The End Shape of Things

S. Schuchart

Summary Bullets:

• Evolutionary predictions are relatively easy; revolutionary predictions for cataclysmic, market-changing events are nearly impossible to predict.

• Skepticism, value-focus, and clear identification of what is evolutionary, even when it’s dressed up as revolutionary, is key to effective technology decision-making.

Historically, humanity’s ability to see the end shape of things is spectacularly bad. Smart, monied people such as Thomas Watson, the storied CEO of IBM, in 1943 said there would be a world market for maybe five computers. The inventor of Ethernet, Robert Metcalfe, predicted that the internet itself would “supernova” and collapse in 1996. Those are egregious examples of being spectacularly wrong, but it makes sense to look at the perspective of those predictions in the light of the conditions and observations they could make at the time.

Hyperscalers’ Move in ASEAN – How It Will Change Domestic Telcos’ Strategy

A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

• Hyperscalers are making a move in ASEAN, expanding their footprints in key markets.

• Telcos will need to redefine their product and go-to-market strategies in the cloud, edge, and enterprise 5G.

Hyperscalers Are Making a Move in ASEAN
Leading hyperscalers are aggressively expanding their presence globally, with ASEAN being one of the key markets (for more, please see ”Hyperscalers Making a Move in ASEAN,” September 27, 2022). From Singapore, hyperscalers expanded to Indonesia and are now further expanding their footprints in the other key ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced its Local Zones in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam; Google Cloud is building new regions in Malaysia and Thailand; Alibaba Cloud opened new regions in the Philippines, and Thailand and has the widest presence in ASEAN; and Microsoft is planning to open new data centers in Indonesia and Malaysia. The move was driven by the growing demand for cloud services in the region accelerated by the pandemic. ”GlobalData Global IT Customer Insight 2022” shows that 75% of 166 ASEAN enterprises have increased their spending on cloud in 2022 while ”GlobalData Market Analyzer” (last viewed in September 2022) estimates that the cloud market in the region will double in the next five years from $16.3 billion in 2021 to $33.8 billion in 2026.

How Can Cybersecurity Providers Create Differentiation with Future Digital Enterprise Customers?

R. Muru

Summary Bullets:

• Security heads continue to be challenged in implementing effective cybersecurity strategies and continue to want positive and measurable business outcomes with their cybersecurity investments.

• To stay relevant and drive growth, providers will have to reposition sales and marketing efforts in front of customers, emphasizing value-based selling addressing business challenges.

The Challenged Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and Vendors Riding on the Current Cybersecurity Growth Wave
It is clear that cybersecurity is high on the agenda for businesses of all sizes ranging from small-to-medium enterprises to multinational corporates and government establishments. In recent years, the public has seen exponential growth in cyberattacks across a range of verticals covering finance, government, and utilities to name a few. On the one hand, this has resulted in healthy revenue growth in the cybersecurity segment, with stock valuations and revenues on the rise alongside advances in technology.

Akamai Reports a Surge in Malicious Domains

Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services

Summary Bullets:

• Akamai has identified almost 13 million malicious domains per month in 2022, roughly 20% of all newly observed domains (NODs) that access the provider’s content delivery network (CDN).

• While it remains to be seen how threat actors will operationalize these, it is indicative of looming state-backed cyberwarfare attacks.

Security, cloud, and CDN provider Akamai offers some insights into a looming cyber threat. In a report published at the end of September 2022, Akamai says it has seen a significant uptick in the number of malicious NODs on its CDN. The company says NOD-based threat detection gives the company a means to assess the “long tail” of DNS queries to identify new threats in a very early phase. Akamai defines a NOD as a domain name queried for the first time within a 60-day window.

Alibaba Cloud Adds CloudBox and Other Options to Deliver Services Closer to Data Sources

S. Soh

Summary Bullets:

• Alibaba Cloud has products to extend its services from major cloud data centers to customer premises and edge locations.

• The company needs to make these products more widely available outside of China and work with communications service providers (CSPs) to deliver multi-access edge computing (MEC).

As enterprises look to leverage cloud services to embed digital solutions (e.g., data analytics, AI/ML, IoT, etc.) in their business operations, there are specific requirements for their IT infrastructure. While public cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offers agility and cost-effectiveness, there are challenges around the availability of a cloud region, network latency issues, and security/compliance requirements. Moreover, applications are moving from centralized locations (i.e., cloud or data centers) to a more distributed architecture, giving rise to the demand for edge computing. Hyperscalers have been developing alternatives to host their cloud services, and Alibaba Cloud – as a key player – has also been helping customers to bring cloud services closer to where the data is generated and processed.

Novo Nordisk and Microsoft Partner to Bring AI to Drug Discovery

Principal Analyst, Advanced Analytics

Summary Bullets:

• The challenge for Microsoft and Novo Nordisk will be to integrate AI and pharma into a process that will bring cheaper medicines faster with less risk.

• Besides Novo Nordisk, Microsoft entered into a similar partnership with UCB in 2021 as part of the COVID Moon Shot project.

Developing a new drug can take over 12 years and cost $2.6 billion or more. The process is as risky as a trip to Las Vegas as nine out of ten potential new therapies fail to become market-ready products. The cost of a failure is paid for by the company, but ramifications go beyond the bottom line and include loss of life and increased costs to healthcare systems. Even with several high-profile failures, the promise of AI represents a substantial opportunity to transform drug development.

IBM Joins Forces with 20 HBCUs to Open Cybersecurity Training Centers

Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services

Summary Bullets:

• IBM added 14 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) cybersecurity partners as the company looks to help train and certify new industry professionals.

• The initiative is part of IBM’s broader, pro bono effort to foster science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs in high schools and colleges.

At the National HBCU Week Conference in Washington DC (US), IBM said it is adding 14 new colleges and university partners to its program announced in May 2022 to train students to become cybersecurity professionals. This brings the total number of IBM’s partners to 20 schools in 11 states.

Verizon’s 2022 Payment Security Report Shed Light on Progress and Challenges in Data Protection

Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services

Summary Bullets:

• In 2020, Verizon compiled data from PCI DSS security assessors from Verizon and four outside sources to analyze the state of compliance and data security in advance of the release of the latest version of the PCI DSS specification – 4.0 – earlier this year.

• The results are encouraging with 43.4% maintaining full compliance as assessed during an interim audit in 2020 versus 27.9% in 2019.

While the need to meet regulatory requirements associated with data privacy is often cited as an investment driver in security technology, too often organizations struggle to maintain protections during the interim periods between Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) audits. The lack of consistent enforcement leaves organizations that handle sensitive financial information vulnerable to breaches.

Price Rises and Hardware Shortages – How Should Enterprises Respond?

G. Barton Research Director

Summary Bullets:

• Enterprises should be aware that different vendors have differing lead times on hardware.

• Service providers have held off on price increases thus far, but this may not be the case in the longer term.

Inflation and resource shortages have been two of the key global macro-economic trends over the last 12 months as the result of multiple contributing factors. Chip shortages have become a significant problem in almost all sectors, and the telecoms market has been significantly affected – albeit in an uneven way. However, while costs are going up, technology may also help enterprises be more efficient.

Telefonica Tech Partners with Sherpa.ai to Address Privacy Concerns by Offering Federated Learning

R. Bhattacharyya

Summary Bullets:

• Telefónica Tech’s recent announcement to partner with Sherpa.ai to offer federated learning addresses growing concerns about data privacy.

• For Telefónica Tech, the move fits neatly into its strategy to bring value-added services to customers; for Sherpa.ai, the partnership brings a strong channel partner.

Organizations continue to collect increasing volumes of data, some of it highly sensitive or subject to government regulations. Instead of moving this information to the cloud or to a centralized data center, enterprises are increasingly interested in exploring options for processing it near or at the point of generation or collection. Drivers of edge computing include the desire to maintain data privacy and reduce security-related risks, as well as to deploy latency-sensitive applications or cut down on the cost of transporting data.