I blogged earlier about policy management and its role, but since then I’ve had a number of interesting discussions with operators and users that bring more light to the topic. Some of the most interesting relate to the relationship between how you define a policy and what the specific utility of policy management would be. …
Looking Ahead to the New Business Model of the Cloud
Friday tends to be my recapitulation day, in no small part because there’s typically not much news on Fridays. Today I’d like to touch on Apple’s results, VMware’s pact with Google on cloud features, and EMC’s overall pain and suffering. They continue to paint a picture of transition, something that’s always fun because it creates…
Where Tactics Meets Strategy–Software
There’s probably no doubt in the minds of anyone that Wall Street and Main Street see things differently, particularly after the 2008 financial crisis. Every quarter we get a refresher course in why that is but sometimes the differences themselves are enough to blur the lesson. To make it clear again, let’s look at some…
Overture Tells a Complete NFV Story
I’ve been critical of the state of NFV in most of my posts, not because I’m opposed to it (I’m a big supporter) but because it’s deserved it. There is an avalanche of NFV hype and nonsense out there, so much so that it’s rare to be able to say anything that’s not a criticism. …
The “New TMF”, the “Old Ericsson”, and Kainotophobia
Out with the old, in with the new, as they say. The TMF has a new head, Peter Sany, and he’s making statements that sound on target (see this interview in the New IP). Ericsson struggled in revenues for the quarter as they’ve tried to contend with the capex trend in the carrier industry. Transformations…
There’s a Revolution In SDN (If We Can Dig it Out!)
One of the biggest issues I have with companies’ positioning is that they are postulating a totally revolutionary impact for something that differs in no significant sense from the status quo. If a new technology is going to change the world of networking, don’t you think it should do something significantly different? Perhaps the “revolutionary…
The Cloud, NFV, their Relationship, and Opportunity
Everyone who’s followed NFV knows that there is a relationship between NFV and the cloud. Logically there would have to be, because public cloud services host applications on a per-tenant basis with tenant isolation for security and performance stability. That’s what network features for individual customers need, so it would be totally illogical to assume…
What Google’s MVNO Plans Could Mean for Operators
A number of independent rumor sources say that Google is finally going to make the MVNO move, striking reseller deals with Sprint and T-Mobile to become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). This is what I thought Amazon should have done with its Fire phone, and what I still think would be a possible move…
The Cloud: Just Sayin’…
IBM reported its numbers which, in terms of revenue and guidance at least, were not happy. I’ve talked about the opportunities IBM still has in some prior blogs, and speculated on some of the marketing factors and other decisions that may have led them to where they are. What I’d like to focus on today…
The NGN Bridge: Drivers, Trends, and Carpentry
You’ve probably noticed by now my enthusiasm for the metro space. I think that enthusiasm is vindicated by the recent Street speculation on Verizon’s next-gen metro program, which the Street analysts say will go primarily to Ciena with a nod toward Cisco. The thing is, there are other fundamental numbers in play that have been…