70% of GDP growth in the global economy between now and 2030 will be driven by machines, according to PwC. Intelligent systems are helping to drive this machine economy and more fully realize IoT.
Further fueling this future is the growth of 5G, AI, automation, and cloud native technologies, as well as an increasing intersection of IoT and the edge. This existing innovation is opening up new possibilities for far edge applications such as robotics, drones, telemedicine, and autonomous vehicles. In short, things that were just a short while ago fodder for science fiction, are now within reach.
No doubt this is driving epochal change across industries such as automotive, energy and utilities, medical, industrial manufacturing, and aerospace and defense and more, but it should be no surprise that the telco industry is at the forefront. The full opportunity offered by an intelligent-systems-driven machine economy can most effectively be seized if companies act now with an informed blueprint.
The urgency
A recent Wind River study found that:
- 90% of telecom leaders believe more than 50% of their offerings will need to work on the far edge cloud within less than three years
- 63% believe their offerings will be infused with AI and ML in the next three years
- In five years, two key characteristics are predicted to become realities: total automation and the ability to deliver actions based on sensory data and algorithms
- 42% believe intelligent systems will evolve how we govern society as real-time information and quick feedback, and 40% believe it will change how we think about infrastructure as it becomes more adaptive and efficient
Many believe that intelligent systems are the inevitable future of the economy -- the next economic revolution -- and for those desiring the highest levels of success, there is a short window of just a couple years to plan and meaningfully begin to execute.
Blueprinting for success
Critical to success will be the concept of blueprinting. What I mean by “blueprinting” is investing in the right elements at the right time.
In the case of building intelligent systems, the chronology is key. First, prepare the right infrastructure. Next is to work on foundational needs. And then lastly, address longer-term capabilities.
In addition to the critical timing, there are 13 key intelligent systems characteristics that must be addressed according to the research study. The following are ranked below starting with those with the highest impact specific to the telco industry:
- Ability to simulate and emulate in near real time
- True compute on the far edge
- Digital feedback loops that influence product development
- Total automation
- Action based on sensory data and algorithms
- Ability to predict stresses and failures
- Customized device experience in the cloud
- Real-time collaborative workflow platform
- Automated learning and machine learning functionalities
- Near-real-time, seamless connections across multiple ecosystems
- Adapting tasks based on reprogramming via cloud
- Detection and resolution of events
- Experimenting as a learning system
Visionaries blazing the trail
The telco industry has typically been the most proactive and forward leaning in their vision and execution. You only have to look as far as Verizon and Vodafone for inspiration.
Just a short year ago, Verizon completed the first end-to-end fully virtualized 5G data session in the US. This technology milestone provided the foundation for Verizon to rapidly respond to customers’ varied latency and computing needs by providing the foundation for wide-scale mobile edge computing and network slicing. In the announcement, Adam Koeppe, Senior Vice President of Technology and Planning for Verizon stated, “Massive scale IOT solutions, more robust consumer devices and solutions, AR/VR, remote healthcare, autonomous robotics in manufacturing environments, and ubiquitous smart city solutions are only some of the ways we will be able to deliver the promise of the digital world. Advancements in virtualization technology are critical steps towards that realization.”
Additionally, Vodafone’s recent commitment to digital transformation with Europe’s first commercial Open RAN network is another trail blazing example. Vodafone has notably been a leading operator in Open RAN and its latest commitment to the technology has been one of the biggest in the industry. Vodafone UK now plans to deploy Open RAN in a major commitment to use this technology to both replace a large portion of the operator’s legacy equipment and to diversify the supply chain with the introduction of new technologies and new vendors. Vodafone’s Chief Technology Officer Johan Wibergh was quoted as saying, “Our network will become highly programmable and automated, meaning we can release new features simultaneously across multiple sites, add or direct capacity more quickly, resolve outages instantly and provide businesses with on-demand connectivity...Open RAN is also reinvigorating our industry. It will boost the digital economy by stimulating greater tech innovation from a wider pool of vendors, bringing much needed diversity to the supply chain.”
A dialog about intelligent systems for a better future
I think it’s time for the industry to discuss what the future of embedded devices and solutions looks like in an intelligent systems world, the barriers to and drivers for adoption of intelligent systems, the factors that would accelerate the adoption of intelligent systems for the telco industry specifically, how to best prioritize investments, and what key metrics for success look like.
And if blueprinting is about the “how,” it’s also important not to forget about the “why.” I believe we have the opportunity to think in a macro way about using intelligent systems to address wider societal issues, and I look forward to a collaborative dialog across the industry about both the how and the why.
