NAO market growth slowed in 2024 due to preparations for the next wave of AI/GenAI solutions

Revenue growth in the market for network automation and orchestration (NAO) software for telecoms slowed in 2024; it increased by 0.9% year-on-year to USD11.1 billion (compared to 4.5% growth in 2023). Operators scaled back investments in systems associated with 5G network expansion and increased their spending on software and services to optimise and modernise their OSSs to reduce operational costs. Operators and vendors had a clear focus on AI-driven automation in 2024 but faced ongoing challenges, which resulted in uneven revenue growth across the NAO market.