M&A activity in the AA market is driven by significant challenges and compelling opportunities

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are generally driven by two main goals: to increase market share or to acquire new capabilities. However, the automated assurance (AA) market is extremely concentrated, with top vendors holding a significant portion of market share. As such, M&A activity is less about disrupting the established hierarchy and more about acquiring advanced capabilities and consolidating current market positions. The driving forces behind this activity are the telecoms industry’s need to overcome significant challenges posed by 5G and cloud-native networks, a shift from reactive to proactive and predictive operations, and the pursuit of autonomous networks.