We need a new network architecture. That’s a view that Cisco has expressed, relating to the coronavirus impact, but it’s actually been true for over a decade. Not only that, most network operators and many CIOs have agreed with that position, according to my own research. The problem isn’t recognition of the need as much…
Hybrid cloud is the cloud, so it’s good that IBM recognizes that. It’s also true that IBM and Red Hat combine to create a highly credible hybrid cloud solution. What’s still an open question is whether IBM or Red Hat really recognize what’s going on in hybrid cloud, what’s needed to win there, and who…
It may be that the only thing worse than a trite “prescription” for something is a complete lack of definition for that same “something”. We may be in that situation with “cloud-native”. Worse, because we don’t really have a broadly accepted definition of what cloud-native is, we may be facing major challenges in achieving it….
We now have a good reason to ask, in earnest, a question that’s been asked for theoretical reasons before. “Could what we call ‘office work’ be conducted in a purely remote or work-from-home (WFH) context?” We might even be approaching the point where we ask whether many of the jobs that we see as requiring…
Large-scale data center deployment by operators depends on having large-scale drivers. I’ve pointed out in past blogs (one earlier this week) that public cloud providers saw the lack of a sound carrier cloud strategy as an opportunity to address those drivers, and thus induce operators to outsource their carrier-cloud missions. 5G is an obvious target…
Zero-touch automation, in the form of some sort of over-arching service lifecycle management system, was the holy grail for operators just a few years ago. What changed that is the combination of a lack of insight into how to proceed, and the pressing need to reduce opex. The combination resulted in point-of-problem strategies that tapped…
Could a vendor plant back-door code in a network device? That’s a question that’s been asked many times, especially recently. The answer is obviously “Yes!” so the more relevant question might be “Is there anything that could be done, realistically, about that?” That’s a harder question to answer, but we may now need to think…
The Microsoft purchase of Affirmed Networks is yet another indicator that much of the transformation operators plan will be implemented not on “carrier cloud” but on public cloud providers. This might be very bad for vendors who’d hoped to fill all those carrier cloud data centers with equipment and software, but good news for 5G. …
We have network infrastructure, and we’ve had several models describing how it might be built better, made more efficient. So far, none have really transformed networks. We knew, through decades of FCC data on spending on telecommunications, what percentage of after-tax income people were prepared to devote to network services. We now know that the…
I blogged yesterday about the general impact scenarios for COVID-19. Today I want to look at some more network-specific points, in particular the general impact on network capacity and the capex response and the impact on 5G planning. It’s easy to say that network operators, faced with significant traffic growth, will respond with massive capital…