The Appledore Research Podcast: Recent Episodes
Robert Curran
Appledore analysts and guests discuss trends and developments in the transformation of the telecom industry.
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In this week’s episode Patrick Kelly is joined by IBM Quantum Industry Partner, Imed Othmani, in a discussion on progress and obstacles in Quantum Computing. In particular, what and when will be the first practical applications of this technology.
It’s a fascinating insight into the path from pure research to business value, and IBM’s approach to finding it.
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Telcos are right to look to enterprise customers for near term growth. But that growth will see them selling new kinds of services, and is dependent on a new level of self-serviceability. In this episode Robert and Grant are joined by Itential CTO Chris Wade to discuss how the next big wave of digital services - an incremental revenue potential of $100B for telcos - can be enabled.
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What do software leaders within telcos think about the tremendous rate of change and technological innovation taking place? How do they view topics like SaaS, GenAI, or edge computing? How do they consider the vendor landscape? What principles are most important in the era of cloud and continous delivery?
In this thoughtful episode, Robert and John talk with Rob Bennett, SVP of Software Engineering at Echostar - the new name for the combined Dish Wireless and Echostar assets that were re-merged in early 2024.
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IBM Research is responsible for ideas and innovations that will drive growth and redefine the state-of-the-art in technology. In a rare discussion with IBM Research , Patrick Kelly begins the episode with COO Jeff Welser by exploring the state of AI, and the practicalities of cutting-edge research. From there, it's a look into the relationship between AI and quantum computing, high-value use cases for both within telecom and in other industry sectors. And with a diversion into the world of 2nm silicon, cooling... it's quite the tour, right at the frontiers of technology.
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Patrick Kelly talks with Arrcus' CEO Shekar Ayyar, exploring how the network infrastructure market is ripe for disruption, starting from the edge in.
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Patrick Kelly talks with Spirent's Head of Strategy, Stephen Douglas, on the nature of testing and assurance for telcos in the cloud era. At least, that's where they start... An informative two-way discussion follows - a useful primer for lots of what will be on show at MWC24.
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In the telecom software market, Amdocs has long been one of the most significant and successful players. But how does it view, and respond to, the multiple waves of disruptive change in telecom and IT, from cloud to GenAI? To what extent are its customers - 400-some telcos across the globe - embracing or playing down the impact? In short, while we often talk about game-changing technologies, how is that playing out in practice, for both telcos and their suppliers?
And, just ahead of MWC24, what can we expect to see hear and experience from Amdocs this year?
This episode is a wide-ranging half-hour conversation with one of Amdocs' most senior and most experienced executives.
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The goals of network and service assurance haven't changed - but just about everything else has. How should operators adapt their assurance strategies and established a modern assurance capability? In this episode, Robert is joined by two true veterans in this market and topic: Ashley Woods, from Blue Planet (a Division of Ciena) and Principal Analyst Patrick Kelly.
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Telcos were supporting industry verticals long before 5G, but seem to be struggling to make the case for greater relevance. Why is that? What are the opportunities and what else - beyond improved connectivity technology - must telcos do differently to be true partners for industries going forward?
Robert and Grant are joined by Matt Beal, Senior VP of Development at Oracle Communications, and a highly experienced telecom industry executive on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Yes, the telecom future is software - but it's not only software, and innovation and specialization in silicon has a major part to play in enabling and shaping the future of the industry.
Accompanying a major new Market Outlook report on the continuing evolution of silicon in telecom, Grant Lenahan talks to Robert about why the silicon market is so important, how new vendors are making an impact, and why CSPs need to be up to speed on their options.
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Summer seems a long time ago, as the tradeshow season has returned with near back-to-back events. Robert, Patrick and John review the themes, mood and showfloor conversations from TM Forum's recent Digital Transformation World, and the GSMA's MWC Americas in Las Vegas. We also look ahead to the upcoming Telecom Infra Project's Fyuz in Madrid, and FutureNet World Asia.
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Automation in telecom is hardly a new idea. But what is new is its top-level importance, in a world where network complexity is beyond human comprehension, and speed is a critical differentiator for operators. In telecom, operational speed and efficiency revolves around network inventory, so in this episode we explore how the inventory management and wider automation are linked, and how they are changing.
Featured guest is Rohit Batra, General Manager for ServiceNow's Telecom, Media & Technology business.
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It's back to Copenhagen! Now that we know where's hot (or not) to stay, how the trains work, how to find the Bella Center, the global telecom software community convenes again under the auspices of the TM Forum with extra confidence - and with plenty to talk about from the six months since MWC Barcelona.
Robert, Francis and John preview the event and look forward to a busy few days of on-site meetings.
Links...
- Digital Transformation World
- Excellence Awards Finalists videos
- Catalyst Projects
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Summertime gives many of us a chance to travel somewhere interesting and different, and gain a new perspective. We've taken that to heart in this episode, as Robert and Francis spend time with someone who lives full time within the fabled "developer community" that features as a box on countless slides from telecom CSPs and vendors. For well over a decade, Alan Quayle has led an initiative to rally developers to leverage the potential of programmable telecom networks - the aptly-title Telecom Application Developer (TAD) series of events.
We ask: does telecom actually "get" developers? What innovation have we seen from third party developers? What are CAMARA's chances?
Cloud continues to provoke fundamental change in telecom. Together with increasing software-ization, the landscape of the most prominent vendors in telecom continues to shift. Add in recent developments in AI, and a picture begins to emerge of an industry undergoing a complete revolution - with "Big IT" having a profound influence on the future of the industry.
In this episode Robert and John are joined by Rick Lievano, CTO for Worldwide Telecom Industry for Microsoft to get an inside view on how one of the most important technology companies in the world is driving the trend.
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On the path to open and disaggregated networks, a frequent cry is the need for greater "collaboration" between telcos and suppliers, between suppliers themselves, and a bunch of other stakeholders and interested parties from standards bodies to students, integrators to academics. That's all very well, but what does that mean, and what does it look like in practice? Robert Curran gets a perspective from Katja Henke, Senior Innovation Project Manager at DT and a lynchpin of the high-profile i14y Lab consortium in Berlin.
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"Customer Experience" is an endlessly evolving term in telecom, with new technologies and situations creating ever-increasing expectations for telcos to meet. What are the latest trends and techniques available to operators in their pursuit of that NPS-boosting "excellence in customer experience"? John Abraham returns with guest Chad Dunavant, Chief Strategy Officer at CSG International. Robert Curran hosts.
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AI has been back on the front pages in 2023, and seems to inducing a combination of panic and the sort of "irrational exuberance" not seen since the dotcom boom. In the context of telecom, which response is the right one? In this episode, we get the perspective of a true veteran of AI in telecom (and new recruit to Appledore), Roman Ferrando, Patrick Kelly summarizes the market progress of AI in telecom to date - use cases and notable adoptees - and separates froth from meaningful progress. And yes: we do look at #AIwashing and offer some advice on companies in telecom (operators and vendors) can avoid running into AI trouble.
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In this episode we explore how the nature of innovation, and the processes and practices around it, are changing as result of the new capabilities of cloud-native software.
Joining Robert and Francis are Marius Waldum of Working Group Two, and Justen Burdette, CEO of US mobile operator Mobi.
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In a lively, wide-ranging discussion, John and Robert talk with Danielle Royston - TelcoDR - about the state of charging in telecom, and the impact of public cloud and SaaS more widely.
We also cover "that" MWC takeover in 2021, a certain rock star, and TelcoDR's plans for her $1bn Telecom Transformation Fund, beginning with Totogi.
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Patrick Kelly takes the mic for this episode, with guest Andrew Coward from IBM, to discuss the accelerating story of telecom/IT convergence. But it isn't long before AI takes center stage. Offering solid perspectives on how to spot "real" AI from marketing froth, Andrew shares how AI in networks differs radically from enterprise use cases, and what the lifecycle of introducing AI into network operations really looks like.
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London has been the focal point for a number of notable occasions recently...including two in-person events hosted by RCR Wireless (welcome to London!) and FutureNet World (welcome back!), respectively. Robert Curran and Francis Haysom discuss the mood and highlights from both.
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What got mentioned more times than 6G at this year's Huawei Analyst Summit (HAS)? Does Huawei's strategy still have global relevance? And what does Shenzhen have the second-largest number of in the world?
John Abraham takes on hosting duties to get a first hand account from Robert Curran and Shanthi Ravindran.
We also look ahead to FutureNet World London, May 3-4, 2023.
Links:
- Preview: FutureNet World, London, 2023 - Appledore Research
- Autonomous Networks - Appledore Research
- Automation & Orchestration Research - Appledore Research
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In this episode we explore more big themes in the global telecom industry including: women in telecom, the history of telecom in Asia, Open RAN, private networks, all with the newest member of the Appledore team, experienced analyst Shanthi Ravindran, based in Singapore.
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In this episode, we're joined by Geoff Hollingworth, CMO at Rakuten Symphony, to talk about revolution in the telecom industry, past and present. Is the recent history of telecom being rewritten? What do people in a cloud-native telco do all day? Are mobile generations "the worst thing that's ever happened to the industry"? Why does telecom find it so hard to ask simple questions? Buckle up!
Geoff references a new white paper from Rakuten Symphony, which can be found here.
Legendary tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen's famous "software is eating the world" perspective may already over a decade old, but we are only beginning to see the story played out in telecom. In this episode, we're joined by Amdocs' Niall Norton to discuss how software is changing the telecom vendor landscape.
It's a 40-minute recap on the development of the modern telco industry with an executive who's been on both sides (and both ends!) of the table. Extra insights from Francis Haysom on how "support systems" is legacy terminology, and how telcos have more to gain than they have to lose by adopting new technologies, mindsets, and vendor partnerships.
The GSMA's Open Gateway was a significant announcement at MWC2023 - but it builds on the CAMARA project, which has made rapid progress in the last year. Could it hold the keys to new revenue streams for telcos, and in particular from 5G? We hear from two people directly involved in driving the initiative, and put it in context of both earlier telco API efforts, and the work of companies like Twilio and Vonage (Ericsson).
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It's that time again. Love it or hate it, it's back to Barcelona imminently for telecom's biggest get-together. Patrick, Francis and Robert pick out some key themes and companies to look out for, and close up with some tips on getting through the week.
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Did Orchestration just arrive late and crash the (slightly disappointing) OSS party? Or has it been quietly building its own unstoppable market momentum, inevitably redefining the network automation market landscape? Grant Lenahan and Robert Curran explore what orchestration really means in a telecom context, why it matters, and why looking out your window is all you need to do to understand what's different about telecom orchestration vs its datacenter cousin.
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In this episode, Patrick Kelly explains where AI is finding application in telecom today, and how the market landscape is evolving with big name and new entrants alike finding opportunity.
The AIOps in Telecom forecast that Patrick references in the podcast is here: Market Outlook: AIOps in Telecom Operations - Appledore Research
For more on our coverage of AI in telecom, see AIOps, Assurance, Analytics Research - Appledore Research
In this episode, we hear from John Abraham, a long-time BSS analyst on his move to Appledore and how Digital Enablement is evolving as operators adjust to the new realities of 5G, cloud and new business models.
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CES Las Vegas is where the tech industry shows off - but it's not just a consumer show. Appledore's Patrick Kelly walked the halls and shares his takeaways from a telecom perspective.
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Appledore welcomes Rahul Atri to the team, and the podcast, and talk telco cloud, transformation, mindsets and more.
Intro music from Pixabay