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How does the idea of duplicating one's mind into a machine feel? The good news is that this isn't a dream anymore. While for humans, it isn't a reality yet, the concept of digital twins is quite a reality when it comes to systems and networks. Some industry leaders speculate that there could be a sharp rise in this technology to around $48.2 billion by 2026.

To stay relevant to the digital economy, digital twins could be a "game-changing" technology for this industry. That's how the concept of the 2025 Digital operator came into the limelight. 

In fact, brands like Ericson, Huawei, Infosys, Neural Technologies, and Etiya are already working together to see how digital twins can help combat CSP challenges like 5G network scaling, automation of network slices, and integration of predictive analytics. 

Want to know more about it? Let's find out here!

 Digital Twins: Decoding the technology 

Digital twins are nothing but a representation of assets and processes to enhance the capabilities not available in the real world at all. While the concept is still evolving, here are a few traits of this technology.

You need data models or structures to represent the insights of the real-world objects of interest.

• Add actual data to the model and make a digital twin using it so that the twin is factually accurate and up to date.
• Using tools to unlock the capabilities of the digital twin. Ideally, these are analytics models to extract insights. 
• You need APIs and other technologies to interact with twins. This will help you make better real-world decisions. 

Usually, data management is an issue with this concept. This is why one needs advanced software to realize such ideas. Further, you will find different types of digital twins depending on the needs or area of application. 

1. Component twins pertain to components of slight importance.
2. Assets twins are where two or more components work together. They create a good amount of data that can be transformed into actionable insights. 
3. System twins revolve around unit twins where you can see different assets working together. It will help you see the performance enhancements.
4. Process twins reveal how the systems work together to create a production facility. It could help find the overall efficiency and effectiveness. 

 Here's how it will benefit the ICT industry

Digital twins can help companies produce a virtual model to find the best possible configuration to identify and resolve potential gaps. For example, one CSP in London improved the cell throughput by 26% and performance using this. Another Aisa-based CSP incorporated data to assess the interior and exterior building coverage disparities. Thus, boosting the ROI BY 55%. 

Digital twins could have a role to play in network automation as well. For instance, it could figure out reasons for call drops, slow call setups, and her handovers. It's like a self-organizing network that could help with continuous monitoring and optimization.

Besides that, it could be helpful with:

• Develop, hone, and train teams to manage network infrastructure. Thus, making it easier to create and deploy 5G services. You can quickly enter virtual space without any risk of consequence and benefit from digital twinning. 

• It could help with cell site deployment by reducing time-consuming tasks and ensuring smooth deployment. Using digital twin, CSP can easily customize deployment for each site with details for review and certification. Thus, speeding the process when it comes to new products. 

• It could help with customer experience as well. You can quickly put the customers first by using digital twins as the proxy measure to determine whether you are operating properly. It could answer every critical question related to customer experience in real-time and improve customer care, marketing, billing, and more. 

• It will help with the real-time collection of data, which will unlock the experience and help with cost-benefit analysis.

• Digital twins can also help with the development of market opportunities by providing an opportunity to experiment with new configurations or services. Thus, it can help with easier rollouts of physical networks and software.

What can you expect in the future?

You already know about the applications of digital twins in ICT. Here's what you can expect in the coming years. 

• You will see a lot of new services once 6G networks come into the picture. Using a digital twin, one can do that faster since one can quickly analyze service performance and other KPIs to see how to improve the existence of current networks. 

• It will help deploy networks in the most optimal way. You could SLA breaches and other financial risks using digital twin technology. 
• A digital twin could help train algorithms to be purposeful for the actual network case scenarios. 

• A digital twin could help validate the performance and function of the new services. It could help with defining networking and other operations. Thus, it evaluates relevant KPIs and helps identify better options. 

Final thoughts: Digital Twin is the future of communication network

By now, you are already aware that a digital twin is a replica of the virtual networks in the virtual world. So, you can accurately find data related to communication, operating environment, and other factors. Hence, you can use a digital twin to experiment with all the “what if” circumstances cost-effectively. In other words, you can assess the performance in different conditions without costing you much. Plus, you can avoid financial risks as well. It can provide a multitude of benefits.

1. Improves overall performance by adjusting network configuration after evaluation in different situations.
2. It helps with upgrades.
3. It could help provide a safe environment for cyber security testing without impacting the physical twin.
4. Safe environment for cyber defense training or other operational training.
5. It helps evaluate scalability, performance, and resilience to threats before any rollout of new technologies.

So, are you using digital twin technology to improve your networks and scalability options? If not, it's high time you be an early adopter of this technology to improve your customer experience and ROI. So, what are you waiting for?