Month: October 2014

Fright Night 2014: Misunderstood Service Provider Opportunities – Part Two (WiFi)

by Peter Jarich, posted in Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, Vendor Transformation
Peter Jarich
Peter Jarich

Summary Bullets:

  • The Wireless Broadband Alliance’s Wi-Fi Global Congress, earlier this month, provided a view into new carrier WiFi business models and opportunities.
  • Too much of the focus, however, remains on WiFi as little more than an access technology.

Take a moment to think about horror movie sequels. Their charm (for those who find them charming) generally lies in the fact that they’re new movies, but at the same time very familiar. You knew Jason Vorhees would return for Friday the 13th Part 2. You knew he’d still be wearing his hockey mask. You knew the kids he was tormenting would continue to do stupid things that ultimately got many of them killed. And yet, you also knew that the plot would be new in some (however minor) way.

The same holds true for my thinking about the business opportunities that seem to be getting ignored. In a previous post, I kicked off this discussion by talking about misperceptions and missed opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT) space. The discussion of missed opportunities around WiFi is fundamentally different from the IoT discussion… yet the basic storyline is fundamentally the same. Continue reading “Fright Night 2014: Misunderstood Service Provider Opportunities – Part Two (WiFi)” →

Fright Night 2014: Misunderstood Service Provider Opportunities – Part One (IoT)

by Peter Jarich, posted in Internet of Things, Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, Vendor Transformation
Peter Jarich
Peter Jarich

Summary Bullets:

  • In many conversations about the Internet of Things (IoT), operators play a central role – supplying the connectivity layer and (sometimes) broader end-to-end IoT solutions.
  • Where operators are left out of the broader IoT discussion, in spite of their efforts and assets, they need to ask “why.” So do their vendors.

Halloween is just over a week away. While many people get much more excited about the day after Halloween (you know, when all that pumpkin-shaped candy becomes suddenly cheaper), just as many relish the idea of taking some time to focus on all the things that scare them. Haunted houses. Spiders. Zombies. That pile of unpaid bills you’ve been ignoring for weeks. It truly is the one time of the year when you can revel in everything frightening. Continue reading “Fright Night 2014: Misunderstood Service Provider Opportunities – Part One (IoT)” →

The Trouble with Being ‘Early’ to the Small Cell Market

by Ed Gubbins, posted in Het Nets, Vendor Transformation
Ed Gubbins
Ed Gubbins

Summary Bullets:

  • The small-cell market has taken longer to take off than many anticipated.
  • This dynamic requires vendors to think a bit differently about what it means to be ‘early’ or ‘late.’

You don’t want to be late to market, do you? Of course not. Equipment vendors often get criticized for being late to market, sometimes by me. Where small cells are concerned, however, what it means to be ‘late to market’ is a bit more complicated. Continue reading “The Trouble with Being ‘Early’ to the Small Cell Market” →

Cisco’s Latest ESP Evolution = Sixth Sense for NFV Monetization Mandate

by Peter Jarich, posted in Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV, Vendor Transformation
Peter Jarich
Peter Jarich

Summary Bullets:

  • Cost efficiencies and support for existing services continue to dominate carrier thinking around SDN and NFV deployment.
  • Monetizing SDN and NFV investments (making money from them), if not top of mind for all carriers, is a priority nevertheless.
  • Going forward, as funding for long-term SDN and NFV transformations continues, monetization will become increasingly important.
  • While many vendors struggle with spelling out solid ways in which NFV can help operators make money from new services, Cisco has managed to provide a few, solid, early examples.

It is not easy to tie NFV directly to new service revenues for carriers.

Trust me on this one; after enough conversations where vendors struggle to explain NFV monetization, I know just how difficult the story is. The link between NFV and CapEx savings is clear, if debatable: think COTS equipment and cheaper functions. The link between NFV and OpEx savings is clear: think new, streamlined operations and service automation. The link between NFV and new service revenues? That one’s a little tougher. Continue reading “Cisco’s Latest ESP Evolution = Sixth Sense for NFV Monetization Mandate” →