Stepping Out: 5G Finds Its Stride in 2019

Unified Communications, Network Security

Article | July 10, 2023

There is great potential for 5G to usher in significant near-term business impacts in the enterprise, and augmented reality (AR) applications will be the poster child that demonstrates the value of 5G. The sprawling footprints of industrial organizations are tailor-made for 5G. High-speed wireless data coverage will be available throughout dispersed industrial environments which simply can't be served via Wi-Fi alone. 5G cellular connectivity for field-based uses, including AR platforms that help frontline workers keep complex machinery in good working order, will be rapidly adopted. There are also many enterprises that have not deployed wireless infrastructure for cost or security reasons. The recent adoption of mobile digital tools by frontline workers to perform daily tasks and remote guidance makes 5G a valuable investment for these organizations. In many instances, 5G may be easier to deploy while delivering more functionality and higher security than Wi-Fi alone.

Enterprise Mobility

Article | June 15, 2023

Telecommunications conglomerate Verizon has partnered with 3D development platform Unity to create entertainment applications and enterprise toolkits that can render 3D environments almost instantaneously, without the need for expensive hardware. In a press release, Verizon said products from this collaboration will address the demand for instantaneous content in industries such as gaming, retail, and sports, where emphasis is placed on real-time digital immersion. “We are entering an era of technology-led disruption where 5G and MEC will not only transform the full enterprise lifecycle, it will change the way consumers experience gaming and entertainment,” said Verizon Chief Executive Officer Tami Erwin. These products will utilise 5G and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) technology, taking the best of both worlds to enhance the digital experience for consumers. The concept of edge computing has actually been around for roughly three decades, but it wasn't until recently that we've been able to apply it to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Edge architecture reduces latency by moving computer services closer to the source — the "edges" — of the data. This not only decongests the centralised cloud of information, but also decreases the distance the data needs to cover to reach user terminals. Meanwhile, 5G is the highly anticipated next generation broadband network that promises to deliver high speeds with just millisecond latencies. Despite the pandemic, its rollout hasn’t slowed down at all, with countries like China, South Korea, and the US getting a first taste of the technology. The promise of lightning-fast connections, however, comes at a steep cost: 5G stations consume plenty of energy to work. Though much of 5G's advantages come from its streamlined digital routing capabilities, it's also underpinned by a powerful network of hardware components — more precisely, printed circuit boards (PCBs). To answer the demand for more energy, engineers use ties to meet PCB requirements for solving the challenges that come with powering a standard board. These include considerations like signal paths and planar delays, among others. Placing the net ties at the right junctions distributes energy more evenly, thus providing efficient power delivery to 5G networks. Despite all the touted capabilities of 5G, experts have flagged cybersecurity as one major concern. As a new innovation, 5G is still fairly unregulated, leaving loopholes and security gaps that cyber criminals can exploit. For instance, the expansion of bandwidth coverage actually opens up vulnerabilities and additional avenues for cyber attacks. Furthermore, the hyper connected nature of IoT devices makes it easier for hackers to gain access to different networks, both private and public; and unwitting users can potentially expose their contacts to virtual attackers. Because of these threats, experts urge telecom companies to lay down a solid bedrock for 5G security before finalising the pivot towards it. For now, it remains to be seen how legislators and regulators will implement standards to guide the public in its use of 5G. Amid this concern, Verizon and Unity are hopeful that their collaboration — and the marriage of 5G and MEC technology — will be a game changer in the gaming, retail, and entertainment industries. “We know the world is demanding high-speed, AAA content, whether it’s an educational augmented reality application or a robot running a simulation of a digital twin,” Unity Vice President for Solutions Ryan Peterson said. “5G is the key piece for us to facilitate these real-time 3D experiences broadly and to better meet the demands of the real-time economy.”

Data Center Networking

Article | July 5, 2023

In the digital era, data is at the heart of an enterprise. So, managing the data has become the topmost priority of any organization today. As the data volume increases at a 10X rate, this data growth impacts many organizations in the form of the multiplication of in-company heterogeneous storages, remote sites, and cloud storages. This will require moving the data which results in time, infrastructure, and cost constraints. So, the need for a consolidated data management solution arises which uses AI automation to reduce time and infrastructure costs across the data value chain. As enterprises are increasingly standardizing on augmented analytics, it brings together two distinct worlds of data and analytics. This collision enhances interaction and collaboration between the two worlds shaping the associated paradigm in the market i.e. augmented data management. Augmented data management (ADM) utilizes AI/ML to automate manual data management tasks allowing highly skilled technical resources to focus on high-value tasks. According to Gartner, by 2022, data management manual tasks will be reduced by 45% through the addition of machine learning and automated service management.

Article | April 14, 2020

Before the COVID-19 crisis, the biggest news in tech was the ongoing -- and controversial -- rollout of the 5G network. First, there was the ban on Chinese companies, prohibiting them from being involved with 5G infrastructure in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Then articles started pointing out that the threat profile for 5G was an order of magnitude higher than that of existing telecom protocols. The coronavirus outbreak, though, has forced some analysts to reassess the value of 5G. While security concerns remain, the network has been invaluable in the fight against the pandemic.