Which is easier: building a general purpose communications network or integrating a new computing, application or platform for an enterprise? In other words, where does value lie?
Most of us instinctively would opt for the latter as the driver of value, rather than the former.
Which is easier: a systems integrator bundling local private 5G networks with application, platform or computing solutions for an enterprise, or a connectivity provider integrating those functions with its connectivity solution? Most of us instinctively would opt for the former, not the latter.
All of that suggests the private 5G networks business will be led by the same cast of characters that have led the information technology system integration business for decades, namely third-party system integrators.
As much as mobile operators might hope for a big role in system integration or supply of private 5G services and networks, optimism must be tempered. There will be few instances where a general-purpose private 5G network is the driver of enterprise interest.
In most cases it will be some business process the private 5G network must support that drives the deployment. And that suggests system integrators with vertical market knowledge will have the upper hand.
Qualcomm and Capgemini are partnering to create and supply private 5G networks for enterprises, with Qualcomm supplying off-the-shelf private networks while Capgemini is the system integrator.
“System integrator” is one of several private 5G network roles that mobile operators might themselves undertake, and, as always, illustrates the obstacles to success at scale in that role. Large consulting firms have for many decades operated as system integrators for information technology projects undertaken by enterprises. Private 5G now appears as one of the latest of such efforts.
A survey of mobile operator executives conducted by GSMA suggests the areas where suppliers believe they have opportunities, ranging from security and managed services to connectivity and integration.
Some might be surprised by the belief that providing security services ranks at the top of possible opportunities. This apparently is because 44 percent of operators have seen increased growth in demand for security services from their enterprise clients due to Covid-19, GSMA notes. It is not immediately clear why the 5G connectivity provider is the most-logical provider of security, which also must be embedded directly into devices, applications and platforms, for example.
The logical implication is that 5G offers more security than does Wi-Fi, for example, which is reasonable enough. The extent of this opportunity for sale of public services is the issue. It does not seem inherently clear that a public network 5G access provides advantages over a private 5G network that is logically isolated from the public network.
That said, 45 percent of respondents consider it extremely important to invest in security because enterprise customers want it, GSMA reports.
Fully 77 percent of operators are planning to offer security as part of their private network solution, which makes sense.
Professional services include consulting (technical and business), systems integration and managed services, together account for 40 percent of operators’ potential revenue upside. The opportunity is arguably greatest for larger mobile operators with IT capabilities or with a strong local channel in local systems integrators or IT value-added resellers, GSMA notes.
No comments:
Post a Comment