ODA helps CSPs transform — one value stream at a time
AI and network APIs are moving swiftly from concept to reality, but they require an architecture with standard components, shared data, and predictable interfaces. Open digital architecture (ODA) provides that foundation via clear contracts, a shared model, and an architecture canvas that guides execution, backed by conformance programs. This Viewpoint looks at what ODA transformation can mean for communication service providers (CSPs), how to deliver that one value stream at a time, and how to ensure success.
Two major shifts are reshaping telco IT. First, as AI becomes mainstream, teams are using agents and copilots to write code, run customer service workflows, and ultimately enhance the customer journey. Second, network APIs are starting to reach commercial scale. Through GSMA’s Open Gateway (via CAMARA), operators are publishing common APIs that work the same across carriers, including number verification, SIM swap, quality on demand, and device reachability. Additionally, telco API aggregators like Aduna and Bridge Alliance are providing developers with more user coverage, which is key to network API adoption.
However, AI and network APIs can only deliver on their potential when the underlying architecture uses standard components, shared data models, and predictable interfaces (for an overview of ODA, see the Viewpoint “Open Digital Architecture: The Next Frontier for Telecom Operators”). That’s the idea behind the TM Forum (TMF) ODA, a componentized, cloud‑native blueprint reinforced by TMF Open APIs and an execution blueprint (the ODA Canvas) backed by conformance programs, such as Open API Conformance, Running on ODA, and (since 2025) ODA Component and Canvas certifications.
ODA is a modular, domain‑mapped set of software components that expose business and operational capabilities through TMF Open APIs, built on the Shared Information and Data (SID) model. The ODA canvas, a critical component of the ODA operating model, shown in Figure 1, is the reference architecture; it registers components, exposes their APIs, orchestrates continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment (CI/CD), and provides a conformance test kit to verify behavior. When combined with Running on ODA (see Figure 2) and Component/Canvas certifications (for vendors/operators), ODA creates a framework that de‑risks integration, reduces the chance of vendor lock‑in, and accelerates change.
Done well, ODA offers CSPs several value-creation opportunities:
When a customer buys a plan online, the typical workflow is:
In legacy setups, each of these blocks was developed separately for each product and channel, with limited reuse and inconsistent data models. This was problematic because customer journeys were different across channels, with each new product requiring custom integration, significantly slowing time to market.
ODA standardizes these blocks and lets them converse using common, reusable APIs. That means CSPs can assemble and change offers like LEGO pieces, reducing integration cost, delivery risk, and dependency on individual vendors. This results in faster time to market for new offers, lower IT change costs, and more consistent customer experiences across digital and physical channels.
Axiata was among the first telecommunications groups to achieve Running on ODA status (alongside Reliance Jio and Vodafone Group), ensuring its place as an early leader in digital transformation. Axiata implemented a federated, ODA-aligned technology backbone that supports group-wide governance while allowing for local, autonomous innovation. This approach eliminated vendor lock-in, optimized time to market, improved the customer’s digital experience, delivered aggressive cost savings, and positioned the company as a model for other telcos attempting ODA transformation.
Axiata Digital Labs architected and deployed the Axonect Fabric and API Management Platforms across Axiata’s operating companies to deliver vendor-agnostic, microservices-based ODA components to replace legacy platforms and integrations. Axonect reveals business capabilities through TMF Open APIs and facilitates orchestration across cloud-native and legacy landscapes, enabling both legacy asset sweating and opportunistic modernization. The Axonect Fabric and API Management Platforms incorporate enhanced ODA Canvas, Open APIs, GSMA Open Gateway APIs, API governance, and reusable ODA components.
The framework is a solid foundation for building an agentic AI layer atop ODA. By embedding AI enablement and governance within the ODA Canvas, Axiata established a unified intelligence layer that integrates traditional AI and GenAI. This provided a foundation for automated service creation, improved discoverability of modular components with knowledge bases, domain-specific AI models, and enhanced component and AI orchestration. Today, Axiata’s architecture encompasses more than 10,000 APIs, 4,000 microservices, and 1,300 reusable assets.
By leveraging ODA Canvas/Open APIs, Axiata boosted AI deployment cycles by up to 80% for design and 20% for go to market while improving operational efficiency by 40%. The alignment between ODA and AI frameworks demonstrates how open, standardized architectures can drive innovation at scale while lowering TCO. Interestingly, these results were delivered without mass-scale BSS transformation programs or business disruptions while coexisting with legacy systems (see Figure 3).
Vodafone received Running on ODA status in 2022, one of the first global operators to do so. The program aligned architecture, Open API adoption, and operations across the group and set the stage for consistent delivery at scale. Vodafone also industrialized API governance by creating an API Guild and automating conformance against TMF Open APIs. This cut integration costs by millions of dollars, reduced API deviations by ~90%, and increased API adoption by ~50% across markets.
Vodafone uses ODA practices and Open APIs as the foundation for automation and AI at the group level. As showcased at DTW Ignite 2025, Vodafone has been involved in catalysts that combine Open API-aligned data and agentic AI for service assurance and network operations. This indicates a path where ODA contracts and telemetry become a safe surface for AI to reason and act.
On the commercial front, Vodafone UK reports material improvements after transforming the digital experience with Open APIs and a modular architecture. Digital sales increased more than 50%, conversion improved by 30%, and net promoter score (NPS) tripled. The program also automated more than half of customer interactions. These results show the link between standard interfaces, modular delivery, and business performance (see Figure 4).
On the engineering front, automated conformance and reuse significantly reduced cost and optimized time to market. The conformance engine and guild model are credited with millions in savings and faster onboarding of new integrations, exactly the kind of benefits ODA was designed to produce.
Early ODA adopters have demonstrated that successful transformation requires a well-thought-out program setup that has the following functions.
Technology modernization must carefully align with business outcomes and support the company’s overall strategic vision. Without clear KPIs that tie to strategic initiatives, such as time to market, reuse rates, cost per change, and NPS impact, ODA risks being treated as an IT exercise rather than a business transformation.
For this type of transformation to succeed, executive leadership must directly sponsor the initiative and strongly support it. ODA dramatically accelerates product creation, so teams must be prepared to manage APIs, cloud costs, and security as part of the same lifecycle. This means drastic changes to the operating model, including product management, DevSecOps, and FinOps; an upskilled workforce to successfully implement the new operating model; and updated sourcing and contracting models so suppliers are rewarded for conformance, reuse, and portability.
Adapting the target operating model and onboarding expertise to deliver on the transformation is a challenge, but cultural rewiring is the real test. Vodafone’s transformation shows that agility and speed came not just from new platforms, but from shifting how people collaborate and how success is measured. Its focus moved from delivering systems to delivering outcomes, supported by shared metrics across business and technology teams. These cultural a
cloud technology axon
SEG is an independent manufacturer of medium-voltage protection relays...
