Ehab Kanary, CommScope Infrastructure EMEA, Emerging Markets Sales VP, says combining AI with cloud services will enable organisations to get the most of both technologies along with other multifold benefits
What trends do you foresee for Cloud Computing in 2022?
Several trends have emerged since the pandemic, including the accelerated migration to the cloud, which means a heavier demand for faster and better connections. 5G will provide faster access to information and help expand data centre builds significantly in private companies. Private 5G based on cloud architecture with local radios in the cloud will be a very data-intensive, latency-sensitive application, and will drive growth in data centres and edge data centres as well.
This trend will accelerate in 2022, but it will also roll out over several years as businesses work out getting the right to use the 5G spectrum from carriers. Additionally, it is no secret that AI and machine learning are increasing in popularity and their use combined with augmented reality (AR) will grow rapidly in 2022. Additionally, AR will also be used in interfaces, for B-to-C marketing, sales, training, and service applications. The coming year, as well as the years that follow, will be defined by these evolutions and incremental innovations. We know where the industry is headed, and we are seeing operators take the necessary steps in building a foundation towards that future – but the key is in the details.
What sort of benefits does cloud computing bring to e-Commerce stores and e-tailers?
Cloud computing benefits eCommerce stores and e-tailers by accelerating growth in the broader worldwide market. One significant benefit here is the ability for employees to work remotely and rely on cloud-based applications. E-commerce giants such as Amazon and Alibaba were the first to shift their sales tools to the cloud and enjoyed immense success through the pandemic.
Another cloud-related trend we’ve observed is the accelerated adoption of private cloud infrastructure. Not too long ago, the prevailing wisdom was that everything would ultimately move to the public cloud. However, many companies have realised that they need to keep financial, healthcare, and other sensitive information in private clouds. Some applications simply can’t be converted to the public cloud, while companies that maintain large data centres are finding private clouds less expensive than public clouds.
Is edge computing helping shape up the cloud computing industry as a whole?
First off, edge computing can be described as where connection occurs; where the place, people, or devices access the network. That being said, edge computing is expected to provide tremendous growth opportunities in hardware and software, which will help shape up the cloud computing industry as a whole. Traditional content, telecom, and cloud providers have heavily invested in edge computing. Today, businesses in vertical sectors like manufacturing and retail have already started investing in edge computing.
Do you believe serverless functions have a big part to play in creating new user experiences?
Serverless functions have a significant part in today’s new user experiences, especially as the pay-as-you-use utility model of the cloud will be further refined with ‘serverless computing’, which allows customers to pay only for actual code execution time. As more computing services and data are moved to the edge of the network and remote working become more common, businesses will expand via cloud and co-location services, even more so with escalating real estate cost in urban hubs.
Will combining AI with cloud services enable organisations to get the most out of both applications in a cost-effective way?
Combining AI with cloud services will enable organisations to get the most of both technologies along with other multifold benefits. They allow organisations to gain unprecedented levels of visibility into what is happening in their networks at any time, both across the entire network and down to individual components.
Additionally, network IT will be more proactive, reducing helpdesk costs, improving operational efficiency, and better securing enterprise environments. For instance, Commscope’s RUCKUS Analytics is a cloud service that delivers network intelligence and simplifies service assurance, enabling organisations with complex networks to proactively improve their users’ experience.
Additionally, such services are usually built on a patented machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) foundation. This allows for better comprehensive network visibility, the automatic identifying of service-affecting issues, and (unique to the networking industry) classifies them according to severity, enabling managed service providers and enterprise IT teams to address the most urgent incidents first.
With Metaverse becoming the “keyword” for 2022, do you believe the cloud has a major role to play here? What opportunities exist for both vendors and channel partners?
This year is predicted to be a strong growth year across the industry and we see a strong continuation of the cloud migration trend. Cloud migration in particular will bring opportunity for the channel, with 70% of enterprises reaching out to partners to fill in their IT skills gap.
Offering the stability and performance of wired and wireless networks will be key for channel partners, as enterprises navigate through more hybrid, unpredictable working environments, while using more data and onloading more devices than before. Partners should capitalise on the opportunity to upskill, adapt in line with evolving industry needs and get ahead of the market to deal with future trends or technologies.
