criteria. Dr Jay Perrett, CTO of Aria Networks comments: "The end goal for service providers is a highly-automated business, based on intelligent consideration of all the factors that can affect profitability, from moment to moment. SDN and NFV add to the range of options that service providers have, which means more complex decisions to make. That's the sort of problem that only AI can solve."