The next evolution of AXON Orchestrator
At AXON Networks, we’re focused on providing superior network management solutions, including advanced orchestration and analytics platforms, to serve internet service providers (ISPs). Our mission is to empower those ISPs with deep data insights and advanced network orchestration capabilities to deliver a total network experience and strengthen end user relationships.
AXON Orchestrator (AO), which is our flagship network orchestration solution, is designed to manage, analyze, and optimize network performance by offering real-time data insights and automation capabilities. In an effort to take our AO platform to the next level and give our customers even greater data processing and network orchestration capabilities, AXON Networks is currently working with a large enterprise customer to refine and enhance AXON Orchestrator’s data analytics processes and ensure deeper actionable insights to deliver better end-user experiences.
The road to building a customizable insight-driven platform
Today, the AO platform can run an array of preset, hard-coded functions and generate specific metrics, reports, and actions such as triggering alarms that are predefined in the software. These reports and metrics are based on statically defined questions, versus unique open-ended queries asking for certain insights or to create customized reports based on those queries.
AXON Networks is currently piloting a flexible, robust and customizable analytics platform aimed at making AXON Orchestrator more proactive and able to offer automated recommendations rather than just providing metrics and facts.
An application like Google Maps is a good example of how a tool uses proactive guidance versus reactive. Google Maps doesn’t simply show traffic; it suggests the best routes to follow. Or, using your individual driving history, it can push a notification to your mobile phone when it suggests you are getting into your vehicle to head to work at 7am every weekday. In other words, Google Maps is able to analyze your actions and data and proactively suggest helpful, actionable recommendations. AXON Networks’ enhanced AO platform with advanced analytics will be similar. We’re enhancing our analytics processing capabilities so AO can suggest solutions or actions based on the data it analyzes, before a customer even knows that there is a problem. Since we don’t always know the question before we start exploring the data, we’re building a capability for flexible analytics.
“We’re identifying the most valuable analytics and integrating them into the platform, making analytics a core feature of the AXON Networks offering,” said Benjamin Hoyer, Director of Analytics. “Starting small and working closely with the customer, we aim to answer their critical questions—like understanding how many devices are online in the AXON Networks environment or is the average home size changing—and then finding the right balance between general and customizable solutions that adhere to data protection policies and respect the commercial property of customer data.”
By building customer trust and collaborating closely with our customers to address their unique issues and concerns—combined with AXON Networks’ existing expertise about internet and Wi-Fi technologies—we can deliver impactful, innovative, and tailored solutions based on the analytics our platform generates from their network data. We’ll leverage the insights from the customer trial analytics, and integrate them into the AO platform, making them available to all customers.
Transforming network management
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will be important factors for the new analytics-enabled AXON Orchestrator platform, with classical statistics also playing a pivotal role. For us, it’s about selecting the right tools to solve each problem, rather than following hype trends.
Some of the platform’s models will use ML to identify patterns on the customer’s network, such as detecting what types of devices are operating on the network and how they’re performing, even if that information isn’t directly observable.
“One challenge we currently face is that we often don’t have clear labels or specific details about what’s happening on a network,” said Benjamin. “For example, if someone is streaming 4K content on Netflix and it’s buffering, we don't receive that level of detailed information. Our goal is to detect patterns or issues like poor network experiences and proactively adjust the system or offer recommendations to prevent problems before they occur.”
For example, if simply by analyzing different network signals, the platform notices some devices have poor signal strength, it can suggest the ISP provide an additional Wi-Fi access point to the customer to enhance the end-user’s experience. Over time, the AO platform will gradually become more intelligent and update itself to stay current with the needs of the ISP or enterprise customer. Also, the enhanced AO platform will be fully cloud-based, aligning with the vision of today’s modern ISPs who prefer cloud solutions for their flexibility, scalability, and access to the latest technologies. These are beneficial for analytics and help them manage increasingly large volumes of data and increasing network complexity, and leverage access to the latest tools, such as GenAI.
Separate from the current trial, AXON Networks is also exploring AI Chat Bots. Although we’re not building a chat bot from the ground up, we’re using the best off-the-shelf solutions, and fine-tuning them with our customers’ data and expertise. Benjamin says the current trial, although relatively new, is already producing positive results and will eventually give all AO customers new levels of data access and insight.
“AXON Networks is well-positioned with an efficient pipeline and broader access to timely data, which gives us a competitive advantage over others focused on narrower slices of the technology space.”
Our vision for AO is to go beyond network management, transforming it into a central tool for strategic decision-making. By enabling ISPs to harness actionable insights and proactive recommendations, AO helps them:
Optimize Operational Efficiency: Automate routine tasks and streamline complex workflows, allowing ISPs to focus on innovation
Enhance Customer Satisfaction: Quickly identify and resolve issues to minimize downtime and improve the user experience
Future-Proof Their Networks: Leverage advanced analytics and AI to stay ahead of emerging trends and technologies
Empowering ISPs Through Collaboration
Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. At AXON Networks, we prioritize close collaboration with our customers to co-create solutions that address real-world challenges. By incorporating direct feedback from our ongoing trials, we ensure that every enhancement to AO is both practical and impactful.
Looking ahead, we aim to integrate even more capabilities into the AO platform, such as predictive maintenance, capacity planning, and dynamic resource allocation. These features will allow ISPs to anticipate and respond to network demands, creating a seamless experience for their end users.
As we refine and expand AO’s capabilities, we remain committed to balancing cutting-edge innovation with the core principles of data security, scalability, and reliability. This ensures that our customers can trust AO to not only meet today’s demands but also adapt to the needs of tomorrow.