TM ONE Leap Summit 2020: Accelerating Digital Transformation in Malaysia Through Expanded Capabilities

by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable, Communicate, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network, Secure
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • TM ONE has expanded its ICT portfolio and strengthened its professional service capabilities.
  • However, there is still a gap in its partner ecosystem compared to other providers.

TM ONE held its third LEAP Summit virtually in November 2020.  At the event, the provider shared various initiatives not only in enhancing the country network infrastructure in line with the government’s plan, but also in expanding its portfolio and capabilities as a digital transformation partner to Malaysian enterprises.  Its focus is on the future of work (e.g., robotics, automation AI), digital competency or skillset, agile working, and Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0).  The provider also shared several actual use cases and showcased its portfolio and capabilities in cloud, cybersecurity, 5G and IoT, and data analytics.  This post discusses TM ONE strengths and gaps in the market as well as recommendations for the provider and buyers in the country. Continue reading “TM ONE Leap Summit 2020: Accelerating Digital Transformation in Malaysia Through Expanded Capabilities” →

Fireside Chat: What Are the Practical Opportunities for 5G and Edge Cloud?

by Dustin Kehoe, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader, Network
D. Kehoe

Summary Bullets:

  • Edge redefines cloud by functionality, not location, as the old model of consumption economics moves from a centralized to a distributed model.
  • Telco exchanges, central offices, and street-side cabinets are prime edge/cloud locations and will create a special role for operators.

GlobalData, together with Infosys, HPE, and Spark New Zealand, hosted a global webinar recently to discuss 5G and edge compute.  This session attracted a cross-section of delegates, especially telecom providers across different regions.  The webinar included a presentation, a fireside chat, and direct questions from the audience to the panelists.  Continue reading “Fireside Chat: What Are the Practical Opportunities for 5G and Edge Cloud?” →

COVID-19 Isn’t Over and It’s Still Tactical Time

by Steven J. Schuchart Jr., posted in IT Leader
S. Schuchart

Summary Bullets:            

  • COVID-19 is not over, despite promising news of vaccines.
  • Tactical thinking is the way through for vendors and customers in 2021.

There are a number of very promising COVID-19 vaccines in the works, and that’s good news for everyone.  But this good news isn’t a signal that suddenly all is well.  COVID-19 is still a reality, and the logistics of manufacturing and distributing enough vaccine for everyone is decidedly non-trivial.  The temptation is to point to an event or date and say that things will just return to normal on that day.  There is also a mistaken impression that once the majority of people are vaccinated, the world will snap back – figuratively – to January 2020 with the same expectations, plans, and motivations.  The announcements of promising vaccines, the turning of the year, the swearing in of a new American president, a January Brexit, none of these things are oft-wished-for, decisive breakpoints, just more challenges.  The reality is that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s course, and there is no going back.  Instead, we need to deal with the reality of the world in front of us, changed greatly by the pandemic. Continue reading “COVID-19 Isn’t Over and It’s Still Tactical Time” →

Telecom Operators Look to Increase Their Role in Enabling Advanced Analytics for Enterprises

by Rena Bhattacharyya, posted in Big Data

R. Bhattacharyya

Summary Bullets:

• Telecom service providers are looking to up the role they play in customers’ advanced analytics initiatives by offering services related to data preparation and project deployment and management.

• Mobile operators are eager to explore opportunities in the monetization of user information, but this must be done carefully and with an eye to regional regulations and privacy-related concerns.

Analytics is a hot area, with many organizations looking to leverage the wealth of information they collect to improve efficiency, enhance productivity, make more informed decisions, and improve the customer journey. However, there are many steps that need to be taken before data can actually yield the intended results. It must be collected, transported, curated, processed, and then visualized in order to provide value to end users. It’s a process that requires an ecosystem of vendors, and telcos are looking to expand the role they play. Their contribution to the transport component is obvious, but they are now looking to insert themselves in other parts of the process as well by offering services related to data preparation and project deployment and management. Continue reading “Telecom Operators Look to Increase Their Role in Enabling Advanced Analytics for Enterprises” →

Microsoft Weaves Low-Code, Automation into Popular Teams App

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in IT Leader

Charlotte Dunlap – Principal Analyst, Application Platforms

Summary Bullets:

• Microsoft infiltrates Power App and Power Automate to broad apps user base via Teams integration

• Low-code and automation ecosystem gets interesting in coming months, with workflow tooling providers (e.g., ServiceNow, Pegasystems) in high demand

The low-code app development space continues to heat up, particularly among leaders jockeying for leverage in the hotly contested cloud wars.

This week Microsoft announced its low-code and automation innovations currently delivered via its popular Power Platform will be made available through Microsoft Teams. Teams, the company’s fastest growing business application, is beginning to look more like a platform, one which puts the power of app development and DevOps capabilities into the hands of more non-coding folks. These capabilities provide businesses with the ability to quickly churn out applications in response to new business models and new marketing campaigns, essentially supporting digital transformations. Continue reading “Microsoft Weaves Low-Code, Automation into Popular Teams App” →

IoT Services in a Post-COVID-19 World: An Update

by Kitty Weldon, posted in IT Leader

K. Weldon
K. Weldon

• Operators and other suppliers may have difficulty this year selling IoT deals to new customers or expanding existing projects. IoT deals are often complex, and economic realities due to the COVID-19 pandemic may make it difficult for businesses to justify the expense, especially if they are in hard-hit verticals such as retail or hospitality.

• However, many operators note that they are doing well this year closing IoT deals. They have also launched services that help detect and prevent COVID-19. Which of these may last in a post-pandemic world?

Has COVID-19 Been Bad for the IoT Market?

IoT services budgets (and analyst market forecasts) have been tamped down in 2020 due to the premise that operators and other suppliers may have difficulty this year selling IoT deals to new customers or expanding existing projects. IoT deals are often complex, and economic realities due to the COVID-19 pandemic may make it difficult for businesses to justify the expense, making the job of selling these solutions harder as well. Certainly in some segments especially hard hit by the pandemic such as retail, sports stadiums, hospitality, transportation, ports, airports, and energy, it may be difficult for companies to imagine trialing and paying for a new potentially complex technology solution. IoT deployments may require hardware, software, connectivity services, edge computing, security solutions, and use of management platforms, often bought from multiple members of a fragmented supplier ecosystem. It was hard enough to justify all of these investments before the pandemic. Yet the hype surrounding 5G and its ability to support massive numbers of IoT connections, ultra low latency and high bandwidth has made it seem that 2021 will be a banner year for IoT. However, it seems more likely that 2021 will be focused on tactical solutions, rather than wholesale IoT-led transformation. In addition, the benefits of 5G and edge computing may not be reaped for several more years. Continue reading “IoT Services in a Post-COVID-19 World: An Update” →

SD-WAN for Homeworkers: Prohibitively Expensive or a Realistic Option?

by Gary Barton, posted in Network
G. Barton
G. Barton

Summary Bullets:

  • Homeworking has changed the dynamic for SD-WAN, which usually relies on physical or virtualized CPE at the corporate site, but options are available for those working from home.
  • Hardware-based solutions for homeworkers are falling in price, but may only be suitable for ‘power users.’

A growing number of SD-WAN technology vendors and network service providers (SPs) have either launched or have stated that they are developing SD-WAN solutions for homeworkers.  These usually come in two forms: small form-factor SD-WAN routers or software clients. Continue reading “SD-WAN for Homeworkers: Prohibitively Expensive or a Realistic Option?” →

Vodafone Americas Offers Unique Proposition for MNCs, Including U.S. Companies

by Kitty Weldon, posted in Mobilize
K. Weldon
K. Weldon

Summary Bullets:

  • Vodafone Americas is seeing traction with U.S. companies with global voice and data connectivity requirements as well as global companies that need to communicate in the U.S.
  • Ironically, the mobile-first operator is seeing opportunities to offer these MNCs value-added services such as IoT, UC, and cloud, without having or needing its own mobile footprint in the U.S.

Vodafone Americas offers MNCs in the U.S., Canada, and South America a unique value proposition that allows the operator to draw customers, even among large, well-known U.S.-headquartered enterprises, and service them globally.  In the U.S., it operates out of offices in New York, Denver, and San Francisco.  It also has an IoT Innovation Lab in San Francisco.  For global companies that require U.S. coverage as part of their footprint, Vodafone has established a series of roaming capabilities.  While it is not necessarily the lowest-cost provider of these connections, its extensive non-U.S. mobile footprint provides MNCs with the ability to contract with a single provider, which may bring not only deeper discounts but also the convenience factor of having a single company from which to buy connectivity, with visibility and support via consistent platforms.  Vodafone Americas is successfully offering many of these approximately 500 companies IoT solutions as well as other strategic services such as cloud, cybersecurity, and unified communications, which also do not depend on the operator having its own U.S. footprint for mobile access.  The operator also has some U.S. wireline assets, including 24 PoPs in ‘NFL cities,’ but remains reliant on operator partners for last-mile access. Continue reading “Vodafone Americas Offers Unique Proposition for MNCs, Including U.S. Companies” →

Listen First: The Smarter Way to Build a Smart City

by tcuzzillo, posted in IT Leader
Ted Cuzzillo,
Principal Analyst – Data Analytics

Summary Bullets:

  • A truly smart city brings out the public’s ‘inner smartness.’  That starts with listening, not technology.
  • A recent San Francisco project offers a strong example of a listen-first approach.

Ask almost anyone to describe a smart city and you hear about technology.  IoT, AI, and assorted other tech orchestrate lights, power and water, and buses for optimal performance.  One thing you almost never hear about, however, is the people who would benefit. Continue reading “Listen First: The Smarter Way to Build a Smart City” →

Today’s Desk Phone Has Evolved, but Is It Clutter or the Future of Working from Home?

by Gregg Willsky, posted in Communicate
G. Willsky

Summary Bullets:

  • The increasingly ignored deck phone is being revamped by vendors such as Avaya and may offer an enhanced experience in the work-from-home (WFH) world.
  • Those employees who miss their office phones or need an occasional extra screen may benefit, but desk phones can also be expensive clutter.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the practice of ‘remote working’ from corporate perk to corporate imperative.  Virtually overnight, WFH has become the norm.

Although the WFH population will shrink once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, it will still exceed pre-pandemic numbers.  Not all employers are planning to return to the office, and even many who are will offer WFH to employees as a permanent option. Continue reading “Today’s Desk Phone Has Evolved, but Is It Clutter or the Future of Working from Home?” →