5G: The Carrier-Grade Digital Infrastructure for the Software-Defined Factory of the Future

With the advent of 5G there has been growing interest in what the next-generation mobile network technology means for industry. Operators and industrial OT (Operational Technology) players have been investigating the use cases and potential value that the 5G promises and technology can bring to manufacturing, supply chain and the factory of the future. It is commonly known and expected that 5G will bring about massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) and enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), but what do these use cases mean for manufacturers? Are these really the 5G promises that matter for the smart factory and the ongoing evolution of Industry 4.0?

Industry Insight: AT&T’s Alliances with Microsoft and IBM/Red Hat – A Tale of Two Clouds?

July has been a watershed month for AT&T as it enters into two major “cloud deals”, one with Microsoft and another with the newly merged IBM and Red Hat. At first glance, the two deals seem oddly contradictory – a collision of proprietary Microsoft cloud (although about half of Azure workloads run on top of Linux) with open source cloud from the combined IBM and Red Hat. But why two cloud deals? What makes them different? What does it mean for the companies involved?

Digital Transformation World 2019: Key Takeaways

neXt Curve was in Nice, France attending the premier global event for digital transformation in the telecommunications industry held from May 14th through May 16th and hosted by TM Forum.  Leading vendors and operators converged to discuss what it will take help the telecom industry reinvent itself and aid telecom service providers in becoming digital service providers.  Now that 5G has arrived in select markets around the globe, the pressure is on for telecom operators to transform their operating models to capture the value promised by the next generation network.

Tech Insight: Apple’s Not-So-Slow-Moving Coup of The Personal Computing World

While industry sages prognosticated the diminishing relevance of the tablet device category for the past three years as iPad and tablet sales slowed, Apple quietly amassed an installed base of over 400 million active iPads thanks to extended iOS device support. The newly announced iPad Pro is poised to bring about an inflection point in personal computing by changing the way we think of portable computing.

Industry Insight: Holistic Security is Key to Meet the Digital Security Threats of Today & Tomorrow

On October 4th, 2018, Bloomberg’s Businessweek released a report alleging that Chinese spies implanted a “malicious chip” into server motherboards assembled by Super Micro Computer Inc. (Supermicro), a U.S.-based Original Device Manufacturer (ODM) that manufactures servers used in hyperscale data centers.  Growing national security threats are increasingly putting enterprises at risk as the bare-metal of… Continue reading Industry Insight: Holistic Security is Key to Meet the Digital Security Threats of Today & Tomorrow

Industry Insight: Apple Ushers in The Next Big Thing in Device Security & Privacy – eSIM

While eSIM’s have been used in the Samsung Gear 2 3G, Google Pixel 2, iPad Pro (Apple SIM) and the Series 3 Apple Watch, the iPhone has the potential to accelerate the broader eSIM adoption among carriers across the globe laying the foundation for the next big thing in Internet of Things (IoT) endpoint privacy and security.

Industry Insight: Time Warner – AT&T’s Killer App

AT&T may have just been approved to acquire their “killer app”.  Of course, it’s still early days but the AT&T merger with Time Warner could usher in a new era of carrier-driven digital innovation and competitiveness that has eluded the telecommunication industry for more than a decade.

CES 2018: Key Takeaways

neXt Curve attended the largest consumer electronics trade show on the planet with over 180,000 in attendance to identify the deeper technology and market trends that are underlying the rapid evolution of our digital lives and are expressed in the new digitally-enabled consumer applications from smart homes, virtually reality to connected vehicles.

IoT Solutions World Congress 2017: Key Takeaways

IoT is still a widely confused topic for most businesses though the conversation has evolved a bit beyond sensors, connectivity and data.  We are starting to see practical business applications emerge from the world of Industrial IoT, which will likely provide the blueprint, platforms and solution patterns for consumer-facing IoT applications as well as Smart City, Smart Grid and Smart Transportation.