THE NEW REALITY

The irony of this week's issue of Telephony is not lost on us: Our cover story investigates why so many service providers are slashing their spending and what that means for the technology vendors that depend on carrier capex. This is also our Buyers' Guide issue. 

These things sometimes happen when content is driven by the news of a volatile industry. But there is an important lesson in this for the sellers: Know your customers. Carriers will continue to spend billions on products that will help them improve offerings and bring in revenue. And now more than ever, vendors must produce solutions that are not only immediately relevant and critical but also established and flawless. Sadly, technological experimentation has been postponed because of economic reality. 

The same network operators once compelled to spend freely on unproven technologies to get ahead of the curve are far more pragmatic. They need hardware and software that is critical to their missions. They need to know it works and that it will provide a return on their investments. That's not to say this is the end of advancement—only that advancement is now much more measured. 

Technology developers must take the necessary steps to adapt to their environment. That might mean shutting down business units, abandoning avenues of development or rolling up with other companies. The cyclical nature of industry dictates that telecom will return to an era of innovation accompanied by increased spending. For now, though, practicality is the order of the day.