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  35. <title>Australia is the Perfect Market for AWS GenAI Adoption</title>
  36. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/05/02/australia-is-the-perfect-market-for-aws-genai-adoption/</link>
  37. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/05/02/australia-is-the-perfect-market-for-aws-genai-adoption/#respond</comments>
  39. <dc:creator><![CDATA[siowmeng]]></dc:creator>
  40. <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 16:21:18 +0000</pubDate>
  41. <category><![CDATA[Cloud Enable]]></category>
  42. <category><![CDATA[Communicate]]></category>
  43. <category><![CDATA[Secure]]></category>
  44. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8243</guid>
  45.  
  46. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched Amazon Bedrock in Australia, and it is helping customers develop generative AI (GenAI) applications using different foundation models to meet their specific needs. • Australia is an attractive market for AWS since the company has a significant presence in the country, and it can support GenAI &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/05/02/australia-is-the-perfect-market-for-aws-genai-adoption/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Australia is the Perfect Market for AWS GenAI&#160;Adoption</span></a>]]></description>
  47. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  48. <figure class="alignright size-large"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/siowmengsoh-e1507055270858.jpg"><img width="100" height="100" data-attachment-id="4221" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2017/10/03/telstra-liberates-the-workforce-with-fixed-mobile-convergence/siowmengsoh/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/siowmengsoh-e1507055270858.jpg" data-orig-size="100,100" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="SiowMengSoh" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;S. Soh&lt;/p&gt;
  49. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/siowmengsoh-e1507055270858.jpg?w=100" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/siowmengsoh-e1507055270858.jpg?w=100" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/siowmengsoh-e1507055270858.jpg?w=100" alt="" class="wp-image-4221" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">S. Soh</figcaption></figure></div>
  50.  
  51.  
  52. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  53.  
  54.  
  55.  
  56. <p>• Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched Amazon Bedrock in Australia, and it is helping customers develop generative AI (GenAI) applications using different foundation models to meet their specific needs.</p>
  57.  
  58.  
  59.  
  60. <p>• Australia is an attractive market for AWS since the company has a significant presence in the country, and it can support GenAI workloads sustainably as the country is seeing investments in clean energy and more efficient data centers.</p>
  61.  
  62.  
  63.  
  64. <p>AWS highlighted, at the recent AWS Summit in Sydney (Australia), that Australia was an important market for the company and that it was optimistic about the potential of GenAI adoption in the country. At the event, AWS also discussed its GenAI strategy. Rivals Microsoft and Google Cloud have been actively promoting their GenAI development through OpenAI and with Google Gemini, respectively, as well as building foundational models to help customers tap GenAI capabilities without building their own. While AWS has its models under the umbrella of Amazon Titan, it emphasizes giving customers their model of choice, including its own and partner models hosted within its cloud environment. This is through Amazon Bedrock, which is a fully managed service. It gives customers the ability to choose from a range of models based on their needs and preferences. They can develop GenAI capabilities and use cases without leaving the AWS environment. So far, AWS has agreements with several AI companies, natural language processing (NLP), and large language model (LLM) specialists, including AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Meta, Mistral AI, and Stability AI. The advancement of LLM is happening by leaps and bounds with new startups entering the fray and new versions being announced at an ever-faster pace. The introduction of Anthropic’s Claude 3, Mistral-Large, and Stable Diffusion 3, for example, have drawn global attention, offering even more powerful models and creating new possibilities such as self-awareness and actualization, tier reasoning capabilities, and video generation.</p>
  65.  
  66.  
  67.  
  68. <span id="more-8243"></span>
  69.  
  70.  
  71.  
  72. <p>With a variety of models designed for different needs, AWS’ strategy is to offer Amazon Bedrock as a way for customers to access the latest models on its platform and build AI applications with guardrails to meet their responsible AI framework. The solution also enables users to customize their models with retrieval augmented generation by using their own systems and data. Instead of competing with others to develop models for different needs, AWS is therefore playing to its strength by developing an AI ecosystem within its cloud and offering customers the tools and infrastructure to achieve their business objectives. To support AI training and inference, AWS is investing in infrastructure comprising new hardware (e.g., GPUs, AWS Trainium ML chips), AWS Inferentia accelerators, and Amazon EC2 Capacity Blocks) to deliver the performance and scale required. Moreover, it is developing GenAI-enabled applications that customers can readily deploy. This includes Amazon Q, a GenAI assistant that can be deployed within Amazon Connect (contact center solution) for enhanced customer experience; or within Amazon QuickSight (business intelligence tool) to produce faster, meaningful insights.</p>
  73.  
  74.  
  75.  
  76. <p>At AWS Summit Sydney, the company announced the launch of AWS Bedrock in the Sydney region. This is crucial to drive the adoption of AWS’ GenAI solutions locally by addressing the requirements around latency, data security, and industry-specific regulations. GlobalData believes that GenAI model training will either be performed in the cloud or in a hybrid environment since it is very costly to operate a dedicated AI infrastructure in-house. AWS is therefore well-positioned to capture the GenAI opportunities, particularly with its ability to support computing resources at scale. Australia is also an important market for AWS to prove its GenAI solutions. Australian enterprises have been early adopters of technology and it was ahead of many countries in cloud and mobile adoption over a decade ago. AWS has, for several years, been supporting many startups and cloud-native firms in Australia; and these digital businesses are more ready to explore and implement GenAI-enabled solutions. For example, at AWS Summit, Leonardo AI shared its experience working with AWS to power its AI image generator, allowing it to scale its business quickly – since the launch in December 2022, the company’s users (over 14.7 million) from 189 countries have generated over one billion images for gaming, media, entertainment, and marketing use cases. There is also a strong technology ecosystem in Australia as hyperscalers, global system integrators, application vendors, data center providers, etc. have significant presence in the country.</p>
  77.  
  78.  
  79.  
  80. <p>Moreover, a major challenge for supporting GenAI workloads is the power consumption and the need for efficient, large-scale data centers. As the Australian government is pushing the development of renewable energy, combined with the extensive renewable resources and vast landscape, the country will be able to operate these data centers without compromising on its goals to achieve its net-zero targets. AWS already operates regions in Sydney and Melbourne (Australia) as well as local zones in other cities, and it has an extensive partner ecosystem and customer base. With the launch of Amazon Bedrock in Sydney, the competition for GenAI solutions will start to intensify as many major integrators (also channel partners of AWS and competitors) are building multiple use cases transitioning to some of the first scaled deployments.</p>
  81. ]]></content:encoded>
  83. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/05/02/australia-is-the-perfect-market-for-aws-genai-adoption/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  84. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  88. <media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/5b925428a4a1fbf07fa267d4cf53eb0532d9a3924475535f4e7fc8fa3e4d183e?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  89. <media:title type="html">siowmeng</media:title>
  90. </media:content>
  91.  
  92. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/siowmengsoh-e1507055270858.jpg?w=100" medium="image" />
  93. </item>
  94. <item>
  95. <title>Generative AI Watch: Small Language Models’ Growing Role in a Multi-Model World</title>
  96. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/generative-ai-watch-small-language-models-growing-role-in-a-multi-model-world/</link>
  97. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/generative-ai-watch-small-language-models-growing-role-in-a-multi-model-world/#respond</comments>
  99. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Rena Bhattacharyya]]></dc:creator>
  100. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 21:44:10 +0000</pubDate>
  101. <category><![CDATA[Big Data]]></category>
  102. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8240</guid>
  103.  
  104. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: As training techniques improve, small language models (SLMs) are becoming more and more accurate, increasing their appeal. The smaller models make sense for simpler tasks; they can work offline and are a good alternative when organizations want to process information close to the source of collection. The generative AI (GenAI) landscape has been &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/generative-ai-watch-small-language-models-growing-role-in-a-multi-model-world/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Generative AI Watch: Small Language Models’ Growing Role in a Multi-Model&#160;World</span></a>]]></description>
  105. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><figure data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_4653" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4653" style="width: 100px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/bhattacharyya-100143.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="4653" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/new-capabilities-not-cost-savings-are-biggest-driver-of-ai-adoption/bhattacharyya-100143/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/bhattacharyya-100143.jpg" data-orig-size="100,143" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="bhattacharyya-100143" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;R. Bhattacharyya&lt;/p&gt;
  106. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/bhattacharyya-100143.jpg?w=100" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/bhattacharyya-100143.jpg?w=100" class="size-full wp-image-4653" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/bhattacharyya-100143.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="143" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-4653" class="wp-caption-text">R. Bhattacharyya</figcaption></figure></p>
  107. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  108. <ul>
  109. <li>As training techniques improve, small language models (SLMs) are becoming more and more accurate, increasing their appeal.</li>
  110. <li>The smaller models make sense for simpler tasks; they can work offline and are a good alternative when organizations want to process information close to the source of collection.</li>
  111. </ul>
  112. <p>The generative AI (GenAI) landscape has been evolving at breakneck speed since OpenAI exploded onto the scene in late 2022.  And despite the numerous new GenAI solutions and product enhancements already brought to market in the last 18 months, momentum around natural language processing (NLP) shows no signs of slowing down. The latest buzz worth paying attention to is around SLMs, which offer capabilities similar to large language models (LLMs) but require far less training data and processing power.  Easier to adopt, less expensive to run, and with a smaller carbon footprint, these models hold the potential to further accelerate the already rapid pace of GenAI adoption.</p>
  113. <p><span id="more-8240"></span></p>
  114. <p>Last week saw announcements of new SLMs from two major AI platform providers.  Microsoft announced the Phi-3 family of small language models, which includes the Phi-3-mini (3.8 billion parameters), the Phi-3-small (7 billion parameters), and the Phi-3-medium (14 billion parameters).  A few days later H2O.ai released an upgraded foundational model, H2O-Dunabe2 (1.8 billion parameters) and a model for chat-specific use cases, the H2O Danube2 Chat. (For comparison, Open AI’s Chat GPT-3 contains 175 billion parameters and Chat GPT-4 and Gemini 1.0 Ultra are rumored to contain over one trillion.) The Phi-3 and H2O-Danube models are by no means the only SLMs are the market; they are just the latest to make an appearance in the increasingly crowded GenAI arena. For example, Google released Gemini Nano-1 (1.8 billion parameters) and Gemini Nano-2 (with 3.25 billion parameters) at the end of 2023.</p>
  115. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  116. <p>As training techniques improve, smaller models with fewer parameters are becoming more and more accurate, increasing their appeal.  SLMs can be more easily trained and fine-tuned, making them an attractive option for companies that want to customize a language model.  Additionally, since they utilize far less computing power than an LLM, they don’t require a massive investment in expensive infrastructure, and are therefore a much more feasible option for on-premises, at the edge, or on device deployments. They can summarize documents, surface key insights from text, and create sales or marketing content. The smaller models make sense for simpler tasks, can work offline, and are a good alternative when organizations want to process information close to the source of collection, for example if they are building applications that require low latency or if they prefer to keep their data on-premises. In contrast, LLMs are ideal for applications that involve orchestration of multiple tasks or that need to excel at advanced reasoning and analysis. However, they necessitate a massive amount of infrastructure to host, and therefore generally require organizations to move their data to a third party that is running the model.</p>
  117. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  118. <p>Even though most organizations are starting their GenAI journey with OpenAI (often via Azure) at present, many will likely begin to explore alternative models before long. Some companies have noted that Azure costs are rising, which may prompt them to explore other options.  Additionally, organizations have reported that the limit on the number of query requests that can be performed by OpenAI’s models in a given time period is holding them back from expanding deployments of GenAI.  For many organizations, the future will likely be a multi-model and hybrid-model environment. Some applications, possibly those that are customer facing, will require one or more LLMs hosted on the cloud, whereas other applications will perform well with SLMs that are locally hosted.  Finally, companies would be wise to diversify and to not place all their eggs in one basket. The GenAI market is young and constantly has new entrants.  As it matures, there will be inevitable product withdrawal, startup failures, and of course consolidation via merger and acquisition. Diversification is a smart strategy at this point in regard to long term availability and performance optimization, plus it allows enterprises to exert pricing pressure via competition.</p>
  119. ]]></content:encoded>
  121. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/generative-ai-watch-small-language-models-growing-role-in-a-multi-model-world/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  122. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  126. <media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/e041d8ad5debe94abed49cbe4263035087301af01b9c072a61f3bdc5082d38b6?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  127. <media:title type="html">itcblog2013rbhattacharyya</media:title>
  128. </media:content>
  129.  
  130. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/bhattacharyya-100143.jpg" medium="image" />
  131. </item>
  132. <item>
  133. <title>IBM Extends its Automation and Multi-Cloud Management Game with $6.4 Billion Bid to Buy HashiCorp</title>
  134. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/ibm-extends-its-automation-and-multi-cloud-management-game-with-6-4-billion-bid-to-buy-hashicorp/</link>
  135. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/ibm-extends-its-automation-and-multi-cloud-management-game-with-6-4-billion-bid-to-buy-hashicorp/#respond</comments>
  137. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Amy Larsen DeCarlo]]></dc:creator>
  138. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:36:01 +0000</pubDate>
  139. <category><![CDATA[Cloud Enable]]></category>
  140. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8237</guid>
  141.  
  142. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • IBM’s pending deal to acquire HashiCorp, with its Terraform infrastructure-as-code software platform, gives the company a popular cloud configuration toolset. • The buy isn’t a slam dunk; HashiCorp has struggled to make money from its formerly open-source software. One of the issues organizations struggle with is efficiently setting up and managing their &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/ibm-extends-its-automation-and-multi-cloud-management-game-with-6-4-billion-bid-to-buy-hashicorp/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">IBM Extends its Automation and Multi-Cloud Management Game with $6.4 Billion Bid to Buy&#160;HashiCorp</span></a>]]></description>
  143. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  144. <figure class="alignright size-full"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="300" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/about/decarlo-70100/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg" data-orig-size="70,100" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="decarlo-70100" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;Amy Larsen DeCarlo &#8211; Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services&lt;/p&gt;
  145. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg?w=70" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg?w=70" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-300" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amy Larsen DeCarlo &#8211; Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services</figcaption></figure></div>
  146.  
  147.  
  148. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  149.  
  150.  
  151.  
  152. <p>• IBM’s pending deal to acquire HashiCorp, with its Terraform infrastructure-as-code software platform, gives the company a popular cloud configuration toolset.</p>
  153.  
  154.  
  155.  
  156. <p>• The buy isn’t a slam dunk; HashiCorp has struggled to make money from its formerly open-source software.</p>
  157.  
  158.  
  159.  
  160. <p>One of the issues organizations struggle with is efficiently setting up and managing their multi-cloud environments. Last week, IBM announced plans to acquire Hashicorp, a vendor with a Terraform platform the company says can help IBM clients do that. HashiCorp’s catalog includes infrastructure lifecycle management and security lifecycle management solutions enterprises can use to automate hybrid and multi-cloud environments. This will extend IBM’s automation and multi-cloud management product set, which it delivers through the Red Hat subsidiary.</p>
  161.  
  162.  
  163.  
  164. <span id="more-8237"></span>
  165.  
  166.  
  167.  
  168. <p>When IBM executives were questioned about any potential overlap between HashiCorp’s solution set and Red Hat’s offerings, the executives said they were distinctly different capabilities. HashiCorp delivers a record for workflows necessary for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments. The company’s flagship Terraform is popular with enterprises looking to automate cloud infrastructure provisioning, which is more closely associated with the initial cloud migration. IBM executives said Red Hat’s Ansible software suite is more closely associated with ongoing cloud management.The acquisition follows IBM’s $4.6 billion deal to buy cloud financial management vendor Apptio in August 2023. The combined automation and management solutions could give IBM a bigger edge as organizations try to optimize both the performance of their multi-cloud infrastructures and the cost-efficiency of these environments.However, big questions loom as HashiCorp has grappled with turning Terraform into a money maker. To this end, in 2023, HashiCorp moved Terraform from an open source to a business source license model. Not surprisingly, this was not a popular move among developers and partners.There are questions about how IBM might change Terraform’s licensing model. And OpenTofu, an open-source fork of Terraform, could also undercut Terraform’s sales.The hope is that with the sales and technology development support, HashiCorp will be able to expand its revenues and profits. Like Red Hat, when the acquisition closes later in 2024, HashiCorp will operate as a standalone subsidiary.</p>
  169. ]]></content:encoded>
  171. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/30/ibm-extends-its-automation-and-multi-cloud-management-game-with-6-4-billion-bid-to-buy-hashicorp/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  172. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  176. <media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/ba853eb7204f18043ebcbdb9c009166b95f966fce4a9074fc10bdd3c940dfc2e?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  177. <media:title type="html">adecarlo</media:title>
  178. </media:content>
  179.  
  180. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg" medium="image" />
  181. </item>
  182. <item>
  183. <title>UK Telcos Mark World Earth Day</title>
  184. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/22/uk-telcos-mark-world-earth-day/</link>
  185. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/22/uk-telcos-mark-world-earth-day/#respond</comments>
  187. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Rob Pritchard]]></dc:creator>
  188. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 14:49:08 +0000</pubDate>
  189. <category><![CDATA[Communicate]]></category>
  190. <category><![CDATA[IT Leader]]></category>
  191. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8234</guid>
  192.  
  193. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • UK telcos are using Earth Day to launch new climate change and circular economy initiatives for all types of customers from consumers to businesses. • Selling benefits like cost savings and guaranteeing refurbished equipment alongside providing emissions reduction training, advice, and tools enable further sustainability progress. April 22, 2024 marks Earth Day, &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/22/uk-telcos-mark-world-earth-day/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">UK Telcos Mark World Earth&#160;Day</span></a>]]></description>
  194. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  195. <figure class="alignright size-large"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png"><img loading="lazy" width="133" height="137" data-attachment-id="6636" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2021/11/09/vodafones-successful-partnership-strategy/r-pritchard-071521/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png" data-orig-size="133,137" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="R-Pritchard 071521" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;R. Pritchard&lt;/p&gt;
  196. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png?w=133" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png?w=133" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png?w=133" alt="" class="wp-image-6636" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">R. Pritchard</figcaption></figure></div>
  197.  
  198.  
  199. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  200.  
  201.  
  202.  
  203. <p>• UK telcos are using Earth Day to launch new climate change and circular economy initiatives for all types of customers from consumers to businesses.</p>
  204.  
  205.  
  206.  
  207. <p>• Selling benefits like cost savings and guaranteeing refurbished equipment alongside providing emissions reduction training, advice, and tools enable further sustainability progress.</p>
  208.  
  209.  
  210.  
  211. <p>April 22, 2024 marks Earth Day, which highlights the importance of protecting the environment. The impact of climate change is becoming more of a daily event worldwide as evidenced by reports of unprecedented flooding in Dubai (UAE) and Guangdong (China) in just the past seven days. Telcos in the UK are using Earth Day to launch and re-emphasize initiatives and programs they are undertaking to address the challenge of CO2 reduction.</p>
  212.  
  213.  
  214.  
  215. <span id="more-8234"></span>
  216.  
  217.  
  218.  
  219. <p>BT has announced a partnership with the UK Business Climate Hub (UKBCH) to help UK SMBs to halve their CO2 emissions by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, having estimated that they account for 44% of non-household emissions. BT claims nine out of 10 SMBs “would like to address climate change” &#8211; but find it challenging to get started and identify the right tools to mitigate their environmental impact.</p>
  220.  
  221.  
  222.  
  223. <p>BT is offering free tools and support to SMBs to achieve net-zero emissions. It is also offering advice on how to reduce carbon emissions, save on energy bills, create tailored net-zero business plans, use free carbon footprint calculators, and access online training courses on cutting emissions.<br>Vodafone is using Earth Day to encourage customers to engage with the circular economy, which is focused on the benefits of adopting a ‘reduce, reuse, refurbish’ mindset, noting that 45% of UK consumers consider the impact on the climate before making new purchases. Vodafone also notes that, over the last year, it saw an 85% increase in sales or refurbished devices.</p>
  224.  
  225.  
  226.  
  227. <p>Research by Vodafone has found 27% of Brits select refurbished devices for environmental benefits, and 42% for cost savings. However, 30% would not consider a refurbished device over concerns over poor battery life (64%), phone longevity (57%), and fears devices might be faulty (56%). To combat this, Vodafone’s ‘Lifetime Service Promise’ means every new and refurbished phone comes with ‘Battery Refresh’ and ‘Lifetime Warranty.’</p>
  228.  
  229.  
  230.  
  231. <p>Virgin Media O2 is marking Earth Day with a deal for O2 customers, offering a GBP50 credit when they buy a ‘like new’ refurbished handset (although only from April 18, 2024 to May 1, 2024, so not a sustained effort). The goal is “to drive the circular economy and give unwanted phones a new life.”</p>
  232.  
  233.  
  234.  
  235. <p>Earth Day is an obvious PR vehicle, but service providers would be foolish to not try to take advantage. Better positioned as a launchpad for long-term commitments to tackling the climate crisis, offerings go beyond the fatal ‘greenwashing’ accusation when they demonstrate a measurable benefit in terms of CO2 emissions reduction. Combining the sustainability message and goals with practical advantages such as cash savings and reliability guarantees only serves to underline the positive steps every business, large or small, and every consumer can make in tackling the climate crisis.</p>
  236. ]]></content:encoded>
  238. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/22/uk-telcos-mark-world-earth-day/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  239. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  243. <media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b1f19414314b51457f5e91f5ca834b469346c9a6b1b3c3e55406d09703eff4ec?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  244. <media:title type="html">robertpritchardglobaldatacom</media:title>
  245. </media:content>
  246.  
  247. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png?w=133" medium="image" />
  248. </item>
  249. <item>
  250. <title>Enterprise IoT Platform Enhancements Enrich Usability, Security, and Application Breadth</title>
  251. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/17/enterprise-iot-platform-enhancements-enrich-usability-security-and-application-breadth/</link>
  252. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/17/enterprise-iot-platform-enhancements-enrich-usability-security-and-application-breadth/#respond</comments>
  254. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Kitty Weldon]]></dc:creator>
  255. <pubDate>Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:51:20 +0000</pubDate>
  256. <category><![CDATA[Internet of Things]]></category>
  257. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8230</guid>
  258.  
  259. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • IoT platform vendor dropouts were in the news in 2023, suggesting not only consolidation but reduced demand and profitability concerns. • While hyperscalers remain leaders, industrial stalwarts such as PTC, Software AG, and Siemens are still innovating and enhancing platforms with security, easy of use, and integration with adjacent products in their &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/17/enterprise-iot-platform-enhancements-enrich-usability-security-and-application-breadth/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Enterprise IoT Platform Enhancements Enrich Usability, Security, and Application&#160;Breadth</span></a>]]></description>
  260. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  261. <figure class="alignright size-full"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="303" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/about/kweldon-70100/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg" data-orig-size="70,100" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="kweldon-70100" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;Kathryn Weldon &#8211; Research Director, Business Network and IT Services &#8211; Americas&lt;/p&gt;
  262. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg?w=70" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg?w=70" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-303" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kathryn Weldon &#8211; Research Director, Business Network and IT Services &#8211; Americas</figcaption></figure></div>
  263.  
  264.  
  265. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  266.  
  267.  
  268.  
  269. <p>• IoT platform vendor dropouts were in the news in 2023, suggesting not only consolidation but reduced demand and profitability concerns.</p>
  270.  
  271.  
  272.  
  273. <p>• While hyperscalers remain leaders, industrial stalwarts such as PTC, Software AG, and Siemens are still innovating and enhancing platforms with security, easy of use, and integration with adjacent products in their portfolios.</p>
  274.  
  275.  
  276.  
  277. <p>Over the last year, the most compelling changes in the market for enterprise IoT platforms were the dropping out of key vendors including Google Cloud IoT (in August 2023), presumably based on lack of revenues/profitability; the decommissioning of most services from SAP’s IoT PaaS offering, announced at end-2023; and IBM’s winding down of its Watson IoT platform service in December 2023, with IBM focusing instead on offering IoT capabilities via its hybrid cloud solutions and software. In addition to these dropouts of platforms, which focused on IoT application enablement, products focused on connectivity and device management, such as the Ericsson IoT Connectivity platform, changed hands, having been sold to IoT MVNO and platform vendor Aeris. Some of the other original leaders have also marginalized their IoT offerings, embedding them in vertical solutions, or combining IoT with big data and AI tools, positioning IoT primarily as a data collection enabler. Industrial stalwarts Software AG and Siemens, however, are becoming innovators in this market, with good reviews for functionality, vertical solutions, and contributions to positive ROI.</p>
  278.  
  279.  
  280.  
  281. <span id="more-8230"></span>
  282.  
  283.  
  284.  
  285. <p>The following announcements from remaining vendors highlight the kinds of add-ons to their portfolios, focusing on security, easier onboarding, user interface enhancements, integration with adjacent products and services, re-branding/re-positioning, and expanded go-to-market.</p>
  286.  
  287.  
  288.  
  289. <p><strong>2023 IoT Platform Announcements</strong><br><strong>Amazon Web Services (AWS)</strong>&nbsp;AWS IoT Core added self-managed client certificate signing for mobile device fleet provisioning. This allows customers to integrate with an external certificate authority, its own public key infrastructure, or services such as AWS Private CA, to sign certificate signing requests when provisioning device fleets. This provides flexibility to meet specific security requirements. In addition, AWS IoT FleetWise announced support for vehicle vision system data collection to collect metadata, object list and detection data, and images or videos from camera, lidar, radar, and other vision sub-systems. This builds upon existing AWS IoT FleetWise capabilities that enable customers to extract value and context from their data to build vehicles that are more connected and convenient.</p>
  290.  
  291.  
  292.  
  293. <p><strong>Microsoft</strong>&nbsp;announced a public preview of its Azure IoT Operations, enabled by Azure Arc. Arc-enabled services help organizations onboard assets, capture insights, and take actions to scale digital transformation of physical operations. Azure IoT Operations provides a unified, enterprise-wide technology architecture and data plane that supports repeatable solution deployment and AI-enhanced decision making.</p>
  294.  
  295.  
  296.  
  297. <p><strong>PTC</strong>&nbsp;reported fiscal year (FY) 2023 annual recurring revenue of $1.9 billion, up 26% YoY. It noted that IoT continued to thrive as the third highest bookings driver at the company. The retiring CEO further noted that in FY2023, Microsoft named PTC its ‘IoT and Manufacturing Partner of the Year’; Nucleus Research and Quadrant’s Spark Matrix named PTC the leader in IoT platforms; and LNS Research placed PTC in the leader position for Connected Frontline Worker. PTC further announced that integration of the PTC ThingWorx IoT platform with other PTC products is gaining traction. PTC ThingWorx Navigate supports PTC Windchill on the PTC Atlas platform, and PTC is beginning to integrate its Windchill PLM, Windchill MPM, ThingWorx Navigate, and ThingWorx Connected Work Cell. PTC can now enable a continuous closed-loop digital thread from engineering to manufacturing.</p>
  298.  
  299.  
  300.  
  301. <p>Two years after the <strong>Siemens</strong> re-branding/transition of its MindSphere IIoT platform into Siemens Insights Hub, Siemens announced in April 2023 that its Insights Hub is now a part of the Siemens Xcelerator platform, its open digital business platform featuring a curated portfolio of IoT-connected hardware and software, ecosystem of partners, and a marketplace. In addition, its combined IoT capabilities are now elements of its Industrial Operations X, Siemens vision for the fusion of IT and OT, featuring a modular portfolio of IoT and edge solutions, low-code platform, and manufacturing capabilities.</p>
  302.  
  303.  
  304.  
  305. <p>The&nbsp;<strong>Software AG</strong>&nbsp;Cumulocity IoT platform was made available ‘as-a-service’ for international customers in China through Tencent Cloud. Customers can connect and manage their devices in China as part of their device fleets, providing a single view of all assets globally. The offering includes local partners being able to publish the services and manage compliance to fulfill regulatory requirements. In addition, Software AG Cumulocity IoT’s latest release of its ‘Cockpit’ dashboard enhanced the user experience and made it easier to develop and manage IoT solutions. An updated color scheme was added, with usability and accessibility improvements for screen readers, keyboards, and user settings. Asset hierarchies defined in ‘Digital Twin Manager’ and device smart groups can now also be analyzed using ‘Analytics Builder’ to perform aggregation analysis such as averaging humidity across devices.</p>
  306. ]]></content:encoded>
  308. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/17/enterprise-iot-platform-enhancements-enrich-usability-security-and-application-breadth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  309. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  313. <media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/bae402b608820bb681cb95d9538d1e8e8c1a5dbf7174f95abdca0e5ca8b9f119?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  314. <media:title type="html">kweldonblog</media:title>
  315. </media:content>
  316.  
  317. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg" medium="image" />
  318. </item>
  319. <item>
  320. <title>Peek Into the Future by Following Test and Measurement</title>
  321. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/16/peek-into-the-future-by-following-test-and-measurement/</link>
  322. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/16/peek-into-the-future-by-following-test-and-measurement/#respond</comments>
  324. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Steven J. Schuchart Jr.]]></dc:creator>
  325. <pubDate>Tue, 16 Apr 2024 19:06:37 +0000</pubDate>
  326. <category><![CDATA[Cloud Enable]]></category>
  327. <category><![CDATA[Communicate]]></category>
  328. <category><![CDATA[IT Leader]]></category>
  329. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8225</guid>
  330.  
  331. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • The impact of IT technologies that are growing beyond IT is staggering and shows the need for advanced test and measurement. • According to the GlobalData Deal Trends database, there have been over 20 acquisitions in this space since 2020 and numerous asset purchases and partnerships. For every technology product that comes &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/16/peek-into-the-future-by-following-test-and-measurement/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Peek Into the Future by Following Test and&#160;Measurement</span></a>]]></description>
  332. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  333. <figure class="alignright size-large"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2019-schuchart-headshot-cropped-e1592347360283.jpg"><img loading="lazy" width="106" height="126" data-attachment-id="5830" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/lead-with-ethical-behavior-or-your-customers-will-leave-you-behind/2019-schuchart-headshot-cropped/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2019-schuchart-headshot-cropped-e1592347360283.jpg" data-orig-size="106,126" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone X&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1559160314&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;latitude&quot;:&quot;35.986319444444&quot;,&quot;longitude&quot;:&quot;-115.22482222222&quot;}" data-image-title="2019 Schuchart Headshot Cropped" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;S. Schuchart&lt;/p&gt;
  334. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2019-schuchart-headshot-cropped-e1592347360283.jpg?w=106" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2019-schuchart-headshot-cropped-e1592347360283.jpg?w=106" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2019-schuchart-headshot-cropped-e1592347360283.jpg?w=106" alt="" class="wp-image-5830" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">S. Schuchart</figcaption></figure></div>
  335.  
  336.  
  337. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  338.  
  339.  
  340.  
  341. <p>• The impact of IT technologies that are growing beyond IT is staggering and shows the need for advanced test and measurement.</p>
  342.  
  343.  
  344.  
  345. <p>• According to the GlobalData Deal Trends database, there have been over 20 acquisitions in this space since 2020 and numerous asset purchases and partnerships.</p>
  346.  
  347.  
  348.  
  349. <p>For every technology product that comes to market, both hardware and software, there is testing. One of the best ways to see where a market is heading, and what technologies are coming up in the next 4+ years, is to watch the testing market. The software testing market for development and deployment gets a lot of press – mostly because that kind of software testing is part of the production chain both at independent software vendors (ISVs) and in enterprises. However, the broader testing market is where the latest technologies that are not even close to release are being evaluated, where chip designers, chip manufacturers, engineers, and product companies are doing cutting edge research. These test tools can be specialized hardware, software, or both. In addition, many of the largest multinational enterprises use testing tools to validate and tweak advanced designs in their own IT and OT environments. Much of this research is done hand in hand with the testing equipment companies. Keeping an eye on what’s happening in the testing/measurement market shows clearly the investments being made for the future.</p>
  350.  
  351.  
  352.  
  353. <span id="more-8225"></span>
  354.  
  355.  
  356.  
  357. <p>In the past, much testing and measurement was done to prove that hardware could operate at advertised speeds under complex workloads. One of the best instances of this was the testing of Ethernet hardware in the early market – fully meshed line rate claims were put to the test and compatibility bake-offs were common. That is just one example of many where testing and measurement was used at the enterprise level and beyond.</p>
  358.  
  359.  
  360.  
  361. <p>The testing and measurement market has been changing for some time. Testing technologies like Ethernet hardware for enterprises is still important but has become more mature along with Ethernet itself. What used to require specialized testing solutions can now be done with open-source software tools and off-the-shelf servers, network interface cards (NICs) and switches from white box vendors. For organizations that don’t want to DIY testing, hardware from test and measurement vendors is available, mostly used by the largest of enterprises.</p>
  362.  
  363.  
  364.  
  365. <p>Today, test and measurement have new frontiers – some of them literally out of this world. Satellite communications, for example, are incredibly complex. Low Earth orbit constellation satellite networks such as Starlink provide broadband connections but also have complex networks of inter-satellite communication. The next generation of cellular technologies, called 6G, requires not only performance and interoperability testing, but also emulation and scenario simulations. The communications systems in cars are changing, many of those to Ethernet, and those systems must be not only environmentally hardened, but secure and reliable, requiring considerable testing by automotive manufacturers. New networks to support AI/ML applications for both training and execution need complex traffic and scenario emulation as well as improvements in bandwidth, such as 1.6TB Ethernet. On top of that, the defense industry has new uses for testing in communications, location, as well as cybersecurity. The impact of IT technologies that are growing beyond IT is staggering and shows the need for advanced test and measurement. This need goes beyond just development and deployment testing – it can also encompass ongoing testing to support existing systems and enhancements.</p>
  366.  
  367.  
  368.  
  369. <p>The companies in this space have the same ups and downs other technology companies have and they must make strategic decisions on where to invest so they are ready to bring the latest technology to market. Some of the important names in testing and measurement in the communications and IT technology space are Keysight, Viavi, National Instruments, and Fortive.</p>
  370.  
  371.  
  372.  
  373. <p>To some, the test and measurement space is going into accelerated consolidation to just a few big vendors. According to the GlobalData Deal Trends database, there have been over 20 acquisitions in this space since 2020 and numerous asset purchases and partnerships. There are larger and smaller test and measurement firms – but if the number of startups, open-source offerings, and the amount of innovation is taken into account, the test and measurement space is simply going through the transitions that every part of the tech market goes through. The need to test the latest technological innovation is simply too widespread for any single company to dominate through buying their way to the top.</p>
  374.  
  375.  
  376.  
  377. <p>Test and measurement companies and solutions can be an important guide for IT leaders to help them predict where the market is going to and even bring in ideas on how they can use some of these technologies in their own IT or OT deployments.</p>
  378. ]]></content:encoded>
  380. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/16/peek-into-the-future-by-following-test-and-measurement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  381. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  385. <media:content url="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/380428afec082de949163e63fc4f8f2ee26faa7e0b2bf021de7133f8e7a48e17?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  386. <media:title type="html">sschuchart</media:title>
  387. </media:content>
  388.  
  389. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2019-schuchart-headshot-cropped-e1592347360283.jpg?w=106" medium="image" />
  390. </item>
  391. <item>
  392. <title>Google Cloud Next 2024: Google Under Pressure Leads with Engineering-Driven Reputation</title>
  393. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/15/google-cloud-next-2024-google-under-pressure-leads-with-engineering-driven-reputation/</link>
  394. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/15/google-cloud-next-2024-google-under-pressure-leads-with-engineering-driven-reputation/#respond</comments>
  396. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Charlotte Dunlap]]></dc:creator>
  397. <pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2024 14:45:36 +0000</pubDate>
  398. <category><![CDATA[Cloud Enable]]></category>
  399. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8221</guid>
  400.  
  401. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • Google leads mega developer conference with its engineering-driven developer reputation. • Key dev tools include Google’s Gemini Code Assist and Vertex AI Agent Builder. Google was heavily scrutinized during the Google Cloud Next conference, particularly after 2023’s fumble during its foray into the generative AI (GenAI) space when, during a public GenAI &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/15/google-cloud-next-2024-google-under-pressure-leads-with-engineering-driven-reputation/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Google Cloud Next 2024: Google Under Pressure Leads with Engineering-Driven Reputation</span></a>]]></description>
  402. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  403. <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/mug.dunlap.102221.png"><img loading="lazy" width="91" height="123" data-attachment-id="6831" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/key-takeaways-from-kubecon-deeper-focus-on-finops-gitops/mug-dunlap-102221/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/mug.dunlap.102221.png" data-orig-size="91,123" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="mug.Dunlap.102221" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;C. Dunlap&lt;br /&gt;
  404. Research Director&lt;/p&gt;
  405. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/mug.dunlap.102221.png?w=91" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/mug.dunlap.102221.png?w=91" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/mug.dunlap.102221.png?w=91" alt="" class="wp-image-6831" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">C. Dunlap
  406. Research Director</figcaption></figure>
  407.  
  408.  
  409.  
  410. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  411.  
  412.  
  413.  
  414. <p>• Google leads mega developer conference with its engineering-driven developer reputation.</p>
  415.  
  416.  
  417.  
  418. <p>• Key dev tools include Google’s Gemini Code Assist and Vertex AI Agent Builder.</p>
  419.  
  420.  
  421.  
  422. <p>Google was heavily scrutinized during the Google Cloud Next conference, particularly after 2023’s fumble during its foray into the generative AI (GenAI) space when, during a public GenAI demo, Google Bard returned a highly publicized inappropriate response. The company’s clear directive during its mega developer conference, Google Cloud Next, was to demonstrate its key role in the industry’s hottest emerging technology alongside GenAI and hyperscaler leaders. Its strategy: appeal to its strong following of enterprise developers where it has long established an engineering-driven reputation (through innovations such as cloud-native’s greatest open-source software technology to date, Kubernetes). Its messaging was around a Google Gemini-backed development initiative to make coding, platforms, and operations superior.</p>
  423.  
  424.  
  425.  
  426. <span id="more-8221"></span>
  427.  
  428.  
  429.  
  430. <p>Google maintains a portfolio of competitive developer tools through a long-standing brain trust of researchers. Its tools cater to savvy developers, which leverage the cloud provider’s innovations from TensorFlow to Kubernetes to tackle complex app modernization. Google has made significant strides in recent years through new strategies and advanced innovations around ML, AI, GenAI, hybrid cloud, cybersecurity, automation, and API management/integration to support emerging development architectures such as serverless computing (via Cloud Run). Numerous announcements within the Vertex AI initiative address sophisticated tools from Google with advanced capabilities aimed at enhancing customer experience while quickening app development and deployment efforts. These include:</p>
  431.  
  432.  
  433.  
  434. <p>&#8211; Gemini Code Assist, Google’s cornerstone method for developing apps with AI assistance, including an AI code completion and assistance tool. It lets developers build applications in various IDEs, languages, and environments (and is enhanced when coupled with Gemini 1.5 Pro with its huge one billion token context window).&nbsp;<em>Note, Code Assist replaces the Duet AI brand rolled out in 2023 and competes with rivals’ Copilot offerings.</em></p>
  435.  
  436.  
  437.  
  438. <p>&#8211; Gemini Cloud Assist brings AI assistance to team members within a DevOps model for helping manage the application lifecycle including capabilities such as diagnosing root causes and managing cloud costs.</p>
  439.  
  440.  
  441.  
  442. <p>&#8211; CodeGemma LLMs provide advanced coding capabilities for Python, JavaScript, Java, etc. developers, supporting intelligent and accurate code generation (based on massive datasets).</p>
  443.  
  444.  
  445.  
  446. <p>&#8211; Google’s Vertex AI Agent Builder is a compelling new tool for building conversational agents, grounded in public data sources (via Google search) or enterprise data (via Vertex AI Search). Low coders can access the tool via natural language while pro coders can leverage open-source frameworks to create complex implementations.</p>
  447.  
  448.  
  449.  
  450. <p>Going forward, Google’s broad acceptance as the world&#8217;s leader in search capabilities make it an obvious platform leader for GenAI solutions, further helping its cause in the cloud wars against Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). In past years, Google&#8217;s focus on driving its lagging cloud business by becoming an enterprise-first company is primarily fulfilled through Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The company is continuing to demonstrate how its platform services integrate smoothly with other popular industry platforms and third-party SaaS offerings (via GCP Marketplace and a growing list of key technology partnerships) to deliver a solid cloud value chain, capable of providing a smooth migration to the cloud, via a more affordable alternative to established popular clouds.<br>For more details on Google Cloud Next 2024, including additional updates on Google’s infrastructure releases (e.g., next-generation TPUs), Gemini 1.5 Pro, and its first custom Arm-based CPU chipset, Axion, for the data center, please see: <a href="https://technology.globaldata.com/Analysis/details/Google-Cloud-Next-2024-Google-Leads-with-its-Engineeringdriven-Developer-Reputation130119"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-purple-color">Google Cloud Next 2024: Google Leads with its Engineering-driven Developer Reputation</mark></a>, April 11, 2024.</p>
  451. ]]></content:encoded>
  453. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/15/google-cloud-next-2024-google-under-pressure-leads-with-engineering-driven-reputation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  454. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  458. <media:content url="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/90ece5f9c80a433fd58329ed4e16d571bcd35bed117868b644d9f61bdbd36c53?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  459. <media:title type="html">itcblogcdunlap</media:title>
  460. </media:content>
  461.  
  462. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/mug.dunlap.102221.png?w=91" medium="image" />
  463. </item>
  464. <item>
  465. <title>Orange Business Flux Vision Uses AI to Address Sustainability Challenges</title>
  466. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/09/orange-business-flux-vision-uses-ai-to-address-sustainability-challenges/</link>
  467. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/09/orange-business-flux-vision-uses-ai-to-address-sustainability-challenges/#respond</comments>
  469. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Rob Pritchard]]></dc:creator>
  470. <pubDate>Tue, 09 Apr 2024 22:19:10 +0000</pubDate>
  471. <category><![CDATA[Big Data]]></category>
  472. <category><![CDATA[IT Leader]]></category>
  473. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8218</guid>
  474.  
  475. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • Orange Business has enhanced its Flux Vision real-time population flow observation tool with measurement of carbon footprints produced by the movement of people and goods. • Using anonymized technical data points and AI-driven analysis, it helps local authorities, and tourism, distribution, and transport customers address sustainability challenges and save money. Orange Business &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/09/orange-business-flux-vision-uses-ai-to-address-sustainability-challenges/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Orange Business Flux Vision Uses AI to Address Sustainability&#160;Challenges</span></a>]]></description>
  476. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>
  477. <div class="ReportField">
  478. <p><figure data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_6636" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6636" style="width: 133px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="6636" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2021/11/09/vodafones-successful-partnership-strategy/r-pritchard-071521/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png" data-orig-size="133,137" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="R-Pritchard 071521" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;R. Pritchard&lt;/p&gt;
  479. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png?w=133" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png?w=133" class="size-full wp-image-6636" src="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png" alt="" width="133" height="137" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-6636" class="wp-caption-text">R. Pritchard</figcaption></figure></p>
  480. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  481. <p>• Orange Business has enhanced its Flux Vision real-time population flow observation tool with measurement of carbon footprints produced by the movement of people and goods.</p>
  482. <p>• Using anonymized technical data points and AI-driven analysis, it helps local authorities, and tourism, distribution, and transport customers address sustainability challenges and save money.</p>
  483. <p>Orange Business Flux Vision is a real-time population flow observation tool that provides anonymized data from the company’s mobile network. Launched ten years ago, the GDPR-compliant solution helps in implementing development strategies by local authorities and customers in the tourism, distribution, and transport industries.</p>
  484. </div>
  485. </div>
  486. <p><span id="more-8218"></span></p>
  487. <div>
  488. <div class="ReportField">
  489. <p>On April 4 2024, Orange Business announced the integration of new indicators into its Flux Vision tool to measure the carbon footprint produced by the movement of people and goods. Flux Vision enables analysis of millions of anonymized technical data points in real time on the Orange consumer mobile network to provide data and trend analysis for target enterprise and government customers. Now it will also be able to provide data to help meet sustainability challenges.</p>
  490. <p>This analysis is enabled by innovations in AI to measure, evaluate, and identify effective actions to reduce carbon footprints – notably in the tourism and logistics industries. This includes algorithms to associate the mode of transport used to go to an event with the travel speed between antennae on the Orange mobile network. The data can then be combined with the CO2 emission factors linked to each type of transport, recovered from the Empreinte database, to assess the carbon footprint.</p>
  491. <p>Use case examples include Flux Vision indicators helping to improve the efficiency of intelligent public lighting by measuring visitor numbers every 30 minutes, and Flux Vision supporting and optimizing a waste prevention campaign on beaches by analyzing visitor numbers.</p>
  492. <p>Although far from exclusive to Orange and only using Orange’s data, there are growing numbers of such solutions (e.g., Virgin Media O2 Business recently announced a partnership with the UK Government’s Office for National Statistics for mobile user movement insights to be inform data-driven policy decisions), none of them is individually revolutionary, but when combined they demonstrate the potential for technology to enable improvements in reaching sustainability goals and reducing damage to the environment through greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).</p>
  493. <p>Also, to address those who are more skeptical about climate change, there is always the argument that by using technology in a smart way it is possible to save costs through optimal use of electricity, and to help maximise enterprise customer satisfaction by providing information to optimize their cost base and revenue opportunities.</p>
  494. <p>Once again, tech-enabled ESG is making a continued contribution to meeting the vital challenges of climate change – especially as March 2024 has officially been reported to be the hottest on record.</p>
  495. </div>
  496. </div>
  497. ]]></content:encoded>
  499. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/04/09/orange-business-flux-vision-uses-ai-to-address-sustainability-challenges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  500. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  504. <media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b1f19414314b51457f5e91f5ca834b469346c9a6b1b3c3e55406d09703eff4ec?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  505. <media:title type="html">robertpritchardglobaldatacom</media:title>
  506. </media:content>
  507.  
  508. <media:content url="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/r-pritchard-071521.png" medium="image" />
  509. </item>
  510. <item>
  511. <title>The White House Warns US Governors of Serious Threats to Critical Water Infrastructure</title>
  512. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/03/29/the-white-house-warns-us-governors-of-serious-threats-to-critical-water-infrastructure/</link>
  513. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/03/29/the-white-house-warns-us-governors-of-serious-threats-to-critical-water-infrastructure/#respond</comments>
  515. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Amy Larsen DeCarlo]]></dc:creator>
  516. <pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:54:08 +0000</pubDate>
  517. <category><![CDATA[Secure]]></category>
  518. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8215</guid>
  519.  
  520. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • US government officials are advising state governors that drinking water and wastewater systems are under threat. • Recent attacks carried out by bad actors working on behalf of the Iranian and Chinese governments used different techniques to breach critical infrastructure; the government expects more to come. A letter from the White House &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/03/29/the-white-house-warns-us-governors-of-serious-threats-to-critical-water-infrastructure/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">The White House Warns US Governors of Serious Threats to Critical Water&#160;Infrastructure</span></a>]]></description>
  521. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  522. <figure class="alignright size-full"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="300" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/about/decarlo-70100/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg" data-orig-size="70,100" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="decarlo-70100" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;Amy Larsen DeCarlo &#8211; Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services&lt;/p&gt;
  523. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg?w=70" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg?w=70" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-300" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amy Larsen DeCarlo &#8211; Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services</figcaption></figure></div>
  524.  
  525.  
  526. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  527.  
  528.  
  529.  
  530. <p>• US government officials are advising state governors that drinking water and wastewater systems are under threat.</p>
  531.  
  532.  
  533.  
  534. <p>• Recent attacks carried out by bad actors working on behalf of the Iranian and Chinese governments used different techniques to breach critical infrastructure; the government expects more to come. A letter from the White House included a link to guidance on what security controls water systems should have in place.</p>
  535.  
  536.  
  537.  
  538. <p>Concerns about attacks on critical infrastructure are nothing new, but recent events have shown that bad actors are becoming more brazen. A survey conducted by Mitre and the Harris Corporation in February 2024 found that 81% of 2,046 Americans reported concern about critical infrastructure safety and security. Drinking water and wastewater systems are particularly attractive targets to attackers because they are essential to the population and typically under-secured.</p>
  539.  
  540.  
  541.  
  542. <span id="more-8215"></span>
  543.  
  544.  
  545.  
  546. <p>While the level of alarm about threats to critical infrastructure has ratcheted up in recent years, there is evidence that bad actors are becoming bolder in their efforts to permeate water systems. This month, the White House sent a letter to all 50 US governors alerting them to specific threats from two nation-state-affiliated bad actors. The White House noted that the Iranian Government Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) and a state-sponsored hacking group, Volt Typhoon, associated with the People’s Republic of China, both breached US water systems within the last six months. In the case of the former, the IRGC capitalized on a facility&#8217;s failure to change the default manufacturing password to access a water system. The prevailing thought on Volt Typhoon is that the cybercriminals breached critical infrastructure to pre-position themselves to disturb water systems in the event of political or military conflicts.</p>
  547.  
  548.  
  549.  
  550. <p>As with other sectors that underinvest in information technology, water systems and other areas of critical infrastructure, such as energy utilities, often lack essential IT and operational technology security controls. These utilities also often lack personnel resources to identify and mitigate security incidents. The letter included links to Environmental Protection Agency and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) resources specifically targeted toward water systems.</p>
  551.  
  552.  
  553.  
  554. <p>These resources include training, consultative help, tools, and technical support, starting with the most basic security practices. The agencies outline foundational training and controls including training staff to recognize and dodge phishing schemes, the use of strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and ensuring software is up to date. The EPA and CISA-provided toolkit also offer vulnerability assessment support and promises to adapt and add new resources for water and wastewater utilities based on the changing threat landscape.</p>
  555. ]]></content:encoded>
  557. <wfw:commentRss>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/03/29/the-white-house-warns-us-governors-of-serious-threats-to-critical-water-infrastructure/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  558. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  562. <media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/ba853eb7204f18043ebcbdb9c009166b95f966fce4a9074fc10bdd3c940dfc2e?s=96&#38;d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  563. <media:title type="html">adecarlo</media:title>
  564. </media:content>
  565.  
  566. <media:content url="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/decarlo-70100.jpg" medium="image" />
  567. </item>
  568. <item>
  569. <title>Mobile Operators Announce Few New Private Network Services but Note Diverse Trials and Customers</title>
  570. <link>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/03/20/mobile-operators-announce-few-new-private-network-services-but-note-diverse-trials-and-customers/</link>
  571. <comments>https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/03/20/mobile-operators-announce-few-new-private-network-services-but-note-diverse-trials-and-customers/#respond</comments>
  573. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Kitty Weldon]]></dc:creator>
  574. <pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2024 20:14:53 +0000</pubDate>
  575. <category><![CDATA[Mobilize]]></category>
  576. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://itconnection.wordpress.com/?p=8212</guid>
  577.  
  578. <description><![CDATA[Summary Bullets: • Since October 2023, there have been few public announcements of new private wireless services or enhanced capabilities of existing services from key mobile operators in the US and Europe. • However, operators have announced interesting new trials or commercial launches of private 5G, expanding use cases in verticals that ranged from automotive &#8230; <a href="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/2024/03/20/mobile-operators-announce-few-new-private-network-services-but-note-diverse-trials-and-customers/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Mobile Operators Announce Few New Private Network Services but Note Diverse Trials and&#160;Customers</span></a>]]></description>
  579. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  580. <figure class="alignright size-full"><a href="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="303" data-permalink="https://itconnection.wordpress.com/about/kweldon-70100/" data-orig-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg" data-orig-size="70,100" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="kweldon-70100" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="&lt;p&gt;Kathryn Weldon &#8211; Research Director, Business Network and IT Services &#8211; Americas&lt;/p&gt;
  581. " data-medium-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg?w=70" data-large-file="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg?w=70" src="https://itconnection.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/kweldon-70100.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-303" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kathryn Weldon &#8211; Research Director, Business Network and IT Services &#8211; Americas</figcaption></figure></div>
  582.  
  583.  
  584. <p>Summary Bullets:</p>
  585.  
  586.  
  587.  
  588. <p>• Since October 2023, there have been few public announcements of new private wireless services or enhanced capabilities of existing services from key mobile operators in the US and Europe.</p>
  589.  
  590.  
  591.  
  592. <p>• However, operators have announced interesting new trials or commercial launches of private 5G, expanding use cases in verticals that ranged from automotive to retail, heavy industry, event venues, universities, ports, and utilities.</p>
  593.  
  594.  
  595.  
  596. <p><strong>Recent PCN Announcements</strong></p>
  597.  
  598.  
  599.  
  600. <span id="more-8212"></span>
  601.  
  602.  
  603.  
  604. <p><strong>US Operators</strong><br><strong>Verizon</strong>&nbsp;Business is building a private 5G environment for an Audi AG automotive test track in Germany using multiple cores, radio frequencies and technologies to replicate connectivity environments on public roads across the world. The test track will be equipped with a dual 5G/LTE modular private wireless platform (Nokia), private MEC capability (AWS), real-time video and data technology (Smart Mobile Labs), C-V2X communication, and mobile/automotive applications for voice, data, autonomous mobility, and safety. Verizon Business and Zebra Technologies also launched device and software solutions to accelerate private 5G. Zebra Technologies packaged solutions enable frontline workers to manage projects and communications on jobsites. Select devices have multi-SIM capability for transition between an authenticated private network and Verizon’s public network. Zebra Technologies’ rugged enterprise tablets and mobile computers are purpose-built to simplify processes for frontline workers in transportation and logistics, retail, and manufacturing. Verizon Business further expanded deals for private 5G at the Port of Virginia with a new network at Norfolk International Terminal. The network includes Verizon Push to Talk Plus and highlights Verizon Private 5G’s scalability and applicability in data-rich industrial environments. It will cover 270 acres of the Norfolk International Terminal campus with dedicated spectrum, replacing outdoor WiFi and enabling secure, voice, text, and data communication.</p>
  605.  
  606.  
  607.  
  608. <p><strong>T-Mobile</strong>&nbsp;recently described its network slicing initiatives as reinforcing its leadership position in private 5G, noting that it is now being used to help businesses or big events requiring a guaranteed level of speed and reliability. It pointed to November 2023’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, in which T-Mobile set up a private network to connect 230 concession terminals at the venue to backend systems, enabling consumers to buy food without network hiccups, and supporting a high level of financial activity. T-Mobile also became the first US operator to integrate with private network CBRS infrastructure provider Celona for access to the latter’s neutral host service. T-Mobile customers (using its ‘bring your own connection’ option) using the service will see better connectivity, faster data speeds in-building, and seamless connectivity as they walk in and out of a facility.</p>
  609.  
  610.  
  611.  
  612. <p><strong>European Operators</strong><br><strong>Deutsche Telekom</strong>&nbsp;tested its “cell tower to go” with enterprises, offering flexible mobile coverage for company premises, large construction sites, or events. Companies are testing the prototype for free with a commercial offer slated later in 2024. The growing demand for mobile communication requires always-available reliable coverage. This also applies to short-term requirements at festivals or large construction sites. Deutsche Telekom developed a prototype, the &#8220;cell-tower-to-go,&#8221; which has become a customer favorite with a dozen companies testing the solution. Deutsche Telekom further deployed a 5G standalone campus network for the Helmut Schmidt University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg (Germany). Partners from science and industry will also use the 5G test bed to trial digital applications. The university is researching the use of wireless connections for industrial production and business processes as well as the interplay between real-time networking of sensors, actuators, and cyber-physical systems.</p>
  613.  
  614.  
  615.  
  616. <p><strong>BT</strong>&nbsp;and Ericsson went live at the Port of Tyne for the UK’s first site-wide 5G private network deployment, using smart port technology across the estate. Future 5G-enabled applications are set to include autonomous vehicles, survey drones, smart surveillance, AI, and extended reality (XR). Low-latency connectivity will fuel a long-term vision to streamline operations, improve safety, reduce carbon emissions, and drive innovation in the maritime industry.</p>
  617.  
  618.  
  619.  
  620. <p><strong>O2 Telefonica</strong>&nbsp;Germany is equipping a new multifunctional SAP Garden sports arena in Munich (Germany) with a modern 5G network. Sports fans at the 11,500-seat venue in Munich&#8217;s Olympic Park will benefit from high data transfer rates and short response times when surfing the O2 Telefónica network. O2 Telefónica will also provide its partner, Red Bull Stadion München with a private 5G network via the mobile infrastructure, enabling digital applications such as real-time analytics and offering guaranteed bandwidth for TV cameras.</p>
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  624. <p><strong>Orange</strong>&nbsp;Jordan established the first private 5G network in Jordan for the Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT). The network will serve ACT&#8217;s business requirements with the latest technologies and solutions, utilizing Orange&#8217;s global expertise. Orange Jordan became the first communications provider in Jordan, as well as within the Orange Group in the Middle East and Africa, to deploy a private 5G network for business customers. The network in Aqaba will contribute to the attractiveness and competitiveness of the port area and offer an unprecedented quality of service to ACT in the industrial-port zone with the possibility to develop new use cases.</p>
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  628. <p><strong>Vodafone</strong>&nbsp;Business and Snam, Europe&#8217;s leader in natural gas, developed a hybrid 5G mobile private bringing connectivity to 23 of Snam’s plants. Snam is on a mission to guarantee stable and safe supplies of sustainable energy to help accelerate energy transition in Italy. Vodafone also deployed a 5G standalone private network at a Ford production plant in Valencia (Spain). The network will enable Ford to optimize production processes at its Almussafes (Spain) factory as well as those of suppliers. Vodafone Germany announced it is setting up a private 5G campus network for BASF Schwarzheide at its Lausitz (Germany) production site. The campus network will be ready by the end of 2024. Potential applications include enabling real-time communication between sensors, machines, robots, and drones.</p>
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