Data Center & BSS/OSS Commentary
Analysis: I love it when an ecosystem comes together
BSS/OSS used to be a collection of specialized capabilities, serving equally specialized network and back-office silos. That’s finally changing, driven by the need to better analyze network and customer data....
Keeping it 'human'
Will M2M and the Internet of things shift focus from customer to network?...
Cloud play: Integration and service brokering could set telcos apart
By offering cloud ‘integration as a service,’ telcos can monetize the brokering of relationships between their enterprise and SMB customers and third party software providers...
Thinking outside the (linear video) box
At the TM Forum Management World show this week, we saw lots of collaboration between industries, but where were the over-the-top players that threaten to over-turn the entire status quo?...
Subscribers Seek Need-to-Know Relationship with Operators
As policy management evolves beyond traffic shaping into the realm of enhancing the customer experience through personalized services and unique usage plans, equipment suppliers are hyping the customer feedback attributes of their offerings. ...
Telecom vendor M&A heats up
Vendors of all stripes and sizes aim to fill product holes and expand ambitions with acquisitions....
Tiger Woods 2.0
Truly compelling applications, which create a surge of interest in -- and ultimately demand for -- telecommunications services, don’t come along that often...
Wireless operators: App store owners or shoppers?
Application store launches were one of the lynchpins of this year's Mobile World Congress, which wrapped up last week in Barcelona. ...
The diversification of killer apps
Voice is the killer app. Speed is the killer app. Video is the killer app. There is no killer app. If I hear 'killer app' one more time, I’ll kill the messenger....
Optical Trends to Watch in 2009
I’ve seen a lot of spectacular ups and downs in the optical networking arena in the 14 years I’ve been tracking it. 2009 promises to be another interesting year in this space. Here are 6 trends I see that will and won’t impact optical networking this year...
Operator Options: Service Provider or Service Facilitator?
Going into 2009, operators need to figure out if it makes more sense to share or be selfish....
Tomorrow's services mix old with new
Service providers and their vendors roll out new products and strategies that combine legacy network features with capabilities from the IP world to create altogether new apps and services....
Five Tips for Seamless M2M Connectivity Globally
Until recently, the M2M market was largely regional, with local M2M services providers and local applications providers. As the market has matured, however, enterprises are looking for ways to extend their M2M deployments globally....
Recession reprieve?
I’m doing the reporting right now for a February cover story on the state of industry “transformation” projects, and like everywhere else, the shape of the economy keeps creeping up as an issue....
The birth of the phone as platform
When is a phone, not a phone? When it is an application platform....
Hearts, minds and the mobile address book
Mobile operators face a new battle for control of the customer relationship. But this time it's not about ringtones, games and search; it's about what is quite possibly their most valuable asset: the application you use to make a phone call....
The carrier and content divide
They own the network, have the most direct access to consumers’ pocketbooks, and they decide who gets valuable real estate on their decks. ...
The IT-telecom transformation
Last week's IBM-Cloudshield announcement is just one more indication of the rapid pace at which IT technology is moving into the telecom world, displacing the proprietary and purpose-built systems of the industry's past....
TV Ads-Do They Measure Up?
Advertisers across media are seeking unprecedented levels of campaign measurement and ad tracking....
The ‘black magic’ of handset success
What makes a successful mobile handset? Is it functionality? Hardware? UI? Apps? The right price? Some hard-to-measure buzz? Or the longed-for stamp of teen approval?...
