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."

The market for Service Delivery Automation (SDA) is a fast moving one, both in terms of adoption as well as advances in technology. Many organizations have already tried and adopted SDA technologies, such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and cognitive automations, based on machine learning software. These organizations are looking beyond Proofs of Concept (PoC) and trials to wider adoption of SDA across their organizations. An SDA Center of Excellence (CoE) enables organizations to develop their SDA capabilities and competencies in a controlled and centralized manner. It helps organization to stay abreast of developments in the fast-moving world of SDA.