Author: Ron Westfall

Check Point expands its Unified Cloud platform to support Alibaba Cloud elevating market awareness of its advanced security, visibility, and compliance capabilities of its cloud security portfolio, especially across multi-cloud environments. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines why the Check Point’s integration of its CloudGuard solution with Alibaba Cloud strengthens its overall multi-cloud proposition and provides a marketing edge over rivals as well as how Alibaba Cloud benefits competitively from the Check Point relationship.
AT&T and Google Cloud expand their 5G and edge collaboration targeting enterprises with a flexible combination of AT&T’s on-premises Multi-access Edge Compute solution and AT&T Network Edge Capabilities augmented by Google Cloud’s extensive edge PoPs and core proficiencies including Kubernetes container orchestration, AI/ML, data analytics, and ISV collaboration expertise. Futurum’s Ron Westfall analyzes why the expanded alliance boosts AT&T’s overall competitive prospects, especially in relation to main rival Verizon, and how AT&T now has the 5G and edge compute proposition needed to innovate immersive experiences and win more enterprise business.
Nokia introduces its iSIM Secure Connect solution with initial marketing emphasis on vendor-agnostic design and streamlining cellular subscription lifecycle management with automation. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines why the Nokia iSIM Secure Connect solution is well-suited to play a key role in making IoT connectivity and networking safer, especially since infection of IoT devices has shot up since 2019, paving the way for 5G mobile and IoT service quality and revenue streams and strengthening Nokia’s competitive hand.
Qualcomm and Capgemini expand their alliance to boost 5G private network capabilities for industries including providing broader interworking assurances, boosting performance, and easing implementations. Futurum’s Ron Westfall assesses why Qualcomm and Capgemini strengthen their competitive foundation to take advantage of burgeoning 5G private network demand and meeting the distinct use case requirements of industry verticals.
Netcracker and NEC announced the deployment of NEC’s 5G Core and Netcracker’s full stack Digital BSS/OSS on AWS to orchestrate and automate 5G digital services and how 5G services and network slices can be ordered on demand from Netcracker’s Digital Marketplace. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines why the three-way partnership using Netcracker orchestration systems bolsters and assures the dynamic placement of 5G workloads across AWS Local Zones as well as the 5G ecosystem and competitive implications of the trio’s alliance.
Announced at MWC 2021, Ericsson and Google Cloud are building out their alliance to deliver 5G and edge cloud solutions targeted at communications service providers (CSP) and key enterprise verticals such as automotive, transportation, and manufacturing. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines why the partnership fulfills CSP strategic cloud objectives, including the policy of multi-cloud flexibility, and strengthen Ericsson’s hand against key 5G solution rival Nokia in supporting CSPs in their 5G cloud journeys.
The new Marvell OCTEON 10 DPU solution is positioned to gain rapid traction in meeting the burgeoning security, networking, and storage workload demands of the data center, cloud, 5G, carrier, and enterprise realms as the sampling process unfolds in H2 2021. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines why Marvell’s new OCTEON 10 DPU is clearly differentiated and why the solution is well-suited to advance processing capabilities such as parsing, classification, and inline IPSec applications using hardware accelerators to provide ML and vector packet processing as well as Terabir switching key to delivering performance and power efficiency breakthroughs.
Rakuten Mobile, NEC, and Intel have attained a performance of 640 Gbps per server for the containerized User Plane Function (UPF) on the containerized 5G Standalone core network. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines why the demo strengthens the open model 5G credentials of the Rakuten, NEC, and Intel and how the 5G power trio can further advance the Open 5G cause.
Oracle introduces Oracle Support Rewards developed to enable customers reduce their Oracle technology license support bill by up to 33 cents for every dollar spent on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Futurum’s Ron Westfall analyzes why the new Oracle Support Rewards program further differentiates OCI against hypescaler foes and Oracle’s applications portfolio against key enterprise application rivals, bolsters the defense of its extensive Applications Unlimited customer base, and provides tremendous value to customers.
Accenture acquires umlaut adding more than 4,200 engineers and consultants across 17 countries to Accenture’s Industry X services. Futurum’s Ron Westfall assesses analyzes why the deal swiftly strengthens Accenture’s Industry X services unit to drive more digital transformation business in key verticals and shrewdly prevents major rivals from locking in umlaut’s valuable digital workforce skills and talent.
Intel introduces its vision for the IPU (Infrastructure Processing Unit) focusing on improving data center manageability and efficiency, purpose-developed in close collaboration with hyperscale cloud partners. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines and analyzes why Intel’s IPU proposition is clearly differentiated and why Intel is now better positioned to expand its influence and presence across burgeoning intelligent data center architectures.
Guavus launched its Guavus-IQ NWDAF solution to provide open NWDAF across operator 5G Core environments to power the service orchestration and closed-loop network automation key to elastically scaling and monetizing new 5G services. Futurum’s Ron Westfall examines why the standard-based 3GPP Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) is integral to producing the real-time operational intelligence key to handling the complexities of open, multi-vendor 5G networks and delivering the statistical and predictive analytics processing designated for emerging 5G use cases.

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