SASE promises the unification of security and network routing policies.
To achieve a SASE methodology, enterprises need to think about both policies and technology.
The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the move towards cloud/SaaS adoption and work from home (WFH). The crisis has proven that, even with rushed deployments in less than ideal circumstances, both cloud and WFH are efficacious ways of doing business. However, they are not without challenges, and one of the biggest challenges is how to architect and secure networks when dealing with a more distributed IT estate – particularly given the significant increase in cyberattacks that has occurred during the pandemic. Continue reading “SASE for Enterprises in the Post-COVID World”→
• The mobile industry is increasingly developing 5G use cases to support critical operations in heavy industries like construction, oil and gas, and manufacturing.
• Despite advances in 5G solutions, many industrial customers still prefer to use legacy systems for critical workloads like voice and location, citing simplicity and reliability and concerns around security of IP networks.
The mobile industry continues to promote 5G as the wireless generation built for the enterprise. As 5G rollouts progress across the globe, operator initiatives continue to focus on ways the technology can be applied to enterprise use cases. One common area operators are trying to develop is the use of 5G in heavy industry like construction, mining, manufacturing, and oil and gas. These industries often require workers to be in dangerous environments and require constant communication between workers and equipment, including traffic that spans voice, location data, machine telemetry, and environmental sensors. Operators like Orange, Singtel, SK Telecom, Telstra, AT&T, and China Mobile are at various stages of working with enterprises in verticals like healthcare, energy, mining, construction, manufacturing and government to develop ways to deploy 5G networks into their critical operations. The low latency and high bandwidth nature of the technology allows for real-time collection and processing of large amounts of data that can be used to enable remote operations, automation, enhanced security and a myriad other use cases.
‘Service robots’ are coming outdoors as 5G enables operation beyond the range of WiFi.
In Europe, early trials in the Nordics point towards both industrial and B2C use cases.
When 5G networks were first deployed in China, mobile robots were wheeled out almost immediately, demonstrating the possibilities of using the wireless network to control connected devices beyond the range of WiFi. As early as February of last year, makeshift hospitals set up in Wuhan to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic were using robots to perform ultrasonic scans, while on streets around the country, 5G-enabled robots were providing body temperature testing, spraying disinfectants, cleaning surfaces, and delivering prescriptions.
Recent initiatives have increased brand awareness for RingCentral and enhanced its reputation in the unified communication and collaboration market.
RingCentral’s diverse portfolio of voice, video, messaging, and contact center services makes it a competitor to be taken seriously.
RingCentral is by no means a new kid on the block. Last month marked 22 years in operation. Since the time of its founding, noteworthy milestones have been reached. For example, in 2003, the company introduced its cloud phone system. In 2009, a presence in the UK was established. In 2012, a partnership was forged with AT&T. In 2013, an IPO was completed. Fast forward to the present and RingCentral continues to achieve. In the past year alone, the company has propelled forward with new features, new services, strategic partnerships, and acquisitions. RingCentral is serving notice to competitors: ignore it at your own peril.
Avaya has added a multitude of capabilities to Avaya Spaces, a collaboration tool that enables integrations with other applications.
Avaya Spaces is part of the ‘OneCloud’ portfolio, which is playing a pivotal role in Avaya’s transformation from a legacy provider to an as-a-service business.
Avaya has added a multitude of capabilities to Avaya Spaces, a collaboration tool that enables integrations with apps such as Salesforce, Office 365, G-Suite, and Slack. Spaces is built on Avaya’s communications platform-as-a-service offering (Avaya OneCloud Cloud CPaaS). It allows businesses to connect workstream collaboration capabilities with existing on-premises equipment.
Business and IT have long treated each other with suspicion, to the detriment of both.
Ongoing changes to business and IT require a re-structuring that puts the business and IT hand in hand.
Corporate culture by its very nature requires people to specialize in specific areas of the business. People settle into their roles, becoming masters of the tasks, priorities, and policies that define their area of expertise in the company. The theory is that management has the broader overview and can provide the needed information to guide the overall company direction and ensure smooth operations. The reality is that most managers, including some members of the C-suite, also operate with their domain as their primary concern.
AWS has a comprehensive cloud portfolio and a growing partner ecosystem to address the diverse demand of ASEAN enterprises.
It also brings new features such as AWS Outposts in 1u/2u form-factor and greater scalability to address the ASEAN enterprises’ cloud challenges.
In a recent AWS analyst briefing session, the company shared the ASEAN recap of the AWS re:Invent 2020 (held in December 2020) and its business updates in the region. While there are various new products, capabilities, partnerships and initiatives announced at its annual flagship event, some of the key highlights in the ASEAN regions include expanding its footprint and bridging the cloud gaps.
IBM and eProvenance recently announced the availability of VinAssure, a blockchain-based solution for the wine industry that helps users address traditional supply chain challenges.
Although VinAssure is off to a good start with its first member, a growing membership will help to reinforce the new solution’s strength and utility.
IBM and eProvenance, a Franco-American company that specializes in monitoring wine shipment conditions, recently unveiled plans to create a new wine industry ecosystem by harnessing the power of blockchain. Central to this initiative will be VinAssure, a new, IBM blockchain-powered platform that is designed to provide users with a more insightful and secure way of tracking wines as they move through the distribution and transportation process from vineyard to consumer. For example, using existing identifiers, such as a QR code on the bottle, consumers will be able to learn about a wine’s provenance and flavor profiles, or whether it meets certification standards for organic, biodynamic, or sustainability practices. Similarly, retailers will be able access information about a wine’s production environment or the conditions in which the wine was transported. Continue reading “IBM and eProvenance Deploy Blockchain to Address Wine Industry Supply Chain Challenges”→
The pandemic is accelerating enterprises’ digital transformation in the Philippines, driving the market to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% in the next five years.
PLDT and Globe responded to the market shift with various new initiatives to capture the growing opportunity. PLDT reported a YoY increase of 5.6% in its enterprise ICT revenue, while Globe saw a 3.0% decline.
COVID-19 and Enterprise ICT Spending in the Philippines
It is widely known that COVID-19 has pushed enterprises to spend more on ICT and accelerate their digital transformation. The impact is greater in the emerging market, where business continuity planning (BCP) was not a common thing and enterprises largely relied on traditional IT services before the pandemic. In the Philippines, a recent study by GlobalData shows that 50% of 32 local enterprises increased their ICT budget in 2020 (28% by more than 6%; 22% by between 1% and 5%) to adapt to the new norm. The study also reveals that 56% of the Philippine enterprises are significantly expanding their ICT budget in 2021 by more than 6%. GlobalData estimates that the enterprise ICT services market in the country will increase by 2.3% YoY in 2020 and continue to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% in the next five years to USD 12.2 billion in 2024 (source: “GlobalData Market Opportunity Forecasts to 2024: ICT in Philippines,” February 28, 2021). Continue reading “How Well Did PLDT and Globe Do in Capturing the ICT Opportunity During the Pandemic?”→
• The Bridge Alliance’s Federated Edge Hub has the potential to drive adoption of 5G MEC solutions in the enterprise segment.
• However there are challenges related scale, skills, and solution sets that could be addressed through industry partnerships.
Breakthrough for MEC Interoperability
On March 16, the Bridge Alliance, an industry group of 33 operators, largely based in Asia Pacific, announced that two of its members, South Korea’s SK Telecom (SKT) and Singapore’s Singtel, trialed a proof of concept for multi-access edge compute (MEC) interconnectivity. The trial saw SKT and Singtel simultaneously stream the mobile game “World of Warships” running on a virtual game server deployed by gaming infrastructure company Gamye, into the MEC environments of the telcos and connected to smartphones using a standalone 5G network. The interconnection service, which Bridge Alliance has named the Federated Edge Hub, plans to add two more operators to the platform sometime in th near future, namely Australia’s Optus and Thailand’s AIS. While the proof of concept demonstrates a use case of 5G and MEC for consumer services, the real potential of the Federated Edge Hub lies in developing solutions for the enterprise.
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