Category: Internet of Things

Can North American IoT MVNOs Thrive in Difficult Times?

by Kitty Weldon, posted in Internet of Things
Kathryn Weldon – Research Director, Business Network and IT Services – Americas

Summary Bullets:

  • Internet of Things (IoT) mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) had to overcome reliance on connectivity-led portfolios as they court global enterprises while competing with mobile operators focusing on IoT as a growth area.
  • Those MVNOs that remain and thrive have re-vamped offerings to stay relevant, drawing customers with application enablement, vertical solutions, management platforms, and professional and managed services.

IoT MVNOs expand the reach of enterprises looking to connect IoT devices on a global basis, primarily via cellular technologies. They can expand mobile or fixed operators’ footprints as a partner or sell directly to OEMs and enterprises that need widespread, easy-to-use connectivity. They can also offer seamless connectivity in regions where a single carrier cannot provide service.

Continue reading “Can North American IoT MVNOs Thrive in Difficult Times?” →

Vodafone Delivers Purpose in Action

by Rob Pritchard, posted in Internet of Things, Mobilize, Network, Secure
R. Pritchard

Summary Bullets:

  • Vodafone is seeking to demonstrate how it uses technology to address connected education and connected health markets in both developed and developing countries.
  • Propositions such as ‘school in a box’ and m-mama in Africa have helped in delivering the education sector and safer healthcare for pregnant women.

Vodafone recently presented examples of its Purpose initiative, whose goal is stated to be “we connect for a better future by enabling inclusive and sustainable digital societies.” The three pillars of this strategy are Digital Society (connecting people, places, and things and digitizing critical sectors); Inclusion For All (ensuring no one is left behind in a digital society); and Planet (tackling the climate crisis, reducing carbon emissions, and helping others reduce theirs). These all demonstrate practical implementations of the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda, as well as demonstrating that offering socially useful applications can also be a commercial opportunity.

Continue reading “Vodafone Delivers Purpose in Action” →

GlobalData’s Connected Enterprise Tracker Shows Industry 4.0 Driving Demand for Enterprise 5G and Private Networks

by John Marcus, posted in Internet of Things, Mobilize

J. Marcus

Summary Bullets:

  • The Connected Enterprise Tracker is the new name for GlobalData’s unique database tracking Internet of Things (IoT) deployments.
  • It now includes details on hundreds of individual 5G and private network deployments by enterprises, in addition to thousands of IoT implementations.
  • GlobalData’s Connected Enterprise Tracker shows that the manufacturing sector accounts for 31% of the 5G and private network deployments since 2017.
  • Much of that activity is concentrated in Europe, where Industry 4.0 ‘smart factory’ developments have gained early traction.

GlobalData’s Connected Enterprise Tracker shows that the manufacturing sector accounts for 31% of the 5G and private network deployments since 2017 that we can identify by end-user organization. Much of that activity is concentrated in Europe, where Industry 4.0 ‘smart factory’ developments have gained early traction. Continue reading “GlobalData’s Connected Enterprise Tracker Shows Industry 4.0 Driving Demand for Enterprise 5G and Private Networks” →

Announcements from Industrial IoT Services Providers Augur Well for Market Momentum

by Kitty Weldon, posted in Internet of Things
K. Weldon
K. Weldon

Summary Bullets:

  • Over the past six months, IoT service providers in the US, Europe, and APAC have been busily disclosing new capabilities, with close to 30 announcements, not including customer wins.
  • Announcements ranged from news on acquisitions and investments to new and enhanced services, technology alliances, and vertical solutions.  

New and Enhanced Services

New and enhanced services ranged from asset tracking improvements to expanded coverage, roaming alliances, managed services, wholesale expansion, and blockchain in conjunction with Internet of Things (IoT), edge alliances, and dynamic network access.

Continue reading “Announcements from Industrial IoT Services Providers Augur Well for Market Momentum” →

Red Hat Summit: Ansible’s Growing Prominence

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, Communicate, Internet of Things, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network, Secure
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:             

  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is growing in prominence within OpenShift and the industry in general
  • Ansible’s popularity has prompted a new round of key partnerships to expand OpenShift’s ecosystem

Red Hat Ansible has matured into a shining star, not only among OpenShift’s portfolio, but the industry in general for its ability to abstract the complexity of building and operating IT automation at scale as part of enterprises’ business transformations.

Continue reading “Red Hat Summit: Ansible’s Growing Prominence” →

Vodafone UK M&A Rumors Indicate Further Consolidation During Cost-of-Living Crisis

by Rob Pritchard, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, Internet of Things, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network, Secure
R. Pritchard

Summary Bullets:

  • The incremental consolidation of the UK enterprise telecoms market continues in light of broader national combinations, with further deals inevitable.
  • Although driven by financial imperatives in a highly competitive market, these developments reflect a broader re-segmentation in the context of the current economic environment.

Following the creation of the Virgin Media O2 50:50 joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica via the merger of their respective Virgin Media and O2 UK businesses, there has been an increasing pressure on Vodafone, BT, and other players to improve investor returns by creating a greater scale through mergers and acquisitions.

Continue reading “Vodafone UK M&A Rumors Indicate Further Consolidation During Cost-of-Living Crisis” →

Fujitsu Takes a Shot at Big Cloud with New HPC On-Demand Offering

by Beatriz Valle, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, Internet of Things, IT Leader

Summary Bullets:

Beatriz Valle Headshot
B. Valle

  • Fujitsu is the latest infrastructure vendor to enter the market of high-performance computing as a service (HPCaaS) with the ‘Fujitsu Computing as a Service (CaaS)’ portfolio.
  • Competitors in this market include Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Lenovo, IBM, Dell Technologies, Atos, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and Alibaba.

Fujitsu announced the launch of the Fujitsu CaaS portfolio in Japan last month, a services platform to enable commercial organizations to access high-end HPC capabilities to run complex artificial intelligence (AI) workloads via the public cloud. ‘Fujitsu Cloud Service HPC,’ the first services offering made available as part of the CaaS portfolio, is based on Fujitsu’s Supercomputer PRIMEHPC FX1000 servers running on ARM A64X chips, the same processors behind the world’s fastest supercomputer, Fugaku. Fujitsu has combined these supercomputing capabilities with software to deploy a wide range of AI and machine learning (ML) applications. Continue reading “Fujitsu Takes a Shot at Big Cloud with New HPC On-Demand Offering” →

IIoT MVNOS Use Innovation to Stay Competitive and Profitable

by Kitty Weldon, posted in Internet of Things

K. Weldon
K. Weldon

Summary Bullets:

  • IIoT MVNOs play an important role in expanding the reach of enterprises looking to connect IoT devices across the world, primarily via the cellular networks of mobile operators.
  • In order to remain competitive, however, they have developed innovative ways to go ‘up the stack’ through enhanced management platforms, a unique vertical focus, or diverse go-to-market strategies.

GlobalData’s latest report on European and Canadian IIoT MVNOs (published in March 2022) focuses on three leading companies in this market: Sierra Wireless, Cubic Telecom, and Transatel (an NTT company headquartered in France).  Each of these service providers not only extends IoT connectivity for enterprises by allying with an assortment of global mobile operators, but has also differentiated itself through enhanced management platforms, a unique vertical focus, or diverse go-to-market strategies.  GlobalData also follows the IIoT MVNO market in the US, focusing on services from Kore Wireless, Aeris, and ORBCOMM. Continue reading “IIoT MVNOS Use Innovation to Stay Competitive and Profitable” →

ASEAN 5G Q1 2022 Roundup: Beginning of 5G Network Slicing and the Platform Play

by Alfie Amir, posted in Internet of Things, Mobilize, Network

A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Singtel’s Paragon platform streamlines different 5G capabilities and can minimize the barriers to adoption of enterprise 5G solutions.
  • Leading providers such as Singtel and PLDT have started their initiatives on network slicing. This will enable wider enterprise 5G applications and private network solutions.

It was a slow start of the year for enterprise 5G in ASEAN, especially after strong momentum in 2021 with various industry collaborations and new feature launches (e.g., SA, MEC, private network).  There were only a few key announcements on new launches and partnerships.  Nevertheless, there were a couple of key milestones in market development in the region.  Singtel, one of the most advanced 5G providers in the region, launched an all-in-one 5G platform in the market.  This is crucial for driving enterprise adoption by streamlining diverse initiatives across various 5G capabilities such as private networks, edge computing, network slicing, and IoT.  This could also be the beginning of 5G platform plays enabling automated service provisioning and on-demand commercial models.  The second highlight is network slicing.  While the network slicing feature is still new in the market, several providers such as AIS, Singtel, and PLDT are taking a proactive approach to trials and include this feature in their 5G offerings to gain a competitive edge.  Other players are expected to build similar capabilities to close the gap in the near future. Continue reading “ASEAN 5G Q1 2022 Roundup: Beginning of 5G Network Slicing and the Platform Play” →

Follow the Hardware to Gauge Enterprise Metaverse Adoption

by Steven J. Schuchart Jr., posted in Cloud Enable, Internet of Things

Summary Bullets:

S. Schuchart

• Headset hardware, especially size and weight, is the greatest inhibitor of metaverse plans coming to large scale fruition

• The speed and commitment of headset hardware vendors is an indicator of metaverse acceleration

Hype over the metaverse may be subsiding slightly as world events overtake everyone’s available attention, but one of the biggest inhibitors to the fruition of the metaverse is headset hardware. AR or VR glasses are available, but it is reasonable to look at the large, clunky, and tethered-box offerings that dominate the market as the current equivalent of acoustic modem adapters or six-pound “mobile” phones.

Continue reading “Follow the Hardware to Gauge Enterprise Metaverse Adoption” →