Letter from the Editor - August 2023

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You have to be light on your feet these days. Change is afoot, it’s accelerating at an incredible speed, and has the potential to disrupt virtually everything on a scale that hasn’t been seen before. And disruption, we’ve seen.

The global pandemic created a technological shift that changed the way we work, live, and play as a globally connected society. In the past, for example, work from home was difficult and reserved only for sick days. Now, employers are struggling to get workers back to the office – and are having to contend with technological considerations to cater to a remote or hybrid workforce. The advent of new technologies such as generative artificial intelligence is reshaping the landscape entirely, and may ultimately redefine who, or what, the workforce is (more to come in Pipeline’s AI & Analytics issue next month).

The promise of greater efficiency and profitability is too great. Organizations worldwide are leaping headlong into the pool of transformation. But, there are many factors to consider. For example, which systems stay, and which go. You have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Who and what will be impacted by the adoption of new technology? It may affect employees and morale, or customers who may then jump ship. What effect does it have on costs, energy consumption, the environment, or planet? And, how is it all going to work – together – to create greater agility and efficiency?

These considerations require contemplation, but one must not dally. The industry must step up and step up fast. Transformation requires standardization to drive seamless interoperability. It needs agile connectivity and cloud resources to make it possible. And it must provide a seamless and superior experience to everyone it touches. Businesses are now faced with the daunting task of creating the right mix of systems and technology to best leverage what works with what’s new. Which is why this issue of Pipeline is so important.

In this issue of Pipeline, we dive into the many methods for achieving operational agility. MEF discusses its Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) APIs for creating plug-and-play business interoperability, and Sage shows us telecom-blockchain use cases for MEF LSO APIs. ETSI explains how its Cognitive Network Management standards are creating greater operational agility, and Quantum Loophole covers ESG consideration for data center master planning. GOCare demonstrates how to create a superior total experience (TX) with a unified experience platform by combining CX, DX, and EX. CloudSmartz illustrates how to minimize digital transformation disruption by harnessing a unified service experience platform. Nitel explores the evolution from WAN to SD-WAN. Mission Cloud contemplates cloud-migration strategies, Leostream looks at simplifying hybrid cloud to deliver desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) for remote workforces, and Inseego investigates enterprise cord-cutting with 5G. All this, plus the latest enterprise and technology news, and more.