Author: Alfie Amir

Alfie Amir is a senior analyst in Current Analysis Group. He is responsible for research, consulting and analysis focusing on market and technology trends, competitive analysis and account-based intelligence for ICT spending and modeling future investments. He also works across several trackers (e.g., fixed, mobile and IT) providing market sizing, forecasts and insights across the region. Alfie is quoted regularly in trade press and is a regular speaker at conferences, workshops and other industry events.

Xpand: Can the Provider Expand?

by Alfie Amir, posted in Communicate
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

• Xpand is Axiata’s enterprise arm providing network-based services to Asian regional enterprises.

• There is still a big gap between Xpand and other regional/global carriers.

You may have heard of Axiata, but most likely not Xpand. Axiata is a telecom group with stakes in eight countries across emerging Asian markets (Celcom, Malaysia; XL, Indonesia; Dialog, Sri Lanka; Robi, Bangladesh; Smart, Cambodia; Ncell, Nepal; Idea, India; and M1, Singapore); while Xpand is the carrier’s regional enterprise arm providing network-based services such as connectivity, cloud, UC, mobilitym and IoT. Xpand positions itself as a one-stop shop for all communication solutions to MNCs and regional enterprises in Asia, This places the provider in the same market with other Asian and global carriers such as Singtel, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, Telstra, VGE, PCCW Global, and Bharti Airtel. Continue reading “Xpand: Can the Provider Expand?” →

Anti-Bot as Additional Protection Layer in IoT

by Alfie Amir, posted in Internet of Things, Secure
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Security remains a key inhibitor in IoT, driven by the convergence of IT and OT.
  • IoT providers should consider bundling anti-bot offerings into their IoT solution as an additional protection layer.

Security and privacy have been the key topics in IoT. They are also the main inhibitors slowing down IoT adoptions by enterprises. As seen in the figure below, GlobalData IoT research conducted in 2017 with 281 Asian enterprises showed that security and privacy were the second and fourth biggest challenges for them with their IoT deployments. Continue reading “Anti-Bot as Additional Protection Layer in IoT” →

Amdocs Microservices360 Gives Service Providers the Flexibility to Expand Their Enterprise ICT Portfolios Modularly

by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable, Internet of Things
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Amdocs Microservices360 gives carriers the flexibility to expand their enterprise portfolio modularly and offer integration between services.
  • he platform has various microservices and supports the latest technologies, such as open source, DevOps, pipeline automation and cloud deployment.

Amdocs shared Microservices360 and other solutions at its recent Asia-Pacific event (for more about the event, please see: “Amdocs APAC Summit 2018: Enabling Carriers to Drive Enterprise Digital Transformation,” July 23, 2018). Microservices360 supports open source technologies, the DevOps lifecycle and Red Hat OpenShift for CI/CD pipeline automation and flexible deployment (on-premises or cloud). The microservices include catalogue, order, payment and partner management. While the focus has been on carriers’ consumer segments, the platform can also enable carriers to expand and enhance their enterprise portfolios. Continue reading “Amdocs Microservices360 Gives Service Providers the Flexibility to Expand Their Enterprise ICT Portfolios Modularly” →

Inmarsat: Filling IoT Coverage Gaps for ‘Always On’ Applications

by Alfie Amir, posted in Internet of Things
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Satellite providers have key roles to drive IoT market especially in filling the coverage gaps in remote areas
  • Satellites are mainly used for backhaul network, not so practical as the last mile access due to its technical limitations such as latency and physical dimensions

While some satellite providers are entering the IoT space and compete against the mobile operators (for more, please see Cable and Satellite Companies Pushing into IoT: Can They Win Against Mobile Operators?, July 6, 2018) other satellite providers such as Inmarsat are partnering with carriers to fill the IoT coverage gaps in areas beyond cellular network can reach offshore oilrigs, airplanes in transit, remote environmental monitoring, and vehicle and people tracking. Based on GlobalData’s IoT Deployment Database, there are more than 100 satellite-based IoT deployments tracked, with an installed base that almost doubled in the last two years. This also reflects the IoT market trend shown by GlobalData IoT Project Insight 2017 (n=924) where 17% of IoT deployments today are on fleet management (the third highest after equipment management and building management). In some cases, the satellite network is also used in cellular areas, but offered as network diversity to offer higher availability for mission critical applications such as payment terminals in petrol stations. Continue reading “Inmarsat: Filling IoT Coverage Gaps for ‘Always On’ Applications” →

Bosch IoT: Strong Potential in Manufacturing, a Huge and Rapidly Growing Sector in Asia-Pacific

by Alfie Amir, posted in Internet of Things
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Bosch has strong potential in manufacturing, automotive, and transportation sectors, which are the high-growth verticals in Asia-Pacific.
  • The provider needs to expand its cloud partners and strengthen its security solution to address the main IoT challenges of Asian enterprises in those sectors.

Bosch is not the first name you would think of when talking about IoT or even in a wider ICT topic. The brand is more synonymous with industrial equipment and household appliances. However, with 6.2 million IoT connections and more than 250 deployments, Bosch is considered as one of the key players in IoT space. It started its initiatives in IoT as early as 2008, when the company acquired Innovations Software Technology. Fast forward to 2018, Bosch Software Innovations has acquired three companies to expand its IoT capability, launched Bosch IoT Suite (available on third-party clouds) and Bosch IoT Cloud, and opened its IoT Lab and IoT Campus. Continue reading “Bosch IoT: Strong Potential in Manufacturing, a Huge and Rapidly Growing Sector in Asia-Pacific” →

Huawei IoT: Capabilities Across the Solution Stack, but Low Mindshare in the Region

by Alfie Amir, posted in Communicate, Internet of Things
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Huawei’s capability across IoT stacks offers a competitive advantage in the market.
  • Huawei has the potential to drive IoT adoption in the region through carriers. However, it has yet to leverage this unique advantage outside China.

The IoT ecosystem is complex, as it involves all technologies within IT and bridges IT with operational technologies (OT). As a technology company with core business in telecommunications equipment, IoT for Huawei is not just enabling NB-IoT features in carriers’ cellular network. The vendor is also leveraging its company-wide capabilities to play across the IoT stack. Its IoT portfolio includes the chipset, an operating system (OS) called LiteOS, an NB-IoT network through its radio access solution to carriers, security (through its 3T+1M approach), a platform, cloud, professional services and even an initiative to drive the ecosystem (through its OpenLab). While Cisco and Nokia can closely match this capability, Huawei’s key advantage is with its IoT chipset and OS. Continue reading “Huawei IoT: Capabilities Across the Solution Stack, but Low Mindshare in the Region” →

Chinese Players Are Disrupting the Cloud Market in Asia-Pacific

by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • The cloud market in Asia-Pacific is getting more competitive, driven by the Chinese cloud giants: Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent.
  • The growing competition offers businesses wider options beyond the traditional cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft and IBM.

The three Chinese ICT giants – Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent – are originally from different ICT areas. Huawei started with telecommunications equipment, Alibaba with e-commerce and Tencent with instant messaging. However, today, they all actively play in cloud market, challenging the traditional cloud players such as AWS, Microsoft, Google and IBM. Continue reading “Chinese Players Are Disrupting the Cloud Market in Asia-Pacific” →

Avaya’s a Laggard in Cloud, But Not Too Late in Asia-Pacific

by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

• Avaya finally has a cloud strategy; a late mover compared to the other UCC players

• But cloud adoption in Asia-Pacific especially in emerging markets is still low and demand is growing

While Avaya already has a number of cloud-based deployments for several years for example Avaya IP Office as-a-Service (IPOaaS) offered by Optus in Australia, the cloud delivery model is mainly driven by the partners. Avaya itself is finally moving to cloud-based offerings recently. It is a late move considering the other UC major players have gone to cloud years earlier, for example Cisco with Spark and Webex and Microsoft with Microsoft Office 365 and Skype for Business. Continue reading “Avaya’s a Laggard in Cloud, But Not Too Late in Asia-Pacific” →

Vodafone Asia Industry Analyst Summit 2018: Retaining Leadership in IoT and Staying on Track to Challenge the Market with SD-WAN

by Alfie Amir, posted in Internet of Things, Network
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • VGE has a comprehensive enterprise services portfolio as well as a strong vision on how to build an agile network platform leveraging SDN/NFV.
  • Vodafone remains a leading player in the IoT space, and it is able to use IoT to open new opportunities with new and existing customers.

Vodafone Global Enterprise (VGE) hosted its Asia Industry Analyst Summit in Singapore on January 30-31, 2018. While various information involving business directions, products and partnerships was shared at the event, this blog post zooms in on the two key areas: SD-WAN and IoT. Continue reading “Vodafone Asia Industry Analyst Summit 2018: Retaining Leadership in IoT and Staying on Track to Challenge the Market with SD-WAN” →

Nokia Innovation Forum: Enabling Digital Transformation Through Telcos

by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable, Communicate, Internet of Things, IT Leader, Network
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Nokia uses its strength and experience in network solutions as well as its strong relationships with telcos to drive digital transformation.
  • In emerging markets where digital transformation is slow, Nokia needs to work more closely with the telcos and focus on particular solutions and verticals.

Nokia held its Asia-Pacific Innovation Forum in Singapore on the October 24, 2017. Various topics and use cases around IoT, 5G, cloud, network and security were discussed by not only Nokia executives, but also its industry partners, its telco customers, start-ups, government agencies and end users. Despite the diverse topics, the presentations and discussions throughout the event focused around digital transformation themes. Continue reading “Nokia Innovation Forum: Enabling Digital Transformation Through Telcos” →