English
If there’s one thing I’ve been acutely aware of these past six months, it is time.
In our daily lives, we are forever trying to find more time. Amazon Prime saves us trips to the store. Takeout saves us from having to cook. Maybe we pay for a lawn service so we can enjoy a few restful moments when the weekend arrives. Each of these decisions are based on a personal calculation about the value of time.
It’s a calculation our customers are also making. What is time worth and what can they do with it? The path to 5G’s next innovation wave is being revealed in the answers.
The need for speed
The telecom industry has always set a high bar for service performance. Over time, the networks to support this uncompromising reliability grew more and more complex, limiting agility and slowing innovation. The cloud era and emergence of a new generation of nimble competition delivered a compelling case for change.
Initial efforts were a step in the right direction, but they didn’t deliver the radical enhancement the industry craved. Today, our customers are overcoming these challenges, using the cloud and virtualization to revamp networks and services - and doing it faster than ever. With 5G and SD-WAN, they finally have the technology to transform networks into engines of rapid innovation.
“It’s not that our customers can’t do all these things in-house - it’s just not where time is best spent in a hyper-competitive market.”
As Ben Franklin once said, “Lost time is never found again!” Our customers are figuring this out as they reconsider whether or not to build up all the necessary skills and experience in-house. They are leaning on external experts to more quickly incorporate the latest software development techniques, automate processes, and break down DevOps barriers. It’s not that they can’t do all these things in-house - it’s just not where time is best spent in a hyper-competitive market.
Transforming to meet new market needs
From where we at Spirent sit, at the intersection of technology test, assurance, and automation, we understand what is needed to traverse this complex new landscape. A host of new vendors are offering an array of cloud infrastructure and cloud native software for networks, all of which must work together to deliver flawless user experiences. Traditional physical labs and manual development processes must give way to automated, virtualized testing resources that dramatically lower costs while accelerating technology releases.
This new dynamic calls for an unbiased, neutral third party that can evaluate new technology across vendors while also assessing compliance with security best practices. Service providers and network vendors need consultative partners to serve as a close extension of their operations. Following our own metamorphosis from a lab-focused test equipment provider to a software, services, and solutions-based organization, we are proud to serve this critical role.
Rapid innovation by itself will not fully address the needs of the moment: 5G networks must also meet the longstanding criteria of unparalleled performance as new networks are sped to market. Meeting the needs of today’s operators is about breaking down the barriers to 5G innovation and making sure new high-performance 5G services get to market in time to serve emerging needs, capitalize on new opportunities, and deliver maximum impact.
With time at a premium, telecom is finally poised to lead a new movement in innovation. The future can’t come fast enough.
Learn how Spirent Services can help you accelerate development and time to market.
