From legacy VMs to the network brain: Why 2026 is the year of the common telco cloud

As we prepare to head to the Fira and MWC Barcelona 2026, I find myself thinking about an industry question I am constantly asked: “Where is the value?” I’ve spent my career bridging the gap between engineering and the boardroom, worked in the telecoms industry from the days of GPRS to 5G, and I’ve learned one universal truth: Our industry is fantastic at inventing technology, but can occasionally struggle to connect it to the profit and loss (P&L). For years, the "State of the Union" in telco was defined by a massive "hype-to-reality" gap.

But as I look at the horizon for 2026, the cynicism is fading. We are finally moving away from "expensive science projects" and toward the common telco cloud. This is the common foundation that delivers immediate operational efficiency, greater consistency and simplicity, and opens new revenue streams, making AI, modernization, and automation possible.

The foundation: One platform, any app, any location

If there is one message I want to emphasize this year, it’s this: the era of the vertical silo is over. Our networks have been largely built on multiple vendor stacks, complete with their own management tools, disparate lifecycle management, and specific hardware requirements. It created a complex, fragmented environment that was difficult to scale and even harder to keep modern and secure. This fragmentation becomes a non-stop drain on CapEx and OpEx, preventing telcos from achieving true efficiency.

The common telco cloud provides a single, common platform that stretches from the core data center to the radio site and out to the enterprise edge across private and public clouds. By standardizing on a consistent but flexible environment, we stop managing "islands" and start managing a cohesive network in a consistent way. This isn't just an architecture; it’s essential to profitable growth and the practical operational efficiency required to thrive in 2026 and beyond.

The great modernization: De-risking the jump

This common platform is exactly what makes the great modernization (and the inevitable legacy virtualization migrations) manageable. We don't believe in "rip and replace" for the sake of it.

Our mission at Red Hat is to provide a "transition platform" where service providers can run their established virtual machines (VMs) right next to modern, cloud-native containers on that same common foundation. This de-risks the migration of business-critical functions, maintaining the stability of legacy services while building the future using the same set of cloud-native tools. It’s about operational sanity and protecting existing investments.

AI-native: Moving from "chatbots" to the network brain

Achieving organisation wide AI at scale is extremely challenging, if not impossible, if systems are running across five (or even more) different infrastructure silos. In 2026, we are seeing the shift toward AI-native foundations and this means moving beyond "AI-ready" PowerPoints to deploying AI at scale, but also cost effectively

The goal is to turn reactive troubleshooting into proactive, intelligent management and to open new revenue streams. If the network can predict a failure before a customer drops a call, that is direct business value. Allowing operators to quickly deploy AI-powered services, from enhanced fraud detection to highly personalized B2B offerings, will drive new top-line growth. Through a common cloud, these AI models can be deployed more consistently across thousands of sites, transforming the network into a self-healing "brain."

The sovereign factor: Control is the new currency

As AI becomes the engine of the telco, the data fueling that engine becomes your most valuable asset. Digital sovereignty is no longer a buzzword; it’s a requirement for survival.

Operators need transparency, auditability, and control. Whether it’s building and operating an AI Factory or keeping data within local jurisdictions, service providers need a platform that provides technical sovereignty. Red Hat’s open source, open hybrid cloud approach is the key: We decouple the software from the hardware, giving you the freedom to choose your strategy without being locked into a single vendor's roadmap.

Intelligent automation: Slashing time to revenue

Finally, we have to address the "months to minutes" problem. Historically, deploying a new service was a manual nightmare. The autonomous intelligent network changes that.

By utilizing a common platform supporting the very latest hardware offerings, with integrated intelligent automation, we’re helping operators shift from manual configuration to autonomous operations. This isn't just about efficiency; it’s about agility. In a world where enterprise needs change by the hour, a network that takes six months to update is a liability. A network running on a common, automated cloud platform not only updates far faster but also allows operators to more rapidly provision new B2B services, transforming their network into a platform for continuous revenue generation.

What to expect in Barcelona

At MWC 2026, you’ll hear a lot of talk about the "next big thing." But if you come by the Red Hat booth in Hall 2 , stand 2F30, you’ll see something more valuable: pragmatic, proven ROI. We are showing how a common telco cloud is the engine behind the world’s most successful operators, significantly reducing operational cost and complexity and delivering platforms that can fuel operator revenues. The industry is moving beyond the "if we build it, they will come" mentality. In 2026, we are building because the business value is clear, and the results are real.

Book a meeting with our experts now to discuss your network's P&L and see how to get the common telco cloud working for your balance sheet.