IDC sees 2021 as an accelerated year for multi-access edge cloud investments. As MEC emerges as a viable option for various enterprise verticals, it is becoming a key driver of new revenue streams beyond connectivity and critical for mobile network operators as they attempt to monetize 5G. The report forecasts that increases in telco MEC deployments will triple revenues by 2025.

Of course, a top trend for 2021 (and 2020) is the future of work. Cisco unveiled its first Global Hybrid Work Index based on millions of aggregated and anonymous customer datapoints. The Index examines how people’s habits and technology interactions have permanently reshaped work a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings show hybrid workers expect greater flexibility, accessibility, and security, while businesses grapple with meeting these increased technology demands

Other innovation news includes announcements of transformative product launches and breakthroughs. AT&T is modernizing businesses' traditional analog phone lines using the cloud, breathing new life into 'plain-old-telephone-service' by pairing the reliability of POTS with the voice quality, security, and lower maintenance costs of digital lines. In related phone news, Verizon Business and Yealink have debuted the One Talk T67LTE wireless desk phone with embedded 4G/LTE cellular technology to provide next generation workplace mobility. Ericsson and PowerLight Technologies are collaborating on a proof of concept for the first fully wireless-powered 5G base station to improve deployment of radio access network sites.

IoT News

Aside from the IoT security news mentioned above, new research from IoT development platform Tuva analyzes how companies across major industries have implemented smartization to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and names the 60 smartest companies thriving post-pandemic through smart technology adoption.

IoT product and service enhancements are pushing what’s possible. Laird Connectivity has launched a new antenna that is a milestone for IoT applications because it delivers optimized gain where it most needed, just above the horizon, and with solid performance across all frequency bands. Above-horizon gain is important because many IoT applications exist in remote locations and require the optimal gain to be 10 to 20 degrees above the horizon to provide a solid connection with distant cell towers.

Arm unveiled Arm Total Solutions for IoT, which will simplify and modernize software development, resulting in accelerated time to market for developers, OEMs, and service providers at all stages of the IoT value chain. Senet announced enhancements to its IoT Marketplace that streamline the process of identifying IoT devices that meet the quality standards for commercial operation on LoRaWAN networks. AT&T is laying the groundwork for a solution to accelerate and streamline massive deployments of Internet of Things devices and applications globally for enterprise and government customers through pre-paid cellular connectivity. And Vodafone announced its technology is now being used with sensors to detect landslides along the UK's world heritage coastline, as well as give local farmers more relevant data on cows, soil, and tractors.

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