Ericsson Intelligent Core: GitOps

Unlock continuous change in the core

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Transform your core operations with confidence

Ericsson Intelligent Core brings declarative management and GitOps principles to the core network, helping communication service providers (CSPs) strengthen cloud operations and build toward greater autonomy. This allows the core network to adapt to continuous, large-scale change without adding operational risk.

Networks are becoming more dynamic and AI-driven, so core operations must evolve to handle constant change while reducing complexity and risk.

Traditional operating models rely on fragmented tools, manual processes, and lengthy validation cycles. At scale, these approaches can increase configuration drift, limit traceability, and add operational risk.

Cloud-native environments offer the flexibility to meet this challenge, but realizing those benefits requires declarative management of configuration and lifecycle changes.

A declarative approach is needed to manage continuous change. This allows engineers, orchestration systems, and agents to declare the intended network state. GitOps then applies approved changes and continuously reconciles the network, keeping its configuration aligned with the intent declared in GitOps. This lets CSPs strengthen their cloud operating model and scale autonomous operations with confidence.

Strengthen the cloud operating model

Introduce a consistent, automated way to deploy, scale, operate, manage, and upgrade software across the Core network.

Take the next step with the cloud operating model. GitOps gives you a consistent, automated way to deploy, scale, operate, manage, and upgrade software across your network.

For example, to upgrade a cloud-native Core Network function, a CSP updates the target software version in the Git repository. Once the change is approved, the new version is automatically applied across the Core network.

The change of software version is reviewed and validated
Once approved, the desired state is updated with new software version
The new software version is applied across the Core network
Health and service checks verify the upgrade as it proceeds.

Every upgrade is captured as a desired state covering the software version, configuration, infrastructure, and policies, in a structured, version-controlled format. The operator or automated agent triggering the change declares the intended outcome in Git, which then applies it to the network in a controlled way.

Foundation for Autonomous networks at scale

Enable AI agents to monitor network conditions and identify required changes. Git then applies approved changes across the network securely and consistently, with every change version-controlled and traceable.

GitOps is essential to scale AN. It gives agents and orchestration systems a secure and consistent way to apply large-scale changes across the Core network.

For example, a healing agent monitors the core network, identifies emerging risks, and determines the corrective configuration changes needed. The healing agent then declares the corrective configuration in the Git repository. Once approved, GitOps automatically applies the change across the core network.

The configuration change is reviewed and validated.
Once approved, Git updates the desired state with the new configuration.
GitOps applies the new configuration version across the Core network.
Health and service checks verify the change as it proceeds.

GitOps makes every reconfiguration and healing action safe and trustworthy. Each action is reviewed, applied consistently, and automatically reconciled. If an outcome is not as intended, the network can be rolled back.

GitOps began in software development and is now becoming a way to operate carrier-grade networks: automated, consistent, and fully traceable. Ericsson Intelligent Core is built on a declarative, GitOps-based model for fast, consistent, automated change.

Faster, more automated change

Automate lifecycle and configuration changes at scale, reducing manual effort and accelerating deployment.

Continuous consistency

Detect and correct configuration drift to help keep the network aligned with its approved state.

Built-in governance

Use version-controlled configurations and reviewable workflows to strengthen traceability, oversight, and operational control.

"The introduction of GitOps has reduced upgrade time by 60% and network service setup time by 97%."

Josua Hiller, Director Mobile Core Services · Swisscom

Build the foundation

Advance cloud-native transformation, in-service operations, and CI/CD automation to establish the operational foundation for the journey ahead.

Introduce Gitops

Introduce GitOps-based lifecycle management and declarative management for cloud-native network functions. This enables more consistent, version-controlled, and traceable change across network functions and resources.

Scale autonomous operations

Extend automation through cloud-native interfaces and AI-driven applications that can detect conditions, recommend actions, and continuously reconcile the network with its intended state.