--- title: Mark Shuttleworth on overcoming software complexity description: Hear more about how relevant technologies can be leveraged in transforming telco infrastructure and software complexity from Canonical’s experts. url: https://canonical.com/blog/mark-shuttleworth-on-overcoming-software-complexity?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Andreea Munteanu](https://canonical.com/blog/author/munteanuandreea "More about Andreea Munteanu") 16 November 2020 # Mark Shuttleworth on overcoming software complexity [cloud](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/cloud) [edge](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/edge) [Event](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/event) [OpenStack](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/openstack) --- Share the article While today we see an enormous amount of incredible software being published, both by tech giants and niche providers, there is a significant lag in the telco industry’s ability to leverage it. The promise of a software-defined technology landscape is, of course, agility. But what is the main factor preventing telecommunications enterprises from adopting open source software? With licensing costs no longer being an issue, the friction has now become centered around operations instead. Onboarding, integrating, and operating software must be simple for enterprises, or else they are prevented from reaping its benefits. Opening the Digital Infrastructure Investment stream at this year’s AfricaCom, Canonical’s founder and CEO Mark Shuttleworth spoke about the pressing need to find a way around software complexity, as it increasingly becomes the cornerstone of modern infrastructure. Hear him share his insight on how telcos and other organisations should be thinking about: 1. Public clouds, private clouds and micro clouds 2. Layers of software-defined infrastructure 3. Application management and integration in a multi-vendor, multi-cloud world 4. The new wave of IoT applications Want to hear more about how relevant technologies can be leveraged in transforming telco infrastructure? Watch a technical walk-through by Canonical’s experts. [Watch now](https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/6793/433508?utm_source=blog) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Join Canonical at the first-ever African OpenInfra Days](https://canonical.com/blog/join-canonical-at-the-first-ever-african-openinfra-days) For the second time, and in less than one month, Canonical is coming to East Africa! Three weeks ago, we had the first-ever UbuCon Africa, which was co-located with DjangoCon... [Sharon Koech](https://canonical.com/blog/author/skoech) 2 September 2025 [### Run agentic workloads on Arm and Ubuntu](https://canonical.com/blog/run-agentic-workloads-on-arm-and-ubuntu) In the lead-up to Ubuntu Summit 26.04, Canonical and Arm are collaborating to certify the new Arm AGI CPU on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon). Learn what this means for... [Youssef Eltoukhy](https://canonical.com/blog/author/usf197) 26 May 2026 [### How to set up a micro lab: four principles for a reliable homelab](https://canonical.com/blog/how-to-set-up-a-reliable-homelab) After over a decade of running a homelab, I have learned a few difficult lessons. Although it begins as a “lab,” you inevitably end up with something you want to keep. If a... [Jake Nabasny](https://canonical.com/blog/author/slapcat) 17 March 2026 [### Cloud-native Android™ infotainment: your CI pipeline shouldn’t depend on hardware](https://canonical.com/blog/cloud-native-android-infotainment-your-ci-pipeline-shouldnt-depend-on-hardware) More and more often, infotainment systems are being developed and delivered like software, yet often they are still tested and validated using hardware-centric processes. This... [Bertrand Boisseau](https://canonical.com/blog/author/bboisseau) 2 March 2026