Scope & Positioning

PROCON focuses on the programmability, automation, and intelligent orchestration of cloud network infrastructures — spanning centralized data centers, regional points of presence, and distributed edge nodes — with a strong emphasis on practical, deployable solutions.

Workshop Scope

The International Workshop on Programmability for Cloud Networks and Applications (PROCON) covers the full spectrum of topics related to programmable cloud infrastructure, from software-defined networking and network function virtualization to intelligent edge computing and AI-driven network operations.

Core Research Areas

  • Cloud Network Programmability — Software-defined networking (SDN) for cloud data centers, programmable data planes (P4), network function virtualization (NFV)
  • Edge-to-Cloud Architectures — Multi-tier edge-cloud networking, CDN optimization, traffic steering and load balancing across distributed points of presence
  • Intelligent Network Operations — AI/ML-driven network management, reinforcement learning for traffic engineering, predictive resource orchestration
  • Content Delivery & Application Acceleration — CDN architectures, edge caching, DNS-based traffic management, application-layer optimization
  • Network Automation & Orchestration — Closed-loop network automation, intent-based networking, infrastructure-as-code, zero-touch operations
  • Service Mesh & Application Networking — Envoy/Istio-based service mesh, API gateways, edge proxy architectures, sidecar networking
  • Observability & Telemetry — Network monitoring, distributed tracing, performance measurement, anomaly detection in cloud networks
  • 5G/6G & Cloud-Native Networking — Network slicing, edge computing for telecom, cloud-native network functions (CNFs), open RAN programmability
  • Security & Policy in Cloud Networks — Programmable security policies, network access control, zero-trust networking in cloud environments

Industry Positioning

PROCON is distinguished from general networking conferences by its dual focus on programmability and cloud applications. While larger venues such as IEEE INFOCOM, ACM SIGCOMM, and IEEE ICC cover cloud networking as one of many topics, PROCON provides a dedicated forum where researchers and practitioners working on programmable infrastructure, intelligent edge systems, and application delivery networks can engage deeply with peers facing the same challenges.

The workshop is particularly relevant to the content delivery industry, where CDN architectures are evolving toward programmable edge platforms, and the cloud-native networking community, where service mesh, API gateways, and programmable proxies (Envoy, eBPF, P4) are redefining how applications connect and communicate in distributed cloud environments.

Relationship with ITC

PROCON is held in conjunction with the International Teletraffic Congress (ITC), technically co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society. As part of the ITC workshop program, PROCON benefits from ITC's 70-year legacy as the first international conference in networking science and practice, its rigorous publication standards, and its broad community of researchers from industry, network operators, and academia.

Academic Standing

PROCON proceedings are indexed alongside ITC publications and are available through: