Navigating AI’s Impact: Why Telcos Need a Balanced Hybrid Cloud Strategy

I recently came across insights (http://bit.ly/4kBk9sH) shared by Inderpreet Kaur from Omdia, highlighting a growing trend in the telecom space: AI and GenAI are accelerating a rethink of cloud infrastructure strategies.

Telcos are increasingly realizing that a hybrid cloud model — combining on-premises cloud with public cloud — isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s becoming essential.

But as we move forward, two questions linger:

1. Are telcos architecting their hybrid models with long-term AI scalability and regulatory agility in mind?
2. And how can they ensure that the autonomy brought by GenAI doesn’t compromise network trust, performance, or control?

In this context, it’s important to first unpack why both on-premises and public cloud infrastructures matter — and how they uniquely contribute to a future-ready telco cloud strategy.

Why On-Premises Still Matters

As AI becomes core to network intelligence, telcos are investing in localized, secure infrastructure to meet data sovereignty and regulatory requirements (think GDPR, TRAI, etc.). Real-time network functions like RAN optimization or fraud detection demand low-latency inference at the edge, while model training at the core benefits from internal control.

But this path isn’t without challenges:

• High CapEx/OpEx to maintain scalable infra.
• Skill shortages in MLOps/GenAI stack management.
• Complex AI lifecycle management at the edge.
• Need for interoperability with cloud-native tools.

Why Public Cloud Can’t Be Ignored

Public cloud providers are not standing still. Hyperscalers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are tailoring telco-grade cloud services, complete with metro-based low-latency zones and SLA-backed performance.

They bring:

• Elasticity for burst workloads and analytics.
• Speed of innovation and partner ecosystems.
• AI/ML tools that accelerate time to value.

Yet, challenges persist:

• Latency and service resiliency issues.
• Unpredictable costs due to dynamic workload shifts.
• Compliance risks with global cloud infrastructure.

The Takeaway: Telcos Need a Balanced Playbook

There is no “one-size-fits-all” cloud for telecom. Operators must strategically architect a hybrid approach — one that blends the control and compliance of on-prem with the scalability and agility of public cloud.

To truly unlock value, telcos will need to:

• Prioritize governance, security, and interoperability.
• Build AI-native, cloud-native capabilities internally.
• Embrace multi-cloud orchestration to avoid lock-in.

Telco cloud is no longer about “where” workloads run — it’s about how intelligently they’re distributed across environments.

In my next post, I’ll explore how AI/GenAI disruption is reshaping workload placement across the telecom stack.

Featured image source: LinkedIn post by Inderpreet Kaur