g Network Impairments and Resolving Customer Impact 15.2.3.4 VNF Change Management 15.2.3.5 Configuring ONAP to Enable Operations Automation 15.2.4 ONAP-Related Challenges 15.2.4.1 Safe Policies 15.2.4.2 Identifying Operations Policies 15.2.4.3 Increasing Software Complexity 15.3 Transforming the Operations Team 15.4 Migrating to the Network Cloud 15.4.1 Rolling out Network Cloud Technologies 15.4.2 Bootstrapping SDN/NFV Deployments Leveraging Current Knowledge and Experience 15.4.3 Legacy and SDN/NFV Networks Coexisting in Harmony 15.5 Topics for Further Study Acknowledgments References This chapter describes the traditional role of network-facing operations and how moving to a net- work cloud will impact that role. We intend to motivate the need for innovation in the delivery of network-based services by demonstrating the cost drivers in operations. The move to NFV/SDN and ONAP enables not only faster time to market for new services but also significant reduction in operational cost, a main component of a service provider's cost of doing business. 15.1 INTRODUCTION Traditional network operations cover three large categories of work: providing the quantity of net- work elements configured appropriately to deliver economical and quality service (network provi- sioning), ensuring that existing and planned elements in the network efficiently provide necessary service levels (network administration), and preventing faults or correcting existing faults (network maintenance). Network operations is complex. A key contributor to complexity is the highly distributed nature of the network itself. There is physical equipment in tens of thousands of locations including business Building the Network of the Future premises and residential neighborhoods. Much of the equipment is subject to harsh environmental conditions, which can lead to failures and performance impairments. Many of the services that run on the network infrastructure have strict performance requirements, which leads to complex network designs to ensure reliab