Friday, December 21, 2012

Trendy Things in 2012

This year the trending topics were i your face all year - like cloud and BYOD. Battered with it like I was political TV ads this year. No wonder my back hurts.

IDC writes that the "demand for “cloud-ready” IT workers will grow by 26 percent annually through 2015." That is a good way to sell Managed IT services (if you have the skills in-house). Take advantage!

BYOD (bring your own device to work) is crashing wi-fi networks.

"As more and more smart mobile devices enter the workplace and attach to the enterprise Wi-Fi network thanks to the bring-your-own device (BYOD) phenomenon, it’s more than a security or management issue for the business. The No.1 issue with BYOD today, according to Xirrus, is the sheer number of devices proliferating on the network and the strain this puts on the Wi-Fi infrastructure. IT departments are thus scrambling to re-architect their networks to be BYOD-ready—opening a door for a consultative channel partner." [CV mag]

This is another opportunity. Sell a BYOD policy. Sell managed Wireless LAN services. Sell a segmented wi-fi system for security. Or sell a wi-fi user policy.

The Copper Plant is Going Away -- Regulatory Noise that most of you ignore and dislike and have already stopped reading. CV mag has a Competitive Spotlight: FCC Special Access Reform Tackles Broadband Pricing. "FCC recently issued an order to halt the deregulation of special access circuits, those key pieces of broadband infrastructure that provide dedicated last-mile links between, say, a cellular base station or a hospital and the IXC long-haul network. If competitors have their way, next year could see a complete overhaul of the pricing structure for the last mile, paving the way for more affordable broadband business services." I don't see that trending because the FCC takes for---ever to decide anything.

"Managed service providers (MSPs) and cloud-focused channel partners for the small and medium-sized business space have seen average cloud service revenues increasing by a healthy 12 percent in 2012, according to Access Markets International (AMI)—a trend that is only going to roll on in 2013." Well, it can only go up from the starting line.

Mobility was the other annoying topic, especially with the big deals (ATT-T-Mobile, T-Mobile-MetroPCS, Sprint-Softbank-Clearwire, VZW-SpectrumCo-Cableco). It changed the landscape. Now VZW co-markets with cable. No more competition. So broadband WILL continue to be expensive and slow in the US. It hampers our economy but what do tehy care. And the Sprint-Softbank-Clearwire-DISH deal will be a cluster. You heard it hear first. Forbes thinks that it will disrupt wireless. HA! They will be luck to stay 3rd. This company needs not only new management that knows about integration, but a sales and marketing arm that knows how to sell stuff.

Funny addition! "Today the US Telecom Association filed a petition asking the FCC to declare that incumbent telephone companies are no longer monopolies and should therefore receive regulatory treatment similar to that of wireless providers, cable operators and VOIP providers."





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