• Zoom was first to market with a free platform combined with one-click meeting access. Usage quickly soared.
• Zoom’s popularity has generated challenges but the company has addressed them head-on.
COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the work environment. Enterprises have been forced to adapt with unprecedented speed to radically altered ways of doing business both internally and when engaging with customers, vendors, and suppliers. Flexible working and enhanced collaboration are now hardwired into organizations large, small, and in-between.
Prominent KubeCon themes included observability and service mesh.
New Relic and F5/NGINX made key announcements.
The open source software (OSS) community huddled up last week during KubeCon Europe, clearly affected by the past year’s strain on companies and DevOps teams, resolving to refine digitization via emerging technologies. Twice a year, KubeCon provides the industry with a developer-focused gauge of key trends and innovations related to app modernization, DevOps, and Kubernetes/container innovations. Continue reading “KubeCon Europe 2021: Key Themes Centered on Observability and Service Mesh”→
In recent months, AT&T and Verizon have launched business services leveraging 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) that complement consumer versions introduced in 2019 or 2020.
We examine where these services fit into the rest of their business portfolios, how are they positioned, and potential pitfalls and competitive threats the operators need to look out for.
AT&T launched 5G FWA for businesses in March 2021, described as the “first nationwide business-focused broadband network.” Customers can choose from Sierra Wireless or Ericsson/Cradlepoint routers and pay for either 50 or 100 Mbps speeds (on low-band 5G, as AT&T’s mmWave service is still limited). The operator positions these services as fiber alternatives, where fiber may be unavailable, or hints that there may also be cases where customers may appreciate the speeds, flexibility, and easier provisioning of 5G. It notes that it has 2.5 million business locations already served by fiber or wireless broadband (as LTE has been offered for two years) and the new 5G service offers equal control and security to fiber through closed, dedicated tunnels to the mobile network that are not accessible by other devices. It is described as ideal for companies that have many distributed sites (such as large retailers), and along with fiber, these customers can count on AT&T for nationwide coverage. AT&T usage examples include POS solutions for retailers, pop-up stores, and backup, with prioritization noted as an option. AT&T has further launched an expanded portfolio with Cradlepoint that combines AT&T’s broadband network, data plans, and management with Cradlepoint’s 5G adapters, routers, and wireless WAN lifecycle management platform. New vertical opportunities are noted by the partners; Cradlepoint offers a 5G mobile router for in-vehicle networks, as well as adapters that can integrate with AT&T’s SD-WAN service to position 5G as a primary connectivity option. Continue reading “The 5G Fixed Wireless Access Opportunity: Where Does It Fit Within Enterprise Services?”→
• Red Hat takes its managed services offering to the next level by operationalizing the complex digitization process, showcasing OpenShift’s expertise in integration and API management
• Red Hat OpenShift includes deeper integrations with key services including container security, insights and observability, and a consolidated automation platform which now includes Ansible
The Red Hat Summit conference illustrated how an integration company helps customers’ tackle the challenges behind operational digitization of app modernization. Specifically, through a consolidated platform that includes best-of-breed API management and mature streaming technology for connecting real-time data between apps and backend systems.
Complex operational requirements are a major deterrent in business transformations. IT buyers must overcome the challenge of assembling solutions that combine and orchestrate both the business software and the infrastructure on which that software runs. Although providers of switching, server, storage, virtualization, and cloud software technology have begun rolling out new solutions supporting better operational provisioning, no single vendor is yet capable of managing the entire lifecycle of this amalgamation. Continue reading “Red Hat Summit 2021: Red Hat Applies Integration Expertise to Operational Digitization Complexities”→
• New processor chip design platforms from Arm will strengthen and deepen Arm’s importance within the data center technology industry.
• These developments increase the competitive and other pressures currently facing Intel, and could also jeopardize NVIDIA’s proposed acquisition of Arm.
Arm’s latest chip design platforms will strengthen and deepen the UK’s firm’s importance within the data center technology industry. This will increase the competitive and other pressures currently facing Intel, which are chipping away at Intel’s dominance in the data center processor space. It could also jeopardize NVIDIA’s proposed $40 billion (£29 billion) acquisition of Arm, which is currently under investigation by the UK government.
The current generation of location services based on GPS and GNSS can only guarantee precision from three to nine meters; according to Verizon, this is not accurate enough to serve applications that depend on very precise real-time location information such as autonomous vehicles, drones, and AI-enhanced construction.
Verizon’s SaaS-based hyper-precise location (HPL) offering, now integrated into its ThingSpace IoT platform, may be a game-changer, unless other operators have capabilities in the works that can match self-correcting accuracy that provides precision to the centimeter level.
Verizon has been working on integration of hyper-precise location technology into its ThingSpace IoT platform for several years. Now that its 5G and edge technologies are also starting to be more widely available, the operator has launched a service that takes advantage of a capability called real-time kinematics (RTK), which has been available for a decade but has had limited coverage and couldn’t scale to large fleets or IoT deployments. Verizon is using its cloud backend to make the technology available as a service in 100 markets, with the aim of ‘hypercharging’ new solutions for 4G/5G. It is currently designed for use cases that rely on very precise location. The service uses reference stations with known locations and then collects signals and observes the error between what the signal suggests as the location and where the reference station actually is located. It uses this to reverse-calculate the error and provide error correction to all nearby devices very rapidly (i.e. data is collected/corrected every second). Verizon has deployed multiple reference stations in each of its 100 markets in order to provide ‘correction as a service.’ The autonomous driving segment (including location information for C-V2X protocols) is the most obvious market to require this kind of precision (not only for truly autonomous vehicles, but also for interim capabilities such as lane keeping, as RTK knows where in the lane the vehicle is located). However, it seems clear that other IoT use cases such as robotics ‘last-mile’ functionality, AI-enhanced construction, and pedestrian safety will be emerging applications. Continue reading “Verizon Hyper-Precise Location: Is This a Game-Changer for IoT?”→
The new BlueJeans Telehealth solution narrows the gap in quality between the traditional connected health model and an in-office visit.
Verizon Business could leverage the technological expertise amassed in building BlueJeans Telehealth towards similar solutions for additional verticals.
The practice of administering medical care in a virtual setting has become routine. Nevertheless, remote engagement between patients and medical professionals still lags in quality to an in-office visit. The new BlueJeans Telehealth solution by Verizon Business narrows this gap by augmenting the traditional connected health model. While BlueJeans Telehealth positions Verizon Business well in the healthcare vertical, the competition is not sitting still and thus success is by no means assured. Continue reading “Virtual Care via BlueJeans Telehealth from Verizon Business Echoes In-Person Appointments”→
While the competition is increasing, Tencent could capitalize on its early-mover advantage against AWS and Azure and highlight its vertical capabilities.
However, there are several competitive gaps it needs to address such as professional services and ecosystem partners.
Tencent is well known in the mass market in ASEAN for its WeChat social media app, JOOX music streaming app, and Shopee e-commerce platform (Tencent is the main beneficiary of Shopee’s parent company with a 39.7% share), each having significantly expanded its subscriber base in the region. However, very few were aware of the company’s cloud and vertical solutions in the enterprise segment.
Last week, the company launched a new data center in Indonesia, with plans to open another facility in the country in a few months. The launch is a timely move for Tencent to capture the growing market opportunity despite increasing competition from other cloud players. To date, Tencent has a total of 61 availability zones across 27 regions, including 20 data centers in 13 locations outside China. As part of its global expansion plan, it also plans to expand in few other countries, including Malaysia and Thailand later this year. Continue reading “Tencent Jumps on the Indonesian Cloud Bandwagon with New Data Centers in the Country”→
The spinoff of Dell from VMware is long-term good for VMware customers.
Enterprise IT buyers and enterprise IT rivals to Dell need make no changes for the immediate future.
On April 15, 2021, Dell announced plans to spin off its VMware business, which will likely net Dell around $9 billion (USD) that it can used to pay down debt or go on an acquisition spree. Dell currently owns 81% of VMware, which it gained during its acquisition of EMC in 2015. Beyond the obvious need to reduce its debt, it is widely believed that VMware (which still had its own stock) and Dell will both have higher values when they are evaluated as separate entities. Michael Dell will remain chairman of the board for both companies. Continue reading “Dell to Spin Off VMware – Steady as She Goes for Now”→
