Why AI and automated operations need horizontal telco clouds

Telecom networks are becoming harder to run as traffic, services, and devices grow. To keep up, operators are rebuilding their infrastructure around horizontal telco clouds that cut across network domains instead of sitting in isolated vertical stacks.

Franz Seiser, Tribe Head of T-DAT at Deutsche Telekom, says AI-driven automation only works if it can constantly pull in data from across the whole network. Horizontal clouds provide that common layer, so operators can standardise platforms, share data, and automate operations end-to-end rather than managing each network function in its own silo.