Gartner's research lays out a clear roadmap for CSPs pursuing autonomous network operations from cleaning up legacy OSS systems to achieving self-healing, self-optimizing networks. The journey is complex, but the sequence matters: each phase builds on the one before it, and shortcuts on the foundation guarantee failures at scale.
Where Most CSPs Get Stuck
The biggest bottleneck to autonomous operations isn't AI. It's what comes before it. Years of organic OSS growth have left most CSPs with fragmented tools, siloed data, and inconsistent interfaces. Before any AI model can deliver real value, the underlying data must be consolidated, contextualized, and trustworthy. Gartner's first two phases rationalization and building the automation foundation are where transformation succeeds or stalls.
