Cloud Services: The Next Big Thing for Telcos

As cloud goes mainstream, with more and more small and medium businesses adopting cloud services, how do telcos make a play in this increasingly lucrative space instead of just sitting on the sidelines watching other players grab marketshare? Keith Willetts, Chairman and CEO of TM Forum, says telcos have a huge opportunity in the cloud space, but if they are not careful they won’t get to see the silver lining.

The Fight Over the Middle Class is On

Smartphones have quickly gone from niche devices used mostly by business customers to the mainstream. But as regular users consider Android devices and iPhones at a rapid rate, how do companies like Google and Apple capture this market? Monica Zlotogorski, Vice Chair of TM Forum’s Latin American Advisory Board and Editor, Inside Latin America, takes a look at how smartphone adoption rates in the U.S. are higher among minorities and how this shift in demographics is forcing device manufacturers to change their way of gaining customers.

When only about one-third of major IT projects finishing successfully, something clearly needs to be done to reverse this trend. Barbara Lancaster, President of LTC International, says that key reasons for project failure are a lack of user involvement that leads to a lack of clearly defined requirements, and insufficient executive leadership. In this article, she gives us her top 4 list of what leadership can do to increase the odds of a successful project outcome.

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For decades, CSPs have used service assurance solutions to have visibility into how their networks are performing and to help them resolve performance-impacting issues. But what about performance issues that impact the end user? Jeff Cotrupe of Stratecast takes an in-depth look at Application Performance Management and how these solutions can help operators provide a better user experience.

Cable Companies: Step Up to the Commercial Market Opportunity
While cable MSOs have rolled out high-speed Internet access services, entered the voice market and were among the first to offer quadruple play via wireless MVNO ventures, the cable industry is still almost exclusively focused on one marketplace, drawing 90-95 percent of revenue from consumers. Cable operators have the bandwidth to make the leap to commercial, but, according to this article by Carl Davies, Head of Global Solutions Marketing for Cable, Broadband and Satellite at Convergys, to succeed in the commercial arena, cable companies must step up and embrace advanced BSS solutions in tune with the needs of that market niche.

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Primed for growth, the Middle East market offers many opportunities – low broadband penetration, significant merger & acquisition activity and new competitors emerging rapidly. Keynote Perspectives at Management World Middle East will bring together executives from the region’s leading service providers to debate and discuss the Middle East’s changing communications scene. Learn first-hand how they are shifting their strategies to drive innovation and growth across their businesses, ensuring a successful future. Register by March 8 to save on your pass.

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Reflective of the urgency established by our Defense Community and Service Provider members, in late 2009 TM Forum launched an aggressive Security Management Initiative to enrich its Frameworks and certification processes with full-spectrum Security Management guidance concerning architecture, processes, information, applications, interfaces and testing.

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The promise of cloud computing is creating great excitement, but many communications service providers (CSPs) are wondering how that promise can be fulfilled when there are so many barriers? Others are anxious that CSPs are making what looks like slow progress while newer, more agile players are taking huge steps. Download the report to find out the strategies for implementing a successful cloud business model.

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“The point is simply that unless CSPs can establish their own ad delivery platforms, and sell the ’space’ to would-be advertisers that companies like Google already have a long and proven relationship with, I simply can’t see them making inroads.”

Regional Spotlights Travel the World

The following events are free and open to anyone:

Gurgaon, India — February 28
Sydney, Australia – March 16
Moscow, Russia – March 29
Cable Topic Specific Spotlight — April 11

Click here to learn about sponsorship opportunities for Regional Spotlight events, or contact Natasha McMahon for more information.

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