Insight Type: Research Note

January 25, 2021

Ron Westfall

Research Note

Intel and Red Hat Aim to Streamline 5G Deployment and Adoption Process

The extension of the Intel-Red Hat alliance will ease the pain and suffering of service providers as well as enterprises in accelerating their adoption of cloud-native capabilities to rapidly boost the agility and flexibility of 5G implementation journeys. Intel and Red Hat have the portfolios and deployment expertise to reduce the complexity of 5G deployments, particularly in areas such as assuring interworking of open source Open RAN and 5GC technologies in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. As to what’s ahead, now Intel and Red Hat need to show they can outpace their key rivals in providing the comprehensive platforms required to accelerate service provider 5G build and monetization while enabling enterprises to gain business value from the orchestration and unified management of 5G edge and cloud capabilities.

5G, Communications Networks

January 22, 2021

Fred McClimans

Research Note

CES 2021: The Mudra Band and how Wearable Devices Defining the Future of Immersive Customer Experiences

From consumer CX to industrial applications, from creating more immersive experiences to bringing accessibility to people with disabilities, the Mudra Band was one of the highlights of this year’s virtual CES show for Futurum’s Fred McClimans. He writes, “I think this tech has tremendous potential and expect it to play a significant role in our daily lives, perhaps sooner than many might have anticipated.”

5G, AR/VR, Customer Experience, PCs and Devices

January 22, 2021

Daniel Newman

Research Note

Intel Finishes Year on Record Note, Beating Q4 Estimates

Despite what has been presented as a tumultuous year for Intel, the company delivered record revenue and a strong beat for its 2020 Q4.

5G, Processors, Semiconductors and Components

January 21, 2021

Daniel Newman

Research Note

IBM Delivers Strong Beat on EPS, But Top Line Falls Short for Q4

IBM managed operations strongly yielding an EPS beat despite another soft revenue quarter with Red Hat as its lone bright spot.

High Performance Computing

January 21, 2021

Olivier Blanchard

Research Note

GSMA Intelligence Report: Mobile Operators May Still be Underestimating the ROI of 5G mmWave Deployments

In the new GSMA Intelligence report published today, it’s clear that mobile operators may still be underestimating the ROI of 5G mmWave deployments. The comprehensive report shows various inflection points where mmWave begins to become profitable in areas where demand for capacity is concentrated (like dense urban areas, large buildings, airports, advanced manufacturing plants, and stadiums), and where 3.5 GHz networks can no longer keep up with demand, with and without the deployment of FWA solutions. Most importantly, the report illustrates that overcoming misconceptions about mmWave’s financial viability faster than other operators may be the ultimate competitive advantage in a maturing 5G economy.

5G, Communications Networks

January 20, 2021

Daniel Newman

Research Note

A Diverse Approach to AI has AWS Uniquely Positioned for Growth

Over the past few years, Amazon's AWS has been staunchly focused on building a complete set of tools to deliver AI at scale.

AI, Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Infrastructure, and Operations, Semiconductors and Components

January 19, 2021

Daniel Newman

Research Note

Citrix To Acquire Wrike: Strengthening The Modern Digital Workspace

In a $2.25 Billion move to stratify its modern digital workspace business, Citrix has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Wrike.

Cloud, Digital Transformation, Hybrid Cloud, Infrastructure, and Operations

January 16, 2021

Olivier Blanchard

Research Note

Mobile News from CES: Qualcomm Powers Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Lineup, Featuring the Snapdragon 888 5G Platform

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 5G platform powering the Galaxy S21 lineup confirms Samsung’s focus on remaining leader in premium mobile experiences. It is reassuring to note that Samsung chose not to cut corners by selecting a slightly lower-tiered mobile platform for its S21 lineup. Samsung clearly wants to remain a leading player in the premium Android space and isn’t beyond potentially cutting into its own margins this year to protect its enviable market-share in order to achieve that goal. Equally as important, the biggest winners here are obviously consumers, who will not only enjoy best-in class 5G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity, but also mind-blowing professional quality photo and video features, elite-level mobile gaming, and a long list of true premium mobile experiences no longer guaranteed to be offered by all Samsung competitors. This is also a win for Qualcomm, which gets to showcase its new Snapdragon 888 5G platform in Samsung’s latest Galaxy S-series phones, which are likely to set the standard for the rest of the mobile industry in 2021. Exciting times, to be sure!

5G, Communications Networks

January 16, 2021

Shelly Kramer

Research Note

The Vaccination Credential Initiative: Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce and Healthcare Majors Partner to Develop Vaccination Passport

The Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI) announced Thursday brings together a number of stakeholders including tech giants Oracle, Microsoft, and Salesforce, the Commons Project Foundation, MITRE, along with healthcare major players like Cerner, Epic, Mayo Clinic, CARIN Alliance, Safe Health, Change Healthcare, Evernorth to develop a vaccine “passport” that enables individuals vaccinated for COVID-19 to access their vaccination records in a secure, verifiable, privacy-preserving way.

January 16, 2021

Sarah Wallace

Research Note

CES 2021 News: Verizon Partners with Microsoft and AWS to Roll Out Mobile Edge Compute in its 5G Network Fueling Smart City Development

In exciting news from CES 2021, Verizon chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg, announced the company is placing massive amounts of computing power right at the edge of its 5G network and partnering with Microsoft and AWS on the deployment of its Mobile Edge Compute (MEC) concept. This effort is part of a collective effort to fuel smart city development and other innovation.

5G, Communications Networks, Digital Transformation, Innovation

January 15, 2021

Olivier Blanchard

Research Note

What Google’s Acquisition of Fitbit Means for Google’s Expanding Experience Ecosystem, the Future of Wear OS, and User Privacy

Futurum’s Olivier Blanchard covers Google’s acquisition of Fitbit and how it could deliver the missing piece in Google’s product ecosystem — and perhaps make Apple nervous in the process. Why? Aside from Google’s wearables business suddenly absorbing Fitbit’s nearly 30 million active users worldwide, Google also finally has the tools to become an implementer of its own Wear OS platform.