OLD DOG CONSULTING LIMITED

Their core work

Old Dog Consulting is a small UK-based technology consultancy specialising in advanced networking and telecommunications infrastructure. Their work spans software-defined networking (SDN), optical metro transport, and the application of artificial intelligence to network control and traffic management. They contribute practical industry consulting expertise to large European research consortia, bridging the gap between academic network research and real-world commercial deployment. Their involvement in both a 5G optical network project and a secured SDN automation project suggests they advise on architecture, configuration, and operational aspects of next-generation network systems.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first project, METRO-HAUL (2017-2020), focused on the physical and optical layer — high-bandwidth metro networks, edge compute, and low-latency 5G connectivity — with no explicit security or AI angle. By TeraFlow (2021-2023), the emphasis shifted decisively toward software intelligence: SDN flow automation, AI-assisted network control, cybersecurity, and distributed ledgers as a trust mechanism. The trajectory is clear: from building better pipes to making those pipes self-managing and secure.

They are moving toward intelligent, automated network orchestration at the intersection of SDN, AI, and security — a profile that aligns well with future Horizon Europe work on network resilience, zero-trust architectures, and autonomous infrastructure management.

How they like to work

Old Dog Consulting has participated in both projects as a non-coordinator partner, suggesting they bring specialist expertise to consortia rather than driving research agendas. With 34 unique partners across 11 countries from just two projects, they clearly work in large, diverse EU consortia — typical of major ICT Research and Innovation Actions. There is no evidence of repeat partnerships, indicating they are brought in for specific technical consulting value rather than through long-standing alliances.

With 34 unique consortium partners spanning 11 countries across only 2 projects, Old Dog Consulting is embedded in large, pan-European research networks. Their reach is solidly European, with no indication of partners outside the EU/UK sphere.

What sets them apart

Old Dog Consulting occupies a rare niche as a small independent consultancy within large ICT research consortia — most SME participants in these projects are technology vendors or spin-offs, not pure consultancies. Their value lies in translating complex network research into operational and commercial reality, which is something few academic or large industrial partners can provide. For a consortium building a credible path to market adoption of SDN or optical network technologies, a specialist consulting SME like this adds practical grounding that reviewers and end users notice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• METRO-HAUL
  Their largest funded project (EUR 335,606), addressing the critical bottleneck between 5G radio access and core optical networks — a high-priority topic for European telecoms infrastructure.
• TeraFlow
  An unusually ambitious scope combining SDN at massive scale with AI automation, cybersecurity, and distributed ledgers — rare convergence of four distinct technology streams in one project.