INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology
are disrupting the market and services that
operators have traditionally monetised.
CSPs behind the curve
Part of the challenge for CSPs is that their
own infrastructure is behind the technology
curve. If the CSPs want to serve the
enterprise sector well they’re going to have
to walk the digital transformation walk.
This is where the movement towards a
software-defined, virtualised architecture
comes in. This is changing not only the
I believe we’re witnessing the era of the
open telco, built and supported by an open
ecosystem. Much like we’ve seen for some
time in other industries, operators will be able
to innovate faster, reduce costs and increase
nimbleness to meet head-on the challenge
from the new breed of competitive forces.
Those wanting to draw the benefits from
open source must also learn to navigate the
ecosystem. They’ll need to understand the
differences between upstream projects and
hardened, secured products; to get to grips
with how technologies are certified to work
customers and help guide them into the
digital age. With OpenStack, it consolidated
its infrastructure onto one cloud platform
for more agile development and easier
scaling of applications in response to
customer demand, as well as open up new
lines of revenue. We can also look at Italy’s
Fastweb, which enacted its software-defined
datacentre strategy on OpenStack to meet
growing adoption rates and dynamic
customer needs and can now more easily
create customised networks.
Some of the more advanced cloud solutions
that CSPs are building already offer
industry-specific solutions that can integrate
with an organisation’s existing applications
and software. For example, Deutsche
Telekom-owned T-Systems offers vertical-
ready cloud services. We’re likely to continue
seeing early uptake of such services
in the IoT space, for example logistics
organisations tracking fleet conditions via
connected sensors or retailers improving
the customer experience through proximity
marketing and store visit data analytics.
Dynamism in communities
It has become abundantly clear that for the
CSP to succeed in a digital world, agility,
flexibility and scalability are essential
attributes of any ICT ecosystem. These are
the promises of NFV and SDN, and these are
the promises of open cloud platforms such
as OpenStack.
technology but the economics and dynamics
of the industry. It is redrawing the lines
of competition. Where previously the
established network equipment providers
would deliver vertical solutions that CSPs
would knit together, now with network
functions implemented virtually the way is
open for new players to enter the market,
offering new types of partnerships to
address each situation. And with software
decoupled from hardware, we see open
source coming to the fore, providing new
opportunities to collaborate in communities,
such as OpenStack.
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with other hardware and software, and to
understand the lock-in and compatibility
risks of proprietary ‘forked’ versions of open
source software. Some are further along this
path than others.
Walking the digital
transformation walk
Swisscom, for instance, embraced IT
transformation and an open mindset
early. In 2012, the company outlined a
cloud strategy to simplify its infrastructure
and enable it to extend new offerings to
Service provider leaders must capitalise
on the modernisation opportunity without
adversely impacting business efficiency
and network performance, nor increasing
total cost of ownership. And it is not
enough to innovate, CSPs must innovate
at ‘internet speed’, shedding their legacy
and responding to the new dynamics that
are shaping how consumers interact and
use technology.
This cauldron of change, innovation and
competition has paved the way for an
open, collaborative approach that inspires a
different way of thinking. To compete in the
industry tomorrow, CSPs need to participate
in open source communities today –
where passionate people from different
backgrounds collaborate to solve problems
and define our future networks. n
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