Switch to deploy Tesla Megapack energy storage systems

Switch, which operates hyper-scale co-location data centers in Las Vegas, Reno, and Grand Rapids (Michigan), will use thousands of solar panels made by First Solar and energy storage systems made be Tesla as part of its Gigawatt Nevada solar energy and battery vision. The project is one of the largest solar footprint and battery storage projects in the technology industry.

“With today’s announcement Rob Roy’s Gigawatt Nevada now has four solar with battery storage projects in the state creating nearly 1 gigawatt of energy solutions,” said Adam Kramer, Switch EVP of Strategy. “This project also ensures Switch’s power costs will remain in the 5 cent a KWh range and Switch clients will continue to enjoy low-cost, 100% renewable power for decades to come.”

https://www.switch.com/switch-and-capital-dynamics-break-ground-on-massive-solar-and-battery-storage-developments-advancing-rob-roys-gigawatt-nevada/

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Amdocs to acquire Openet for Digital BSS

Amdocs agreed to acquire Openet, a provider of 5G charging, policy and cloud technologies, in a deal valued at US$180 million.

Openet is a privately-owned company headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the US, Malaysia and Brazil and a global customer base.


“We are delighted the innovative Openet team is joining Amdocs. They bring world-class cloud-native capabilities, network pedigree, and deep 5G charging, policy and data management expertise,” said Shuky Sheffer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amdocs Management Limited. “The Openet solutions complement our portfolio and this acquisition is part of our mission to accelerate the industry’s move to the cloud.”

“We are excited to join Amdocs, with whom we have been alongside at customers for many years, and help bring fast value to service providers’ 5G plans. It is truly a momentous day for Openet and for all of our stakeholders,” said Niall Norton, Openet CEO. “Given the strong momentum of our business this is an optimal time to be joining Amdocs. The caliber, resources and reach of Amdocs will bring significant and widespread opportunities across each of our disciplines.”

“We have been on a 20-year journey in Openet to build a business of which we can all be proud,” said Joe Hogan, Openet founder and CTO. “In recent years, we have built new 5G products which are recognized worldwide for their innovation and modern open, cloud-native architecture. We all look forward to the combined technology strengths of Openet and Amdocs creating new opportunities for service providers at this exciting time of 5G adoption.”

https://www.openet.com/

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Verizon's Q2 revenue dips 5% to $30.4 billion due to COVID

Citing significant declines in wireless equipment revenue in its consumer and business segments, Verizon reported total consolidated operating revenues in second-quarter 2020 of $30.4 billion, down 5.1 percent from second-quarter 2019. The decline was attributed to stores being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company delivered $1.13 in earnings per share (EPS), compared with $0.95 in 2Q 2019; adjusted EPS (non-GAAP), excluding special items, of $1.18, compared with $1.23 in 2Q 2019.

Capital expenditures in first-half 2020 were $9.9 billion.

Some highlights:

• Consumer wireless service revenues were $13.1 billion in second-quarter 2020, a 2.7 percent decrease year over year, and include impacts related to reduced roaming, usage, and waived fees, primarily due to COVID-19.
• Total retail postpaid churn was 0.69 percent in second-quarter 2020, and retail postpaid phone churn was 0.51 percent.
• Consumer reported 10,000 Fios Internet net additions as Fios installations were limited during the quarter due to temporary restrictions put in place on work inside customers' homes. Consumer reported 81,000 Fios Video net losses in second-quarter 2020, reflecting the ongoing shift from traditional linear video to over-the-top offerings.
• Business reported 280,000 wireless retail postpaid net additions in second-quarter 2020. This consisted of 76,000 phone net additions, 61,000 tablet net additions, and 143,000 other connected device additions.
• Total retail postpaid churn was 1.12 percent in second-quarter 2020, and retail postpaid phone churn was 0.90 percent. 
• Total Verizon Media revenues were $1.4 billion, down 24.5 percent year over year, primarily as a result of COVID-19 related impacts. 

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Box turns to Google Cloud for global data storage

Box has formed a strategic partnership with Google under which it is significantly expanding its usage of Google Cloud to enhance its core infrastructure. As part of this extended partnership, Box will leverage Google Cloud as a key provider for data storage across the globe. The companies are also building on their advanced machine-learning integrations to deliver Google Cloud’s Document AI as part of the Box Skills Kit to improve intelligent data processing

"We're in the middle of a major transformation in how business gets done. The ability to work from anywhere, leverage global talent and virtual teams, and to collaborate securely with colleagues, partners, and customers is the 'new normal' for every business," said Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO of Box. "Google Cloud is an incredibly important partner as we innovate and scale to bring secure collaboration to our customers globally, and we're excited to continue making the combination of Box and G Suite as intuitive and seamless as possible for our customers."

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Box as a key global cloud infrastructure partner, and to enable more seamless integrations between Box and G Suite environments,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO at Google Cloud. “By building on Google Cloud and continuing to invest in the integration between Box and G Suite, we believe we can provide optimal experiences for our joint customers and for remote teams.”

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Dell'Oro: Worldwide data center CAPEX continues to grow

Data center capex, which includes capex for servers and other data center infrastructure equipment, is forecasted to grow at a 6% CAGR to just over $200 B over the next five years, according to Dell'Oro Group. Growth is forecasted to be mixed depending on the customer segment. The Cloud, which already accounts for more than 60% of the worldwide data center capex, will continue to gain momentum over Enterprise/On-premise data center deployments. Edge data centers deployed over Telco networks could emerge in the longer-term horizon.

Capex on servers, which generally accounts for nearly half of the data center capex, may be influenced by the following factors:

• Change in server unit demand from Cloud capacity and digestion cycles.
• Market volatility of commodity pricing of components such as memory.
• Server refresh cycles, which could prompt the replacement of aged servers and drive new deployments, could impact server architecture and pricing.
• Servers also drive the demand for auxiliary data center infrastructure equipment such as networking switches, storage systems, and facilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to profoundly disrupt global demand for data center infrastructure equipment in 2020. Impacted vertical industries, especially brick-and-mortar retail, travel, hospitality, and small and medium enterprises, have seen a pull-back in IT spending as they wait for the business climate to stabilize. As enterprises seek to conserve capital, Public Cloud, which offers a flexible and consumption-based infrastructure, could help meet the growing demands of remote work and distance learning. The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession may have the long-lasting effect of accelerating the permanent migration of certain industries and workloads to the Cloud.

Market and Technology Trends to Watch Out For

• The Top 4 U.S. Cloud service providers—Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft—are positioned to continue their momentum of expansion over the next five years. Servers will continue to be consolidated in fewer mega Cloud data centers that could potentially provide greater capacity than the same number of servers spread out across thousands of Enterprise data centers.
• The Top 4 U.S. Cloud service providers have been prolonging the useful life of servers in an effort to lower server depreciation expense while maintaining high efficiencies and reliability of their server fleet.
• The Intel server processor refresh cycles have historically influenced IT spending. While the major Cloud service providers typically ramp server capacity outside of the processor refresh cycle, the upcoming Intel 10 nm Whitley server platform refresh due later this year could generate an uplift on server spending. Viable alternatives to Intel processors, AMD EPYC and ARM, for server and storage system applications are starting to materialize in certain markets.
• Various open-source organizations have come together to share and standardize best practices in the design of efficient, scalable, and sustainable data center infrastructure. The Open Compute Project (OCP), in particular, has introduced various technological innovations in the areas of server and server connectivity, rack architecture, and networking switches, which could shape the future development of data center infrastructure.

https://www.delloro.com/news/worldwide-data-center-capex-to-grow-6-percent-cagr-by-2024-2/

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BT team with Ericsson for UK’s First Live 5G Private Network

BT is working with the Worcestershire 5G Testbed (W5G) as its lead technology partner to accelerate its vision of smart manufacturing. BT is to run and manage the live 5G Private Network, which uses Ericsson equipment, for Worcester Bosch factory and Malvern Hills Science Park. The project is described as the UK’s first live 5G factory installation.

Gerry McQuade, CEO of BT’s Enterprise business, said: “Working with W5G and Worcester Bosch, we’re creating a smart factory where machines can learn and adapt to changes on the factory floor as they happen, and make instant, autonomous decisions to optimise the production line.

“This is only possible by harnessing 5G Private Networks, IoT, data analytics and mobile edge computing. BT’s role is in making these technologies work in perfect harmony to gather and interpret the vast volumes of data generated by connected machines and turning this into real-time and actionable insight.

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Qualcomm adds the Chairman of Schneider Electric to Board

Qualcomm appointed Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric SE, to the Board, effective immediately. 

Tricoire has led Schneider Electric SE as CEO since 2006 and was named Chairman & CEO in 2013. He joined the Company in 1986 and has held global operational and leadership roles throughout his tenure. Tricoire is Vice President of the France-China Committee and Director of the Board of the United Nations Global Compact (USA). He is also a UN #HeForShe Corporate IMPACT champion and a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.

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