Author: Tom Nolle

There are always two components to any software-based solution to a problem—the software that implements the solution and the platform that software runs on.  It’s not uncommon for us to take the latter for granted, but in the world of virtualization that’s a big mistake.  For SDN and NFV in particular, platforms are really important…

Remember the concept of NGN—the “Next-Generation Network?”  Some people think the Internet is it, but the Internet is a service and not really a network.  Some think that it was accomplished by IP convergence, but if that’s true then what’s all the fuss about SDN and NFV about?  So are we anywhere near the NGN…

Yesterday I blogged a bit about mobile video and mobile viewing behavior, and today I want to follow up with some commentary and data on the fixed-line side of OTT video.  The industry data shows convincingly that channelized consumption of video isn’t dropping even for fixed-line customers, but my own modeling and research shows that’s…

Alcatel-Lucent’s quarter was far from happy, but there were still happy signs in a small increase in revenues and continued improvement in margins.  The sales of IP products were also good, and all of this seems to indicate that the “Shift” plan the company outlined (and whose restructuring costs killed the bottom line this quarter)…

We have posted the following on the proof-of-concept mailing list for the ETSI NFV ISG, offering our participation in the NFV body’s work in this area and offering integration with other NFV members.  We invite parties interested in integrating with us to review our preliminary guidelines on our website, http://www.cloudnfv.com/ and also to apply to…

Verizon’s comments about capex and generally better visibility from vendors has helped the telecom equipment space look a bit better, and of course that’s been our forecast since the spring.  My model shows general telecom spending will increase through 2015, with spending in all equipment areas showing some gain.  This represents the “last-gasp” modernization funded…

Cisco today announced one of their bigger acquisitions—security specialist firm Sourcefire.  The move is likely linked to the trends in security that I’ve seen in our surveys—most recently the spring survey published in Netwatcher just a few days ago.  It’s also likely to be another Cisco shot at Juniper, whose enterprise strategy is heavily linked…

The earnings reports from Microsoft and Google followed the pattern of other tech reports from this quarter—a revenue miss offset at least in part by cost reduction.  There’s been a tendency for the Street to look at these two misses and declare a common cause—that both Google and Microsoft have failed to come to terms…

Cyan’s Telesystem win in packet-optical for its Z-series and SDN technology is an interesting indicator of some major metro trends.  While it’s victory over TDM is hardly newsworthy, it does show that packet advantages over TDM can justify a technology change—and any time you can justify technology change the barrier to doing something revolutionary is…

What does AT&T’s decision to buy Leap Wireless, Cisco’s decision to do a cloud partnership with Microsoft, and Amazon at three hundred bucks a share have in common?  They’re symbols of a market in transition and a call for action to start gathering your troops for some coherent planning. Traditional communications services, which are services…