The SaaS rocket
Those of us who work in high tech are focused on creating the future – but we can also learn from the past – from the inventors who built machines that reshaped the world. One great example is Stephenson’s Rocket: a breakthrough locomotive that showed, for the first time, how steam power could be harnessed reliably for transport. It started as a test run, won the Rainhill Trials, and then pulled passengers and goods, but its true impact was much bigger. Stephenson’s Rocket proved that steam power could drive real, everyday transport, not just in factories, but across nations. That success helped trigger the railway revolution, which changed how people traveled, how goods were moved, how cities grew, and how economies worked. It pushed the Industrial Revolution into motion: faster, wider, and more connected than ever before.
That one breakthrough, Stephenson’s Rocket, set everything in motion. Over time, locomotives didn’t just get faster; they got stronger and more capable. It led to machines like the Union Pacific Big Boy: one of the largest steam locomotives ever built, designed to handle real industrial weight. It pulled over 100 loaded freight cars through the Rocky Mountains without help. That’s what the end of the curve looked like, not a test, but a proven workhorse built for the real world.
Now, let’s fast forward to today’s equivalent in the telecom world: Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS has been around in IT for a while, but in telecom, it’s still new, and it’s already changing everything. It’s shifting how services are consumed, how networks are built, and how operators do business. Like steam power once did for transport and industry, SaaS is setting a new pace for telecom: fast, flexible, and built for what’s next.
At Nokia, we’ve been building toward this model for years, and one of the most ambitious realizations is Core SaaS. It delivers the full capabilities of a 5G core network, entirely as a service. Our customers no longer need to deploy, host, or operate the core infrastructure. Instead, they simply consume the services they need, with Nokia automation handling the complexity behind the scenes. The focus shifts to what you can use a 5G Core for, rather than how it works.
If Stephenson’s Rocket was the beginning of locomotive innovation, Nokia Core SaaS is the rocket of telecom’s transformation. We commercially launched it in 2022, offering a fast, risk-free, and agile approach to delivering core networks. At first, it was used primarily in trials and controlled deployments, much like Stephenson’s early work. But now it’s out there, running live networks in production, delivering real connectivity outcomes and value. While Core SaaS itself runs in the central cloud, it supports distributed deployment of key functions, like placing the User Plane at the edge to meet the needs of latency-sensitive applications. For example, by co-locating it with 3D processing applications also run at the edge, we boost the performance of immersive experiences. One of our live deployments is NTT Docomo, using Core SaaS with edge applications to power high-performance 3D services.
Another example is Citymesh, an agile, fast-moving operator that’s transforming and revolutionizing how connectivity serves society. They're not just offering telecom services; they’re delivering end-to-end, mission-critical solutions for enterprises and the public sector, across sectors like smart grids, logistics, emergency response, and smart cities. Citymesh is laser-focused on the real needs of its customers, building networks that solve real-world problems with precision and speed. As part of this, local user plane edges ensure ultra-responsive services where it matters most in the field. It’s serious business, and they’re doing it with Core SaaS as the trusted foundation.
Not long ago, Core SaaS was seen as the future. Now it’s the present, running live networks, helping operators launch new connectivity needs faster, automate fully, scale effortlessly, and focus on service innovation instead of infrastructure management. It delivers what today’s Communications Service Providers (CSPs) need: cloud-native agility, lifecycle automation, and real-time control, all in a Service Level Agreement (SLA) backed by up consumption-based subscription model.
We’ve moved beyond the Rocket. We're now well on our way to building the Big Boy of telecom SaaS: a powerful, proven platform ready to carry the weight of next-generation connectivity services. Whether you’re building new services for enterprises or looking for an alternative way to provision connectivity at scale, Core SaaS is ready for the journey.
Curious what this locomotive can pull? Don’t just take our word for it; check out what our customers have to say on the Core SaaS "Customer's Voice" site
Stay with us and join the ride.
