Why CIOs Are Quickly Prioritizing Analytics, Cloud and Mobile

Customers are quickly reinventing how they choose to learn about new products, keep current on existing ones, and stay loyal to those brands they most value. The best-run companies are all over this, orchestrating their IT strategies to be as responsive as possible.

The luxury of long technology evaluation cycles, introspective analysis of systems, and long deployment timeframes are giving way to rapid deployments and systems designed for accuracy and speed.

CIOs need to be just as strong at strategic planning and execution as they are at technology. Many are quickly prioritizing analytics, cloud and mobile strategies to stay in step with their rapidly changing customer bases. This is especially true for those companies with less than $1B in sales, as analytics, cloud computing and mobility can be combined to compete very effectively against their much bigger rivals.

What’s Driving CIOs – A Look At Technology Priorities

Gartner’s annual survey of CIOs includes 2,300 respondents located in 44 countries, competing in all major industries. As of the last annual survey, the three-highest rated priorities for investment from 2012 to 2015 included Analytics and Business Intelligence (BI), Mobile Technologies and Cloud Computing.

Source: From the Gartner Report Market Insight: Technology Opens Up Opportunities in SMB Vertical Markets September 6, 2012 by Christine Arcaris, Jeffrey Roster

How Industries Prioritize Analytics, Cloud and Mobile

When these priorities are analyzed across eight key industries, patterns emerge showing how the communications, media and services (CMS) and manufacturing industries have the highest immediate growth potential for mobility (Next 2 years). In Big Data/BI, Financial Services is projected to be the fastest-developing industry and in Cloud computing, CMS and Government.

In analyzing this and related data, a profile of early adopter enterprises emerges. These are companies who are based on knowledge-intensive business models, have created and excel at running virtual organization structures, rely on mobility to connect with and build relationships with customers, and have deep analytics expertise. In short, their business models take the best of what mobility, Big Data/BI and cloud computing have to offer and align it to their strategic plans and programs. The following figure, Vertical Industry Growth by Technology Over the Next Five Years, shows the prioritization and relative growth by industry.

Source: From the Gartner Report Market Insight: Technology Opens Up Opportunities in SMB Vertical Markets September 6, 2012 by Christine Arcaris, Jeffrey Roster

How Mobility Could Emerge As the Trojan Horse of Enterprise Software

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), the rapid ascent of enterprise application stores, and the high expectations customers have of continual mobile app usability and performance improvements are just three of many factors driving mobility growth.

Just as significant is the success many mid-tier companies are having in competing with their larger, more globally-known rivals using mobile-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM), warranty management, service and spare parts procurement strategies. What smaller competitors lack in breadth they are more than making up for in speed and responsiveness. Gartner’s IT Market Clock for Enterprise Mobility, 2012 captures how mobility is changing the nature of competition.

Source: IT Market Clock for Enterprise Mobility, 2012 Published: 10 September 2012 Analyst(s): Monica Basso

Bottom Line – By excelling at the orchestration of analytics, cloud and mobile, enterprises can differentiate where it matters most – by delivering an excellent customer experience. Mobility can emerge as an enterprise Trojan Horse because it unleashes accuracy, precision and speed into customer-facing processes that larger, complacent competitors may have overlooked.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2012/09/16/why-cios-are-quickly-prioritizing-analytics-cloud-and-mobile/?utm_source=allactivity&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=20120917 9/16/2012 @ 11:20PM | Louis Columbus , ContributorHighstone Tower,

Unified access layer for wired and wireless LAN with HP – Part 9: Hotspot evolution PoV

Imagine no longer having to toy with passwords to get your phone or tablet onto the hotel’s Wi-Fi network. Imagine being able to automatically roam from 3G to a local hotspot without needing to select a Wi-Fi network, enter some form of credentials and click connect. Add to that that many public hotspots are open, meaning there is no encryption of the wireless traffic, posing potential security threats. Fortunately help is at hand. A new Wi-Fi experience that is as secure and easy as to use as cellular is just around the corner.

The exponential growth of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and increasing demand for bandwidth-intensive applications are causing a surge in data traffic that mobile networks cannot keep pace with causing frustration for users who have to contend with low bandwidth connections. Even though mobile network operators are planning to invest in new capacity in the form of LTE services, the gains of LTE won’t be sufficient to meet the increased demand for mobile data.

Mobile network operators now recognize that Wi-Fi plays a pivotal role in the future of mobile communication services and complements their core network services by offering dual benefits, offloading data from their congested 3G/4G networks and increasing customer satisfaction.

While it might be easy for mobile users like you and me to configure an automatic connection to frequently used Wi-Fi services at home or work, getting a connection in a public space can be a cumbersome and frustrating experience. Even though the number hotspot connections continue to grow, the percentage of mobile subscribers who use hotspots on a regular basis remains relatively low. Improving that hotspot experience will increase use while providing operators with an immediate opportunity to offload traffic from their mobile network.

New features with IEEE 802.11u standard

The IEEE 802.11u standard enables new features designed to improve network selection, authentication and roaming. In combination with the WPA2 and EAP enhancements, 802.11u promises to deliver a Wi-Fi connectivity experience that is comparable to that of cellular networks. The 802.11u standard enables a mobile device to automatically query an access point to determine the services it offers including network type e.g. private, free or fee-based, hotspot operator’s name, roaming partners and credentials supported. This means that if your device detects that an access point offers Wi-Fi services that you are entitled to use you can automatically authenticate to the network.

The Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) recently launched a new certification program that targets a new generation of hotspots by leveraging 802.11u capabilities to enable a seamless connection experience for Wi-Fi networks operated by service providers

Welcome Wi-Fi Certified PasspointTM

Passpoint was launched in June 2012. The first phase of certification program combines the network discovery and selection features of 802.11u with the encryption and authentication features of WPA2 and EAP already defined by the WiFi Alliance. There are a limited number of certified devices and access points today but it is expected that many more will become available in the coming months. The second phase of the program is still under development and will add the online creation of a subscription while the user is at a hotspot and enable key policy management features for hotspot operators around the middle of 2013.

HP Networking has a rich history of providing Wi-Fi solutions for hotspot and other public access applications. HP’s products are installed in the world’s leading hotel brands, “hot zones” in major metropolitan, marinas and mass transit hubs and HP will support 802.11u on its MSM access points.

While the next generation hot spot will deliver a seamless Wi-Fi experience that benefits both end users and operators the broader adoption of Passpoint will largely depend on software support on client devices. Currently the number of devices that support Passpoint is very limited, and the general consensus is that it will be around mid-2013 by the time next generation hotspots deployment becomes more widespread.

Source: http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/HP-Networking/Unified-access-layer-for-wired-and-wireless-LAN-with-HP-Part-9/ba-p/121547  By Martine Velkeniers

Atos Worldline launches ready-to-go, NFC Mobile Wallet

Spectrum refarming at 1800 MHz key to LTE device adoption

A new study by Wireless Intelligence highlights the need for device manufacturers to prioritise the development of 4G LTE devices compatible with the 1800 MHz spectrum band. Refarmed spectrum, mainly in the 1800 MHz band, currently accounts for almost 40 percent of the global LTE market and will continue to do so over the next four years, the study says.

Wireless Intelligence estimates that global LTE connections stand at 39 million as of Q3 2012, comprising 93 live networks, including both the FDD and TDD variants. By 2016, the global LTE market is forecast to increase to over 500 million connections via more than 200 networks. However, LTE adoption is dependent on how much new spectrum mobile operators can acquire in the digital dividend and IMT-extension bands as well as how much existing 2G/3G spectrum they can refarm to use for 4G services.

Regulators and governments play a critical role in the adoption of LTE networks as they make these network capacity solutions available. However, the uncertainty surrounding regulatory decisions and the complex fragmentation of LTE frequencies at national and regional levels continue to negatively impact the development of LTE-compatible consumer devices.

The digital dividend band (700-800 MHz) currently accounts for 57 percent of global LTE connections, mainly due to the aggressive rollouts underway in North America. In contrast, the IMT-extension band (2500-2600 MHz) only supports 5 percent of global LTE connections with most deployments in this band located in Western and Northern Europe. Meanwhile, the spectrum refarming scenario accounts for 38 percent of the current global LTE market, of which over half (53 percent) relates to the 1800 MHz band. This refarming trend is allowing operators to introduce LTE prior to the allocation of additional spectrum by regulators.

There are 27 live LTE networks worldwide supporting the 1800 MHz band to date. Last month, UK regulator Ofcom gave permission for the country’s market leader Everything Everywhere to deploy LTE using its existing 1800 MHz band currently used for 2G services. This decision effectively gives the operator a 12-month head start over its rivals, which will have to wait for fresh 800/2600 MHz auctions later this year. Ofcom said its decision was partly motivated by the availability of 1800 MHz-compatible LTE consumer devices, a band not usually supported in HSPA equipment in the UK.

Wireless Intelligence expects that the share of global LTE connections using refarmed spectrum today (38 percent) will remain relatively stable over the next four years – despite regulatory moves to enable more operator LTE deployments in the IMT-extension and digital dividend bands. By 2016, Wireless Intelligence forecasts that all three spectrum scenarios will account for roughly similar shares of the global LTE market (one third each).

Source: http://www.mobilebusinessbriefing.com/articles/spectrum-refarming-at-1800-mhz-key-to-lte-device-adoption/25198 06 Sep 2012

Leading Accountants, Deloitte, Reckon That Aggregate Smartphone Traffic In 2015 Will Be 47 Times Higher Than It Is These Days

Leading accountants, Deloitte, reckon that aggregate smartphone traffic in 2015 will be 47 times higher than it is these days. This exponential price of development is just 1 reason why the volume of data visitors passing throughout cellular networks is threatening to jam up the whole method.

How the cellular operators are heading to satisfy this urgent problem is a matter for intense debate with the whole concept of ” internet neutrality ” becoming called into query. If issues get to the point exactly where companies begin to give precedence to some solutions over other people, then obviously the neutrality which has so significantly endured will be seriously compromised. Operators may very well be tempted to prioritise traffic based on time sensitivity with live football scores, for instance, being offered priority more than emails.

The other alternative is to make investments significantly much more in expanding network capacities but this would inevitably require to be financed to a big extent by phone customers who will be expected to pay more based on their individual use.

While all this is going on, assist may quickly begin to arrive from an not likely source in the form of a lot quicker speeds and much larger capacity across the broadband network. The large fibre optic players like Fujitsu, working in tandem with Cisco, are poised to unleash major advances in web speeds and capability which would open up up the Web as an option voie along which to channel far much more voice and information traffic and provide significant reduction to the beleaguered airwaves.

Technology to divert visitors more than the Internet currently exists and one piece of kit, a “femtocell” of the type created by major telecoms equipment producers, can be produced cheaply and in big numbers. 1 of the cellular giants has already introduced femtocells to customers since they also have the additional advantage of supplying 5 bar signal strength in buildings such as homes and small offices where reception is erratic.

A femtocell functions like a miniature base station and produces a cellphone network inside a building. It is about the dimension of a domestic router or paperback book and, when linked to the Web, it diverts data and voice traffic down the wires instead of throughout congested airwaves. Considering how stretched the cellular networks are getting, every femtocell consequently acts like a storm drain relieving pressure on the method. The research firm, Berg Insight, estimates that femtocell shipments attained nearly 2 million by the end of 2010, a determine which they project ought to reach 12 million units globally in 2014.

Admittedly, consumers advantage from having five bar sign strength inside a range of about ten metres but, by buying a femtocell, they are, in impact, having to pay to assist solve their carrier’s capacity issues. One can only speculate as to whether or not the mobile operators will soon decide to distribute femtocells totally free of charge. Since two/3rds of cellular traffic originates or terminates in the home or workplace, having all this travelling more than higher speed broadband at the customer’s expense would certainly have a obvious impact on the volumes passing across the mobile networks.

Source: http://www.networksasia.net/content/iphone-device-could-contribute-15gb-traffic-corporate-network On September 18

An iPhone device could contribute 15GB of traffic to the corporate network

Every iPhone 5 device has the potential to contribute 15GB of traffic to the corporate network, estimates Blue Coat.

“The iPhone has really put businesses on the defensive. It’s a case where consumer IT is driving business, and businesses are trying to figure out what to do,” says Blue Coat Senior Director of Product Marketing, Mark Urban. “Leading companies are utilizing iPads and iPhones to be more mobile, more flexible, but the majority of businesses are in reaction mode.”

Some estimates predict Apple will sell 10 million iPhone 5s in the weeks following the announcement. The traffic contributed by each iPhone “hits the bottom line for businesses and in some cases can mean a doubling of telecom service budgets and disruption to business processes.”

Urban says that businesses need to balance the demand for access to the corporate network against the impact those devices have on the network. “By being able to differentiate business applications and prioritize them, businesses have the breathing room to embrace personal devices without breaking the bank,” notes Urban.

iPhone5 Strikes a Compromise

The newly launched iPhone5 (actually the sixth version of its ever popular smartphone) is on the surface very similar to leaked images that have surfaced in recent months.

“The device highlights the inherent risks involved in Apple’s strategy of only releasing one device at a time, in that it always has to strike a compromise that is most likely to appeal to a wide base of users,” says Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum. “The new device strikes that compromise most dramatically in the increased vertical height.”

With many Android and Windows Phone devices now significantly larger than the iPhone 4S and gaining popularity, the pressure has grown on Apple to release a larger device. By only increasing the vertical height, it’s created a device that’s notably taller and thinner in aspect ratio than most of those Android devices, and as a result it will stand out, which may not be a good thing. While keeping the device small enough for some hands is important, many customers would have wanted something bigger, and they’ll be disappointed.

“On the other hand, the addition of LTE, the improvements in battery life, performance and the camera and so on will help the device appeal to existing iPhone users, and either close the gap or broaden its lead against competing devices,” says Dawson.

More Room for Improvements

Apple needs to do much more than the widely expected hardware revamp of the iPhone to lead in the smartphone market. This is according to Ovum’s new measure of success in the consumer technology industry – the Smart-Vendor Scorecard – which accompanies a 360-degree assessment of the major technology vendors’ capabilities and their influence over consumers and developers.

The global analyst firm expects that the new iPhone will be Apple’s most successful smartphone to-date. However, without a redesign of the iOS user experience and underlying software platform in the next two years, Apple will find itself in a position similar to Nokia and RIM, which found themselves with outdated smartphone platforms that needed replacing.

The analysis behind Ovum’s Smart-Vendor Scorecard suggests that if Apple miss-times this transition, it could lose large numbers of consumers along the way. The question for Apple is: will Tim Cook be brave enough to call time on the iPhone cash-cow in-time for a successful transition?

“Apple has successfully built the iPhone from a radical new entrant to the must-have smartphone. Whilst the company is still reaping the rewards of the brand equity of the iPhone, consumers are notoriously fickle when it comes to buying handsets,” says Adam Leach, leader of Ovum’s Devices and Platforms practice.

Leach adds that without the continued innovation which the market is accustomed to with Apple, the company risks losing consumer appeal. “The iPhone re-defined the smartphone category in 2007 but it can’t rely on past success to guarantee its future or rely on litigation to keep its competitors at bay,” he says.

Source: http://www.networksasia.net/content/iphone-device-could-contribute-15gb-traffic-corporate-network  Sep 18, 2012

MasterCard Offers Mobile Payment SDK to Developers

MasterCard today announced the availability of a new user interface software developer kit (SDK) that will help Android and BlackBerry 7 application developers write better mobile payment applications. Specifically, the SDK can help add MasterCard’s PayPass functionality to smartphones that have NFC (near-field communications) built in. According to MasterCard, the Mobile MasterCard PayPass UI SDK is “programmer friendly” and requires less coding expertise to use effectively when writing applications. The SDK is free to download and use.

September 17, 2012 | Amay