Executives at the Edge Podcast Power Play Tech Landscape Transformed

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Welcome to Executives at the Edge, a podcast  brought to you by MEF. I'm your host,   Pascal Menezes. Join me as we explore  thought-provoking perspectives from   the leaders and change-makers propelling  enterprise digital transformation forward.  Welcome to this special "Power Play" episode  of MEF's Executives at the Edge podcast. This   recap highlights the transformative power of  technology, including satellite networks, cloud,   and AI, and their impact on various industries.  Experts Declan Ganley, Arun Dev, and Maciek Simm  

explore how businesses can leverage technological  innovation to drive change and stay competitive.  We're calling it the Outernet.  It's a distinct and separate,   much more secure and faster global communications  network. It can connect any part of the planet to   any other part without touching the internet.  To achieve this, we've designed and innovated   a low earth orbit space-based constellation  consisting of 24 orbital planes in polar orbits   at 1050 kilometers altitude. We'll be putting 600  routers into lower earth orbit. Each satellite  

will have four lasers, creating a mesh, like  a fishing net cast around the whole planet,   including the poles. This network, without  touching subsea cables or ground relay stations,   will connect point to point faster than anything  over 4,000 kilometers. With fewer attack points,   it will be inherently more secure, even before  encryption. The architecture makes it more   secure by design. We believe the Outernet will  be the biggest innovation since the internet.  That’s impressive. Declan, with the increasing  convergence of terrestrial and satellite networks,   what does the future look like for enterprise  connectivity, and what role does Rivada play?  We're offering Network as a Service,  focusing on enterprises and governments,   not regular consumers. The network we're deploying  is MEF-compliant. We come from the terrestrial  

wireless world, so we understand the need for  interoperability. The MEF standards also cover   APIs used between service providers and customers,  reducing friction. Any current or future user of   terrestrial carrier ethernet services will be able  to incorporate our services into their solutions.   Enterprise-grade connectivity providers can extend  their coverage globally using Rivada's Outernet.  Our technology is different because it doesn’t  touch the internet, making it inherently more   secure. We’re ensuring that the satellite delivery  mode is addressed in the MEF standards, and we’re   engaging MEF-certified vendors. This ensures our  customers can use standard APIs to integrate their  

systems with ours. We’re learning from  carrier ethernet users and providers to meet   their requirements. By 2025, our services  will be MEF certified, showing that we’ve   successfully lifted the enterprise layer  of connectivity off the earth’s surface and   into space. This creates global service  freedom, a game-changer for businesses.  Most enterprise conversations are about  the cloud. Early on, everyone wanted   to move all workloads to the cloud, but now  customers are more selective. Some workloads are   better suited for certain public clouds, while  others are better on-premise. The complexity  

of managing these environments is becoming a  barrier. This is where Equinix comes in — we   simplify connectivity solutions for customers,  whether they’re running at Equinix or between   clouds. We offer flexibility, whether they want an  OpEx model, CapEx model, or virtualized services.  Multi-cloud environments are  complex. What can IT leaders do   to get ahead of this and make their jobs easier? Multi-cloud has reached a breaking point. CIOs are  

dealing with complex infrastructure. They need a  trusted partner to help simplify these challenges.   Equinix has been cloud- and network-neutral for 25  years, offering low-latency access to clouds. We   provide solutions for cost, complexity, security,  and control. Standards-based integration is key,   and we’re making it easier for enterprises to  connect with new capabilities like our Cloud   Router, which we launched in December. So, Cloud Router connects enterprises to   any cloud or private cloud? Exactly. Traditionally,   enterprises set up physical routers at  Equinix to connect to clouds, repeating the   process in different markets. Cloud Router  changes that—it’s a fully virtualized service.  

You can spin it up in under a minute and  connect to a cloud in 45 seconds without   worrying about licensing or infrastructure. What’s your take on AI in this space?  AI is coming up in every conversation. Enterprises  are cautious, taking a strategic approach to avoid   putting their intellectual property at risk.  Many are building their own AI models on private  

infrastructure using proprietary datasets.  This is private AI, especially important in   heavily regulated industries like healthcare and  financial services. Businesses need to balance the   benefits of AI with the risks of data leakage  and costs when using public infrastructure.  Digital transformation is about changing the  way you operate and do business, leveraging   technology. It's not just about technology but  changing how you operate. Many digital natives   succeed not just because of the technology  but because of new operating models enabled by   it. For example, a company in my country  disrupted traditional mail services by delivering   to parcel lockers, eliminating the  pain of queuing at the post office. 

Successful digital transformation  projects have three key elements:   full support and alignment of senior  leadership, a decisive product owner who   turns strategy into results, and an  environment open to experimentation.   Without these, projects can’t succeed. Like Amazon, which doesn’t build most   of the products it sells, telecom ecosystems  rely on partners to deliver services. At MEF,   we’ve enabled this through lifecycle service  orchestration APIs, automating workflows between   service providers. The biggest challenge for service providers  

is that many of their BSS and OSS systems aren’t  ready for LSO processes, which specify business   processes between service providers, not just API  connections. Often, systems are fragmented, with   no central address database, for example. This  requires process changes and automation behind   the scenes to make the APIs work effectively.  Many service providers are at different stages   of this journey, but we’re gradually moving  towards a more connected and automated future. 

Thanks for joining us for Executives at the  Edge. Don't miss an episode—subscribe today!   Find all our episodes on your favorite  podcast platform and at mef.net. [Music]

2024-09-18

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