Culture shock — building the workforce for autonomous operations

As networks become autonomous and software-defined, the biggest disruption is no longer technical, it’s cultural. In this session, join us as we explore how operator organisations are restructuring, reskilling, and redefining roles as they move toward low-touch and dark NOC operations, and what workforce leaders, architects, and operators must do differently to make autonomy sustainable. 

14:15 - 14:30
Fireside Chat: Building for reuse: Designing networks and teams for the future 

• How simplifying and standardising network platforms changes workforce requirements 
• Designing systems that can be operated by broader, more flexible teams 
• Reducing dependency on deep siloed expertise without losing control or resilience 
• What this means for long-term staffing levels, organisational design, and skills investment 

14:30 - 14:45
Designing the network for low-touch operations: From network expertise to software fluency 

• How increasing softwarization and automation are reshaping day-to-day network roles 
• Bridging the cultural divide between IT/software teams and traditional network engineers 
• New skills, certifications, and career paths emerging around autonomous operations 
• What organisations get wrong when they treat reskilling as a training problem rather than an operating model shift, and how to fix it 

14:45 - 14:55
Lessons from the front line: What really changes when networks go autonomous 

• Drawing on direct experience leading large-scale organizational change, identifying what actually shifts inside an CSP company as autonomy accelerates, beyond organizational charts and job titles 
• How operating models evolve as responsibility moves from humans to systems 
• Lessons from restructuring inside a CSP organization - what worked, what didn’t 
• Pinpointing unintended consequences of separating (or merging) CIO, CTO, and network functions 
• Why cultural readiness often lags far behind technological capability 

14:55 - 15:15
From structure to skills: Rethinking the workforce for an autonomous network future 
Small-group breakouts for 10 mins, and 10 mins for rapid share-back to the group. 
Participants work through one of the following prompts: 

• Silos or convergence? Where does separation still make sense — and where does it hold autonomy back? 
• IT vs Network cultures: How should responsibilities really be divided in autonomous operations? 
• Skills roadmap: What must change in the next 12–24 months to support Level-4 autonomy? 
• Trust & control: How do you maintain accountability as human intervention reduces? 

Each group will capture one insight and one action to share back to the room. 

15:15
Close of session 

Timings are provisional only and may be subject to change.