Free
Subscription
sign up here

Leave it to a buzzword to destroy a perfectly good concept.

You like minimizing the amount of trash and pollution you create. You don’t want an awful lot of petroleum to be burned on your behalf. You like the idea of treading lightly on the Earth.

Then someone goes and decides that makes you “green”.

» read complete article

All of the swirling conversation about the possibilities associated with cloud computing (see any other article in this issue for an overview) has brought the possibilities of the cloud into sharp focus.

The cloud provides the promise of considerable cost savings in the enterprise space. In addition, while security is of constant concern, there is a possibility that a properly utilized cloud could be as secure as or more secure than non-cloud solutions, as information can be stored securely in a remote location rather than roaming around on hundreds of laptops and PDAs. (Which is analogous to the much publicized 60 Minutes report some years ago that, on the heels of the revelation of massive credit card fraud stemming from the hacking of TJ Maxx store networks, stated that online shopping may be, in fact, safer than shopping in stores, in terms of the threat of identity theft.)

» read complete article

Play in your own sand box?

Strategy involves creating realistic, meaningful goals; assessing the landscape; identifying opportunities; and neutralizing roadblocks. Most often, the goal is economic success, but it need not always be directly aimed at higher revenue. Sometimes the goal is gaining or maintaining market dominance. This is why, we assume, Microsoft just made some of the features of Office and many of the features of the legendary Groove application free and available to the public as a cloud-based application. To get to the cloud storage holding this article from my computer, and likewise for the Pipeline editing staff to share and edit it, the electronic article crosses several service provider networks. None of those service providers are getting a dime for this significant value added service, which a short decade ago would be a costly internet business service. How can service providers develop a winning strategy in this new landscape?

» read complete article

‘Cloud’ services offer great revenue potential for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) – but their success is likely to depend on how well they can leverage their network assets and turn them into a real differentiator in what will be a highly competitive market.

Background: a great idea, in theory…

Cloud services - broadly, the provision of computing on demand across the internet - have the potential to create a whole new line of business for communications service providers (CSPs) - one that could bring them very significant new revenues on the back of their existing network assets and business position.

» read complete article

Cloud services are increasing the complexity of service provider offerings as well as presenting significant challenges for operational and business support systems. To effectively compete in this environment, service providers must not only innovatively position themselves and their services, but also ensure complete delivery of IT functions to their customers.

The delivery of cloud services often requires network services, computing infrastructure, applications and managed services to be bundled in customized ways. Because of their customized nature, designing these solutions typically requires many iterative steps, which not only results in longer sales cycles but also complicates implementation.

» read complete article

It could be argued that Communication Service Providers (CSPs) missed some opportunities in the last 10 years. They certainly didn’t lead the market in the mobile application revolution. The next big opportunity is with Cloud services. And, simply put, CSPs cannot afford to miss the Cloud.

The Good News

The good news is CSPs are in a fantastic position to capitalize on Cloud services for two main reasons: they own the underlying network infrastructure and they have existing commercial relationships with millions of customers. Further, some CSPs are already offering certain Cloud services like web hosting. However, very few have invested enough in the infrastructure or marketing to make them successful or bringing them meaningful revenues relative to their traditional network and voice services.

» read complete article

Cloud developments were a focus of many telecom providers during the past month and are likely to be a major focus for some time to come. As telecom providers look to cloud services as a source of necessary and largely untapped business, there are several revenue opportunities, according to Karl Whitelock, senior consulting analyst for Stratecast, a division of Frost & Sullivan.

“Cloud offers a lot of interesting possibilities,” Whitelock said. “There could be a huge impact on billing. Service providers could bill for different times of day and could impose different usage limits. They could charge a higher rate for providing high availability.”

» read complete article

“I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills…”

More on clouds in a moment. First, I’d like to take the time to thank you for reading Pipeline. This is a special issue for us, as it marks issue 1 of our 7th volume. Before writing this letter, I looked back, across dozens and dozens of issues (which are all still available in our archives, if you’re ever curious about Pipeline’s roots) and was amazed to see just how far the publication, and the industry, has come since that first issue back in 2004.