Nokia this week debuted a modded approach for network operators to use and manage 5G core software from multiple vendors that embraces the continuous integration, continuous delivery (CI/CD) concept.

DelOps, the term Nokia uses to describe this new initiative for managing the complexity of 5G core software, will speed up deployments and allow operators to integrate various services in a more efficient manner, according to the vendor. 

“Like DevOps, DelOps uses agile processes to reduce time to market for new products and features, and avoids waterfall releases and updates. It is also flexible and adapts to the heterogenous and evolving nature of operators’ environments, without sacrificing network reliability,” Emese Biro, marketing manager of core network services at Nokia’s Cloud and Network Services unit, wrote in response to questions.

The company is introducing the new framework alongside a suite of CI/CD services designed to manage the full lifecycle of cloud-native 5G core applications. Nokia is pursuing three broad segments with its CI/CD services push, including its offering for core network functions, an operator-developed CI/CD framework, or configurations provided by third-party vendors, Biro explained.

“Some of our largest customers have developed portions of or their entire CI/CD framework, in which case we adapt our own CI/CD framework seamlessly with their appropriate integration points, in a modular fashion,” Biro noted.

The offering includes integration, delivery, testing and consulting, and new services that can be validated in multi-domain environments as they come on board, she said, adding that the CI/CD effort is not exclusive to the 5G standalone core. 

Dave Bolan, research director at Dell’Oro Group, said the flexibility of Nokia’s DelOps effectively extends the reach of operators’ existing network software configurations and reduces complexity.

“CI/CD is evolving from a one-solution-for-all in a homogenous environment to multiple solutions for different operators, whether they operate in a public, private, or hybrid cloud,” Bolan wrote in response to questions. “This enables a streamlined introduction of new features and services in a complex telco environment with multiple domains, third-party software, and hybrid-cloud environments, which took longer and was more arduous before.”

Biro expanded on that theme, noting that carriers have to apply CI/CD in a much broader environment than webscalers or the typical IT shop. This includes multiple domain environments, third-party software, and variations in clouds. “DelOps is DevOps reimagined by Nokia to deal with the complexity of the [communications service providers’] environment. It focuses on what makes CI/CD different for CSPs, which is the delivery and operational stages — thus DelOps,” she explained.

Nokia’s DelOps service is commercially available and, according to the vendor, it is currently being used by five tier-one operators.