Data Lakes Are Not Enough: Why AN-4 Autonomous Networks Need an Operational Intelligence Layer
For years, telecom operators have invested heavily in data platforms. Data lakes became the destination for virtually every operational dataset: telemetry, alarms, inventory, performance metrics, customer experience data, and configuration changes. The assumption was straightforward: consolidate the data first, then apply analytics and AI to extract value. That strategy has delivered real benefits. Reporting is better. Analytics are more comprehensive. Machine learning has become easier to scale. But there’s a growing disconnect between what these platforms were designed to do and what autonomous networks now require. As the industry works toward TM Forum's AN-4 vision, the objective is no longer to provide engineers with better information, it’s to enable software to make operational decisions that can be trusted. That’s a very different problem. The obstacle isn’t a lack of data - most operators already have more operational data than they can reasonably consume - the challenge i...