IBM
IBM: 5G use cases that are transforming the world (really ?)
For many years, this author has been very skeptical about the commercial success of highly touted 5G use cases. That’s mainly because the 3GPP 5G specs and ITU-R M.2150 5G RIT/SRIT standard did not (and still do not) meet the ITU-R M.2410 minimum performance requirements for the URLLC use case for either ultra high reliability or ultra low latency.
Another reason for our skepticism is that “real 5G,” which provides 3GPP specified 5G features (like network slicing, edge computing/MEC, and 5G Security), requires a 5G SA core network, which relatively few wireless network operators have deployed.
Nonetheless, IBM has published an article citing 5G use cases that are transforming the world. Here they are:
Autonomous vehicles
From taxi cabs to drones and beyond, 5G technology underpins most of the next-generation capabilities in autonomous vehicles. Until the 5G cellular standard came along, fully autonomous vehicles were a bit of a pipe dream due to the data transmission limitations of 3G and 4G technology. Now, 5G’s lightning-fast connection speeds have made transport systems for cars, trains and more much faster than previous generations, transforming the way systems and devices connect, communicate and collaborate.
Smart factories
5G, along with AI and ML, is poised to help factories become not only smarter but more automated, efficient and resilient. Today, many mundane but necessary tasks associated with equipment repair and optimization are being turned over to machines thanks to 5G connectivity paired with AI and ML capabilities. This is one area where 5G is expected to be highly disruptive, impacting everything from fuel economy to the design of equipment lifecycles and how goods arrive at our homes.
For example, on a busy factory floor, drones and cameras connected to smart devices utilizing the IoT can help locate and transport something more efficiently than in the past and prevent theft. Not only is this better for the environment and consumers, but it also frees up employees to dedicate their time and energy to tasks that are more suited to their skill sets.
Smart cities
The idea of a hyper-connected urban environment that uses 5G network speeds to spur innovation in areas like law enforcement, waste disposal and disaster mitigation is fast becoming a reality. Some cities already use 5G-enabled sensors to track traffic patterns in real time and adjust signals, helping guide the flow of traffic, minimize congestion and improve air quality.
In another example, 5G power grids monitor supply and demand across heavily populated areas and deploy AI and ML applications to “learn” what times energy is in high or low demand. This process has been shown to significantly impact energy conservation and waste, potentially reducing carbon emissions and helping cities reach sustainability goals.
Smart healthcare
Hospitals, doctors and the healthcare industry as a whole already benefit from the speed and reliability of 5G networks every day. One example is the area of remote surgery that uses robotics and a high-definition live stream connected to the internet via a 5G network. Another is the field of mobile health, where 5G gives medical workers in the field quick access to patient data and medical history, enabling them to make smarter decisions, faster, and potentially save lives.
Lastly, as we saw during the pandemic, contact tracing and the mapping of outbreaks are critical to keeping populations safe. 5G’s ability to deliver of volumes of data swiftly and securely allows experts to make more informed decisions that have ramifications for everyone.
Better employee experiences
5G paired with new technological capabilities won’t just result in the automation of employee tasks, it will dramatically improve them and the overall employee experience. Take virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), for example. VR (digital environments that shut out the real world) and AR (digital content that augments the real world) are already used by stockroom employees, transportation drivers and many others. These employees rely on wearables connected to a 5G network capable of high-speed data transfer rates that improve several key capabilities, including the following:
- Live views: 5G connectivity provides live, real-time views of equipment, events and even people. One way in which this feature is being used in professional sports is to allow broadcasters to remotely call a sporting event from outside the stadium where the event is taking place.
- Digital overlays: IoT applications in a warehouse or industrial setting allow workers equipped with smart glasses (or even just a smartphone) to obtain real-time insights from an application, including repair instructions or the name and location of a spare part.
- Drone inspections: Right now, one of the leading causes of employee injury is inspection of equipment or project sites in remote and potentially dangerous areas. Drones, connected via 5G networks, can safely monitor equipment and project sites and even take readings from hard-to-reach gauges.
Edge computing
Edge computing, a computing framework that allows computations to be done closer to data sources, is fast becoming the standard for enterprises. According to this Gartner white paper (link resides outside ibm.com), by 2025, 75% of enterprise data will be processed at the edge (compared to only 10% today). This shift saves businesses time and money and enables better control over large volumes of data. It would be impossible without the new speed standards generated by 5G technology.
Ultra-reliable edge computing and 5G enable the enterprise to achieve faster transmission speeds, increased control and greater security over massive volumes of data. Together, these twin technologies will help reduce latency while increasing speed, reliability and bandwidth, resulting in faster, more comprehensive data analysis and insights for businesses everywhere.
5G solutions with IBM Cloud Satellite
5G presents big opportunities for the enterprise, but first, you need a platform that can handle its speed. IBM Cloud Satellite lets you deploy and run apps consistently across on-premises, edge computing and public cloud environments on a 5G network. And it’s all enabled by secure and auditable communications within the IBM Cloud. The IBM Cloud Satellite-managed distributed cloud solution delivers cloud services, APIs, access policies, security controls and compliance.
References:
https://www.ibm.com/products/satellite
Big 5 Event: wireless connectivity use cases for healthcare, network slicing, security and private networks
Qualcomm Introduces the World’s First “5G NR-Light” Modem-RF System for new 5G use cases and apps
MoffettNathanson: 5G use cases and revenue streams have not yet materialized
CELLSMART: 5G upload speeds are insufficient for industrial/enterprise applications
BofA on 5G Use Cases and Industry Vertical Applications
Telco and IT vendors pursue AI integrated cloud native solutions, while Nokia sells point products
The move to AI and cloud native is accelerating amongst network equipment and IT vendors which have announced highly integrated smart cloud solutions designed to migrate their telco customers into a new and profitable cloud future. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), as the name suggests, is a vendor-neutral consortium dedicated to making cloud native ubiquitous. The group defines cloud native as a collection of “technologies [that] empower organizations to build and run scalable applications in modern, dynamic environments such as public, private and hybrid clouds. Containers, service meshes, microservices, immutable infrastructure and declarative APIs exemplify this approach.”
CNCF writes that the cloud native approach “enable[s] loosely coupled systems that are resilient, manageable and observable. Combined with robust automation, they allow engineers to make high-impact changes frequently and predictably with minimal toll.”
In particular, Ericsson, HPE/Juniper, Cisco, Huawei, ZTE, IBM, and Dell have all announced telco end to end solutions that provide a platform for new services and applications by integrating AI, automation, orchestration and APIs over cloud-native based infrastructure. Let’s look at each of those capabilities:
- AI (Artificial Intelligence): Leveraging AI capabilities allows telcos to automate processes, optimize network performance, and enhance customer experiences. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI-driven insights enable better decision-making and predictive maintenance.
- Automation: Automation streamlines operations, reduces manual intervention, and accelerates service delivery. Whether it’s provisioning new network resources, managing security protocols, or handling routine tasks, automation plays a pivotal role in modern telco infrastructure.
- Orchestration: Orchestration refers to coordinating and managing various network functions and services. It ensures seamless interactions between different components, such as virtualized network functions (VNFs) and physical infrastructure. By orchestrating these elements, telcos achieve agility and flexibility.
- APIs (Application Programming Interfaces): APIs facilitate communication between different software components. In the telco context, APIs enable interoperability, allowing third-party applications to interact with telco services. This openness encourages innovation and the development of new applications.
- Cloud-Native Infrastructure: Moving away from traditional monolithic architectures, cloud-native infrastructure embraces microservices, containerization, and scalability. Telcos are adopting cloud-native principles to build resilient, efficient, and adaptable networks.
While each company has its unique approach, the overarching goal is to empower telcos to deliver cutting-edge services, enhance network performance, and stay competitive in an ever-evolving industry. These advancements pave the way for exciting possibilities in the telecommunications landscape. When fully integrated, these technologies will enable the creation of smart cloud networks that can run themselves without human involvement and do so less expensively — but also more efficiently, responsively and securely than anything that exists today.
Our esteemed UK colleague Stephen M Saunders, MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire– more below) notes that Nokia is not embracing smart cloud telco solutions, but is instead focusing on individual products. Last October, the company announced strategic and operational changes to its business model and divided the company into four business units. At that time, Nokia’s President and CEO Pekka Lundmark said:
“We continue to believe in the mid to long term attractiveness of our markets. Cloud Computing and AI revolutions will not materialize without significant investments in networks that have vastly improved capabilities. However, while the timing of the market recovery is uncertain, we are not standing still but taking decisive action on three levels: strategic, operational and cost. First, we are accelerating our strategy execution by giving business groups more operational autonomy. Second, we are streamlining our operating model by embedding sales teams into the business groups and third, we are resetting our cost-base to protect profitability. I believe these actions will make us stronger and deliver significant value for our shareholders.”
Steve says Nokia’s new divide-and-conquer strategy is being reinforced at its sales meetings, according to an attendee at one such gathering this year, with sales reps being urged to laser-focus on selling point products.
“The telco capex situation at the moment means Nokia — and others — have no choice but to examine every aspect of their business to work out how to adjust for a future CSP market that is itself going through dramatic change,” said Jeremiah Caron, global head of research and analysis at market research firm GlobalData Technology.
Most telcos are increasingly adopting cloud-native technologies to meet the demands of 5G SA core networks and to better automate their services.. However, some telcos are hesitant to fully embrace cloud-native due to concerns about complexity, cost, and reliability. Other challenges of cloud native are: changing the software development life cycle, privacy and security, guaranteeing end to end latency, and cloud vendor lock-in due to a lack of standards (every cloud vendor has their own proprietary APIs and network access configurations.
References:
https://www.silverliningsinfo.com/multi-cloud/report-smart-cloud-and-coming-paradigm-shift
https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/op-ed-whither-nokia
Building and Operating a Cloud Native 5G SA Core Network
Omdia and Ericsson on telco transitioning to cloud native network functions (CNFs) and 5G SA core networks
https://www.ericsson.com/en/ran/intelligent-ran-automation/intelligent-automation-platform
https://www.huaweicloud.com/intl/en-us/solution/telecom/cloud-native-development-platform.html
https://sdnfv.zte.com.cn/en/solutions/VNF/5G-core-network/cloud-native
https://www.ibm.com/products/cloud-pak-for-network-automation
https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/industry/telecom/index.htm#tab0=0
Steve Saunders (a.k.a. Silverlinings‘ Sky Captain), is a British-born communications analyst, investor, and digital media entrepreneur. In 2018 he was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the telecommunications industry and business.
IBM Cloud and Wasabi partner to drive innovation across hybrid cloud environments
IBM and Wasabi Technologies today announced they are collaborating to drive data innovation across IBM hybrid cloud environments [1.]. This collaboration aims to allow enterprises to run applications across any environment – on-premises, in the cloud or at the edge – and help enable users to cost efficiently access and utilize key business data and analytics in real time. The Boston Red Sox will be the first to leverage the joint power of IBM Cloud Satellite® and Wasabi hot cloud storage, designed to improve the club’s operations across its entire business.
A hybrid cloud network architecture consists of private servers, public cloud virtual servers, and the network that connects them. Public cloud providers typically utilize direct MPLS or Ethernet connections to move data between the client’s private cloud and the service provider’s public cloud.
Note 1. IBM’s hybrid cloud provides a common platform across enterprise customers cloud, on-premises and edge environments. IBM says their hybrid cloud approach can offer up to 2.5x more value than a public cloud-only approach.
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Both IBM Cloud and Wasabi are committed to delivering resiliency, performance, security, and compliance capabilities for their clients. Wasabi hot cloud storage does not charge for egress or API requests when they want to access their data, which Wasabi reports can help with cost predictability and savings for clients. Data can be stored and accessed how and when it is needed. The hybrid cloud approach delivered with IBM Cloud Satellite, can help clients manage cloud object storage and workloads running across environments from a single control point, using innovative security and controls no matter where data is being collected, processed or shared. The Red Sox plan to leverage Wasabi hot cloud storage across its hybrid cloud infrastructure while piloting IBM Cloud Satellite to house data including player video, analytics, surveillance data, IoT, and more, across Fenway Park and bring the flexibility and agility of public cloud services to its secured on-premises data center.
“Our critical data is growing at an incredible rate, so our organization is prioritizing a cost-effective and scalable approach to leverage cloud technology,” said Brian Shield, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Boston Red Sox. “The performance and cost reliability Wasabi delivers have already been advantageous for the Red Sox, and with the addition of IBM hybrid cloud technology we hope to take our digital initiatives to the next level. All of that ultimately funnels back to delivering a best-in-class fan experience.”
Through IBM Cloud and Wasabi, clients across all industries can take advantage of extended secured and open cloud services to help transform applications and workflows, managing security across any environment. This allows enterprises to store and access their data whether on-premises, in the cloud or at the edge.
“Wasabi is on a mission to store all the world’s data. Organizations storing an enormous amount of data, including sports organizations, need to be able to store it in an affordable, accessible way without being locked into a single vendor with exorbitant fees,” said David Friend, co-founder and chief executive officer, Wasabi Technologies. “Collaborating with IBM demonstrates Wasabi’s commitment in the cloud storage market and gives our customers a better way of managing their data cross locations.”
Image Credit: Wasabi Technologies
“In today’s digital-first world, data can be an organization’s greatest asset – empowering them with valuable insights that can transform business. Our collaboration with Wasabi technology will allow clients to re-imagine business processes enabled by data, while focusing on resiliency, performance, security and compliance. We are helping organizations across all industries, even those that are highly regulated, uncover game-changing insights from any environment, without sacrificing security,” said Howard Boville, Head of IBM Hybrid Cloud Platform. For more information about IBM Cloud Satellite visit: https://www.ibm.com/cloud/satellite.
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“When customers think about hybrid, it’s about being able to move their workloads between on-premises and public cloud as well as between [different] cloud platforms,” said HPE’s Joseph Yang said in an interview with ZDNET.
Cloud and software vendors have taken various approaches to address this, such as running an on-premises stack in a public cloud, on a bare-metal environment. However, this locks customers into the software vendor’s infrastructure, and the cost of running bare-metal on a public cloud is high.
Solutions currently offered by cloud vendors to manage hybrid workloads often have limited capabilities and flexibility, compared to what enterprises are used to with their on-premises environment, Yang said.
About IBM:
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, with consulting expertise. IBM helps clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
About Wasabi Technologies:
Wasabi provides simple and affordable hot cloud storage for businesses all over the world. It enables organizations to store and instantly access an unlimited amount of data with no complex tiers or egress or API fees, delivering predictable costs that save money and industry leading security and performance businesses can count on. Trusted by tens of thousands of customers worldwide, Wasabi has been recognized as one of technology’s fastest-growing and most visionary companies. Created by Carbonite co-founders and cloud storage pioneers David Friend and Jeff Flowers, Wasabi is a privately held company based in Boston. Wasabi is a Proud Partner of the Boston Red Sox, and the Official Cloud Storage Partner of Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Bruins.
References:
https://www.ibm.com/hybrid-cloud
https://www.zdnet.com/article/companies-struggling-to-manage-hybrid-cloud/
IBM says 5G killer app is connecting industrial robots: edge computing with private 5G
At 2021 MWC-LA, IBM CTO for networking and edge computing Rob High suggested that connecting maintenance robots (one named Spot is pictured below) as the so-called killer application for 5G. citing wide potential benefits for industry. In a keynote presentation made alongside robotics company Boston Dynamics, the IBM CTO (pictured left) highlighted the benefits of systems employing edge computing (more below) technology together with private 5G in industrial scenarios. The two companies highlighted Spot’s role to assess the performance of analog machinery still in use.
“For all my network operator friends in the audience who keep asking what’s the killer app for 5G? This is it,” High said. “It’s around production processes valuable to industries that are needed, and need 5G to accomplish their tasks to maintain operational readiness and efficiencies,” he added.
“That’s where 5G is going to have its biggest benefit,” he added, noting although the maintenance robot did a lot of local processing it needed to be on a communications network as it was programmed to raise urgent issues. However, High did not state what benefits/features 5G has that makes robot connectivity the killer app. In particular, ultra high reliability is required but neither ITU-R M.2150 or 3GPP Release 16 supports that in the 5G RIT/RAN.
Boston Dynamics’ chief sales officer Mike Pollitt highlighted Spot’s ability to assess machinery and other assets across industrial sites in difficult-to-reach areas and those dangerous for humans. Potential applications include taking readings from analog machines, proactive maintenance and general site investigation.
High added with a long asset life on much industrial machinery, these types of technological solutions could fill the “data gap” by assessing sites without the need to retrofit connectivity hardware into every piece of equipment.
The robotics company has been working with IBM on industrial deployments with Spot relying on the latter’s application management system.
IBM says that edge computing with 5G (requires 5G SA core network) creates tremendous opportunities in every industry. It brings computation and data storage closer to where data is generated, enabling better data control, reduced costs, faster insights and actions, and continuous operations. By 2025, 75% of enterprise data will be processed at the edge, compared to only 10% today.
IBM provides an autonomous management offering that addresses the scale, variability and rate of change in edge environments. IBM also offers solutions to help communications companies modernize their networks and deliver new services at the edge.
References:
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/ibm-spots-killer-industrial-5g-app
https://www.ibm.com/cloud/edge-computing
IBM will build Telefónica’s 5G core network with Cloud Pak for Network Automation, Red Hat OpenShift and Juniper networking
IBM has been awarded a multi-year contract to help Telefonica build its new ‘Unica Next’ cloud-based 5G core network platform. In a statement, IBM said the Spanish operator has engaged IBM Global Business Services – the consultancy arm of IBM, Red Hat and Juniper Networks – to deploy an “open-standard open-networking” platform across multiple central, regional and distributed data centers to deliver low latency and high bandwidth services.
As a member of the IBM Cloud for Telecommunications ecosystem, Juniper is proud to support IBM and Red Hat as they work with Telefónica to build and deploy a modern 5G network. Juniper says it is committed to bringing the power of open hybrid cloud architecture to clients around the world.
The partners said the first Unica Next data centers are set to be inaugurated in October 2021 with a scalable architecture designed to address ETSI and other relevant industry standards (there are none for 5G SA core network). The new network is built on IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, Red Hat OpenShift and Juniper Networks Apstra and QFX technology to deliver end-to-end orchestration and operations.
These new capabilities will be engineered to allow Telefónica to more quickly deploy network services and new network functions, leveraging the IBM Cloud for Telecommunications partner ecosystem. Telefónica, as a pioneer in the adoption of open networks, has already deployed a live implementation using the IBM Cloud for Telecommunications in Europe and is continuing to innovate for their customers with speed and improved value.
IBM added that the combination will give Telefonica increased observability and control for managing the Unica Next Kubernetes environment and drive 5G and edge innovation more quickly and with less complexity. Its IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation product is AI-powered automation software designed to provide extreme automation, zero-touch provisioning and closed loop operation capabilities.
“We are proud to partner with Telefónica to reach this historic moment for the telecommunications industry in Europe,” said Steve Canepa, managing director, IBM Global Communications Sector. “This implementation of Telefónica’s cloud-native, 5G core network platform reflects IBM’s significant investments in AI-powered automation software and the telco prime systems integration expertise required to deploy modern telecommunication networks – core, access, and edge. We are energized by the opportunity to enable Telefónica and all our clients to modernize their networks and enable new revenue-generating services that deliver tremendous value to consumer and enterprise customers.”
IBM Global Telco Solutions Lab in Coppell, Texas, connected along with Telefónica’s Network Cloud Lab in Madrid, will help accelerate UNICA Next’s evolution by building new fully integrated releases using CI/CD methodology for ongoing life-cycle upgrades to the existing UNICA Next platform. By working with IBM in this way, Telefónica will be able to increase agility and data security and continue to innovate and transform, drawing on IBM’s large network function ecosystem, Red Hat’s vast ecosystem of certified partners, and Juniper’s relationships with network function and hardware vendors.
Telefonica has already deployed a live implementation of the open network using the IBM cloud for telecommunications in Europe. The partners also announced that IBM Global Telco Solutions Lab in Coppell, Texas, will be connected to Telefonica’s Network Cloud Lab in Madrid to help accelerate Unica Next’s evolution by building new fully integrated releases using CI/CD methodology for ongoing life-cycle upgrades.
“Building out the UNICA Next platform with its next-generation network architecture shows how important it is to build the infrastructure now to support the deployment of 5G. 5G has the potential to support thousands of use cases and applications for consumers and enterprises in all industries. Our collaboration will not only help us to harness the potential of 5G, but also prepare for the future through a hybrid-cloud led technology and business transformation. With IBM, Telefónica is combining the latency and bandwidth advancements of 5G with the customization and intelligence of the cloud: we anticipate the results will be transformative in Europe and beyond,” said Javier Gutierrez, director of strategy, network, and IT development for Telefónica.
It’s interesting that last year, Telefónica Germany said it would build it’s 5G core network on AWS for the public cloud infrastructure and Ericsson for the core and orchestration components.
References:
https://www.telecompaper.com/news/ibm-to-help-telefonica-build-5g-core-network-platform–1398173
https://www.ibm.com/industries/telecommunications/network-automation
Telefónica Germany builds 5G core network on AWS to capture Industry 4.0 market
Exium Collaborates with IBM on Secure Edge Compute for AI and IoT Applications
Exium, a 5G security company [1.], today announced that it is collaborating with IBM to help clients adopt an edge computing strategy designed to enable them to run AI or IoT applications seamlessly across hybrid cloud environments, from private data centers to the edge. Exium offers clients an end-to-end AI deployment solution designed for high performance on the Edge that can extend to any cloud. This platform can help clients address vendor lock-in by providing flexibility to run their centralized Data/AI resources across any cloud or in private data centers.
Note 1. Exium was founded in 2019 by wireless telecommunications entrepreneur Farooq Khan (ex-Phazr, ex-JMA Wireless). The company believes that the current Cybersecurity Model is broken. Existing cybersecurity approaches and technologies simply no longer provide the levels of security and access control modern digital organizations need. These organizations demand immediate, uninterrupted secure access for their users, teams, and IoT/ OT devices, no matter where they are located.
Exium’s Intelligent Cybersecurity Mesh™ (see diagram below) provides secure access for a distributed workforce, IoT devices, and mission-critical Operational Technology (OT) infrastructure, protecting businesses from malware, ransomware, phishing, denial of service, and botnet infections in one easy to use cloud service.
CyberMesh consolidates three technologies, 5G, Secure Access Services Edge, or SASE, and Extended Detection and Response, or XDR in a single powerful cloud platform.
The Intelligent Cybersecurity Mesh is the first network security platform rooted in internationally accepted digital trust standards and is a reflection of Exium’s commitment to an open, interoperable, and secure global internet for all.
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Exium’s Secure Edge AI is designed to provide a secured, highly performant Edge for IoT data collection and AI execution that works with WiFi/Ethernet/4G today and will be able to assist enterprises to upgrade to 5G in the future.
Exium’s CyberMesh is designed to deliver Zero-Trust Edge Security, Intent-Driven Edge Network Performance, and connect Edge and Cloud locations to help provide scalability and resilience out of the box. Zero-Trust Edge Security addresses trust assumptions to help build the connection between users, devices, and edge applications. Intent-Driven Edge Network enables edge applications to influence the 5G network for traffic routing, steering and QoS control.
“With computing done in so many places—on public and private clouds and the edge–we believe the challenge that businesses face today is to securely connect all these different elements into a cohesive, end-to-end platform,” said Farooq Khan, Founder & CEO at Exium. “Through our collaboration, Exium plans to integrate with IBM Edge Application Manager to offer edge solutions at scale for our clients.”
“We look forward to collaborating with Exium to help clients deploy, operate and manage thousands of endpoints throughout their operations with IBM Edge Application Manager,” said Evaristus Mainsah, GM, IBM Hybrid Cloud and Edge Ecosystem. “Together, we can help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation by acting on insights closer to where their data is being created, at the edge.”
A recent IBM Institute for Business Value report, “Why organizations are betting on edge computing: Insights from the edge,” revealed that 91% of the 1,500 executives surveyed indicated that their organizations plan to implement edge computing strategies within five years. IBM Edge Application Manager, an autonomous management solution that runs on Red Hat OpenShift, enables the secured deployment, continuous operations and remote management of AI, analytics, and IoT enterprise workloads to deliver real-time analysis and insights at scale. The introduction of Intel® Secure Device Onboard (SDO) made available as open source through the Linux Foundation, provides zero-touch provisioning of edge nodes, and enables multi-tenant support for enterprises to manage up to 40,000 edge devices simultaneously per edge hub. IBM Edge Application Manager is the industry’s first solution powered by the open-source project, Linux Foundation Open Horizon.
Exium is part of IBM’s partner ecosystem, collaborating with more than 30 equipment manufacturers, networking, IT & software providers to implement open standards-based cloud-native solutions that can autonomously manage edge applications at scale. IBM’s partner ecosystem fuels hybrid cloud environments by helping clients manage and modernize workloads from bare-metal to multicloud and everything in between with Red Hat OpenShift, the industry’s leading enterprise Kubernetes platform.
About Exium:
Exium is a U.S. full-stack cybersecurity and 5G clean networking pioneer helping organizations to connect and secure their teams, users, and mission-critical assets with ease, wherever they are.
To learn more about Exium, please visit https://exium.net/
About Farooq Khan, PhD:
Before founding Exium, Farooq Khan was founder and CEO of PHAZR, a 5G Millimeter wave radio network solutions company that was sold to JMA Wireless . Before that he was the President and Head of Samsung Research America, Samsung’s U.S.-based R&D unit, where he led high impact collaborative research programs in mobile technology. He also held engineering positions at Bell Labs, Ericsson and Paktel.
Farooq earned a PhD in Computer Science from Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in France. He holds over 200 U.S. patents, has written over 50 research articles and a best-selling book.
IHS Markit: Microsoft #1 for total cloud services revenue; AWS remains leader for IaaS; Multi-clouds continue to form
Following is information and insight from the IHS Markit Cloud & Colocation Services for IT Infrastructure and Applications Market Tracker.
Highlights:
· The global off-premises cloud service market is forecast to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16 percent, reaching $410 billion in 2023.
· We expect cloud as a service (CaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) to be tied for the largest 2018 to 2023 CAGR of 22 percent. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) will have the second and third largest CAGRs of 14 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
IHS Markit analysis:
Microsoft in 2018 became the market share leader for total off-premises cloud service revenue with 13.8 percent share, bumping Amazon to the #2 spot with 13.2 percent; IBM was #3 with 8.8 percent revenue share. Microsoft’s success can be attributed to its comprehensive portfolio and the growth it is experiencing from its more advanced PaaS and CaaS offerings.
Although Amazon relinquished its lead in total off-premises cloud service revenue, it remains the top IaaS provider. In this very segmented market with a small number of large, well-established providers competing for market share:
• Amazon was #1 in IaaS in 2018 with 45 percent of IaaS revenue.
• Microsoft was #1 for CaaS with 22 percent of CaaS revenue and #1 in PaaS with 27 percent of PaaS revenue.
• IBM was #1 for SaaS with 17 percent of SaaS revenue.
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“Multi-clouds [1] remain a very popular trend in the market; many enterprises are already using various services from different providers and this is continuing as more cloud service providers (CSPs) offer services that interoperate with services from their partners and their competitors,” said Devan Adams, principal analyst, IHS Markit. Expectations of increased multi-cloud adoption were displayed in our recent Cloud Service Strategies & Leadership North American Enterprise Survey – 2018, where respondents stated that in 2018 they were using 10 different CSPs for SaaS (growing to 14 by 2020) and 10 for IT infrastructure (growing to 13 by 2020).
Note 1. Multi-cloud (also multicloud or multi cloud) is the use of multiple cloud computing and storage services in a single network architecture. This refers to the distribution of cloud assets, software, applications, and more across several cloud environments.
There have recently been numerous multi-cloud related announcements highlighting its increased availability, including:
· Microsoft: Entered into a partnership with Adobe and SAP to create the Open Data Initiative, designed to provide customers with a complete view of their data across different platforms. The initiative allows customers to use several applications and platforms from the three companies including Adobe Experience Cloud and Experience Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure, and SAP C/4HANA and S/4HANA.
· IBM: Launched Multicloud Manager, designed to help companies manage, move, and integrate apps across several cloud environments. Multicloud Manager is run from IBM’s Cloud Private and enables customers to extend workloads from public to private clouds.
· Cisco: Introduced CloudCenter Suite, a set of software modules created to help businesses design and deploy applications on different cloud provider infrastructures. It is a Kubernetes-based multi-cloud management tool that provides workflow automation, application lifecycle management, cost optimization, governance and policy management across cloud provider data centers.
IHS Markit Cloud & Colocation Intelligence Service:
The bi-annual IHS Markit Cloud & Colocation Services Market Tracker covers worldwide and regional market size, share, five-year forecast analysis, and trends for IaaS, CaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and colocation. This tracker is a component of the IHS Markit Cloud & Colocation Intelligence Service which also includes the Cloud & Colocation Data Center Building Tracker and Cloud and Colocation Data Center CapEx Market Tracker. Cloud service providers tracked within this service include Amazon, Alibaba, Baidu, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Google, Oracle, SAP, China Telecom, Deutsche Telekom Tencent, China Unicom and others. Colocation providers tracked include Equinix, Digital Realty, China Telecom, CyrusOne, NTT, Interion, China Unicom, Coresite, QTS, Switch, 21Vianet, Internap and others.
