You may have heard us mention that we’re working with the Open Compute Project (OCP). Now it’s official. Today, we joined OCP as we continue our network transformation.
A small group of companies formed OCP a couple years ago. They wanted to rethink how they designed the servers and other hardware used in their data centers.
They started designing that equipment from scratch and making those specifications open. As a result, they were able to run a data center more efficiently and at a lower cost. We have the same goals.
We’re moving to a software-centric network—our central offices will look more like datacenters. In fact, AT&T is heavily involved in an initiative known as “CORD” (Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter). We’re turning custom hardware devices into apps running on standardized servers. The physical locations where we run our network services increasingly look like what you’d find at a web company.
Just like those web companies, we need to be able to scale quickly as network demand grows. We also want to rapidly deploy new capabilities our developers are building, such as Network on Demand. The only way to meet those goals is with flexible software running on standard hardware. Releasing those hardware specs through OCP makes it easier for startups and other innovators to get involved in this space.
Our software-centric network is starting to deliver real benefits for our customers. You’ll hear more about those benefits very soon. We’re teaming with groups like OCP to make those achievements possible.
