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Interoperability in Multi-Provider Multi-Cloud/Edge Environments
Seamless orchestration across domains through open standards and intelligent automation.
In a Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum, interoperability is the ability of systems, devices, and components – often from different vendors and domains – to work seamlessly together.
Within the IPCEI-CIS project, Adeptic Reply has designed a multi-layer architecture for orchestrating computational and network resources, with interoperability as one of its core pillars.
A multi-layer orchestration approach
In Adeptic Reply’s vision, each orchestration layer addresses a dedicated set of functions:
A first layer oversees different domains, managed by different entities or companies, enabling them to interoperate and exchange deployment-related data by means of standard interfaces and data models (e.g., GSMA APIs).
The underlying layer operates within a single domain (managed by one company) and has visibility over all the edge sites owned by that company. It receives intents from the upper orchestration layer and, by leveraging inventory data, observability feedback, and AI-based decision logic, selects the most suitable edge site.
The last orchestration layer processes deployment intents from the upper layer, orchestrates application deployments to the appropriate clusters (e.g., using GitOps approaches and tools such as FluxCD), and monitors the status of deployed services.
Key components
Within this architecture, dedicated components play a key role in ensuring interoperability. When two entities – each with their own domains – need to interoperate, these components expose a standard and common interface. This enables integration and secure data exchange between parties. Once a communication channel is established, information such as artefacts can be shared to deploy services, creating the foundation for seamless cross-domain orchestration.
These components act as a multi-operator, multi-vendor management system, coordinating both controlled and non-controlled domains through East–West interfaces. Since East–West communication requires not only technical integration but also strong security, authentication, and service discovery, it represents one of the main challenges. By leveraging open standards and protocols such as OpenAPI, Adeptic Reply’s architecture ensures compatibility while reducing interoperability risks.
Benefits and challenges
The advantages of this orchestration architecture are significant:
Scalability, to accommodate growing infrastructures and services.
Flexibility, to adapt to different technological contexts and to leverage existing investments by reusing legacy infrastructure.
However, these benefits also come with challenges. Standardization efforts must address differences in implementation across vendors; compatibility issues may arise when integrating legacy systems; and performance can be affected by multiple abstraction layers and cross-domain interactions. To mitigate these issues, careful design, robust governance frameworks and continuous validation are essential.
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Adeptic Reply’s contribution
Adeptic Reply’s contribution to achieving interoperability builds on its extensive experience in orchestration and multi-vendor environments. By adopting standard specifications, the solution aligns with recognized industry standards, while modular middleware and advanced tooling abstract technological differences between domains. This provides the foundation to integrate heterogeneous resources and orchestrators, enabling fixed–mobile convergence and interoperability across the cloud–edge continuum.
The multi-layer orchestration platform is also designed with embedded observability, ensuring that logging, monitoring, and auditing capabilities extend across domains. The use of state-of-the-art tools further supports these objectives, delivering a robust and flexible framework for interoperability.
Ultimately, the key enablers for interoperability are the adoption of open standards such as OpenAPI. Services operate reliably in an interoperable environment when clear inter-domain contracts define:
Roles
Responsibilities
Data exchange
formats
Cross-domain
validation processes
Continuous monitoring provides the necessary visibility to maintain trust and performance, while AI-assisted decision-making optimizes resource allocation and service deployment. This combination of standards, automation, observability, and intelligent orchestration guarantees that Adeptic Reply’s architecture is future-proof.