Communications service providers need a new service assurance approach to realize the business benefits of network virtualization. Traditional, siloed, waterfall-based service assurance methods are not fit for purpose in the era of network function virtualization/software-defined networking (NFV/SDN), and must give way to a DevOps-based methodology where virtualized network functions (VNFs) and end-to-end services are validated, tested and operationalized in a seamless manner. Service assurance should play a critical role in the full-service lifecycle to realize the business benefits of service and operational agility.