MEF publishes SASE Services Framework White Paper

MEF published its first SASE Services Framework whitepaper, in which it begins a standardization discussion around the concept of the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) first proposed by Gartner last year. SASE aims to bring together networking, security and policy automation.

Companies contributing to the MEF whitepaper included VMware, Versa Networks, Juniper Networks, Nuage Networks from Nokia, Fortinet, Datavision, Inc., Cisco and Ciena.

https://wiki.mef.net/display/CESG/SASE+Services+Framework+-+White+Paper

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Juniper posts Q2 sales of $1.086 billion

Juniper Networks reported better than expected Q2 financial results with revenue and EPS of $1,086M and $0.35 both exceeding the mid-point of the guidance range. Revenue was down 1% YOY, primarily due to ongoing supply constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and up 9% sequentially. GAAP net income was $61.2 million, an increase of 32% year-over-year, and an increase of 200% sequentially, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.18.

"We experienced solid demand during the June quarter, as our combination of technological differentiation and go- to-market execution drove a second consecutive quarter of positive order growth,” said Juniper’s CEO, Rami Rahim. “While the global macro environment remains uncertain, the strategic importance of the global network has never been clearer and we remain confident regarding the long-term outlook for our business. We delivered better than expected results during the June quarter, with both revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share exceeding the mid-point of our guidance,” said Juniper’s CFO, Ken Miller. “We are entering Q3 with healthy backlog and are optimistic regarding our ability to navigate COVID-19 related supply chain challenges and deliver improved profitability during the upcoming quarter."

Some highlights:

• Orders grew 6% year over year (YOY) and exceeding expectations. 
• Juniper secured 400G wins in every geography and vertical it serves,.
• In cloud, revenue increased 9% on a sequential basis, growing modestly for the fifth consecutive quarter, despite being flat YOY. Juniper’s largest cloud customer in Q2 was different as compared to Q1. Juniper expects modest growth for the cloud business in 2020, with some seasonality during Q3.
• The Enterprise business increased 1% in revenue on a sequential basis, exceeding initial expectations in Q2, but had a slight 2% decline YOY. Juniper continues to see strong momentum with Mist, driving confidence in its ability to gain enterprise share and return to growth once the pandemic subsides. Software revenue declined in Q2 and accounted for less than 10% of sales, though software orders grew 7% YOY due to a combination of strong Mist and Security subscriptions.
• The service provider business modestly declined YOY during Q2, as it was most impacted by COVID-19-related supply chain challenges. However, it experienced a second consecutive quarter of positive growth with a 16% increase in revenue. Much of the service provider order strength is attributable to diversification efforts across customers and products over the last few years. Based on current trends and conversations, the service provider business is likely to see a modest decline in 2020.
• Mist, which is the centerpiece of the company’s AI strategy, reported another record quarter with orders rising more than 170% on a YOY basis and new logos increasing by more than 100% YOY. Mist has now secured 4 Fortune 10 accounts and saw a material increase in demand generation from the channel, reflecting the true differentiation of the product. 

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AMD's Q2 revenue rises 26% YoY to $1.93 billion

AMD reported Q2 revenue of $1.93 billion, up 26% YoY,  operating income of $173 million, net income of $157 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.13. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income was $233 million, net income was $216 million and diluted earnings per share was $0.18.

"We delivered strong second quarter results, led by record notebook and server processor sales as Ryzen and EPYC revenue more than doubled from a year ago,” said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD president and CEO. "Despite some macroeconomic uncertainty, we are raising our full-year revenue outlook as we enter our next phase of growth driven by the acceleration of our business in multiple markets."

Computing and Graphics segment revenue was $1.37 billion, up 45 percent year-over-year and down 5 percent quarter-over-quarter. Revenue was higher year-over-year driven by strong Ryzen processor sales. The quarter-over-quarter decline was due to lower graphics processor sales.
Client processor average selling price (ASP) was up year-over-year driven by Ryzen processor sales.
Client processor ASP was down quarter-over-quarter due to a higher percentage of Ryzen mobile processor sales.
GPU ASP was lower year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter due to lower channel sales.
Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment revenue was $565 million, down 4 percent year-over-year and up 62 percent quarter-over-quarter. Revenue was lower year-over-year due to lower semi-custom product sales largely offset by higher EPYC processor sales. The quarter-over-quarter increase was driven by higher EPYC processor and semi-custom product sales.

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Fujitsu supplies its 1FINITY Switch platform to New Lisbon Telephony Co.

The New Lisbon Telephone Company, which serves east-central Indiana, has successfully deployed the Fujitsu 1FINITY Switch platform and Virtuora Network Control Solution to deliver ultra-fast Internet connectivity.

New Lisbon Telephone Company, and its subsidiary New Lisbon Broadband and Communications, provide high-speed fiber, DSL and wireless internet, as well as digital video and telephone services to residential and commercial subscribers in more than a dozen Indiana communities.

“This significant investment in our hybrid fiber and fixed wireless network allows us to achieve our commitment to deliver ultra-fast connections to our subscribers,” said John Greene, CEO, New Lisbon Telephone Company. “The combination of high performance, simplified network operations, affordability and small footprint made the Fujitsu 1FINITY and Virtuora solution an extremely appealing choice for our network upgrade.”

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CES 2021 in January to be virtual only

The Consumer Electronics Show, which aimed to be the first big tech event of 2021, will not be held in-person.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) confirmed that CES 2021 – January 6-9, 2021 will be an all-digital experience.

"Amid the pandemic and growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it's just not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “Technology helps us all work, learn and connect during the pandemic – and that innovation will also help us reimagine CES 2021 and bring together the tech community in a meaningful way. By shifting to an all-digital platform for 2021, we can deliver a unique experience that helps our exhibitors connect with existing and new audiences."

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Thailand's True picks ZTE for 5G

True Corporation Public Company Limited (True) has selected to build a commercial 5G network in Thailand.

True, a fully licensed operator in Thailand, with a 30% market share in the mobile market of the country, will adopt ZTE's 5G RAN products and services to build a commercial 5G network in Thailand. Specifically, ZTE will provide True with a series of products, including 5G 64TR/32TR/8TR/4TR macro stations and single-band/multi-band indoor QCell, to build a full-scenario and high-performance tri-band 5G network on 700MHz, 2.6GHz and 26GHz.

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Orange boosts capacity on MainOne Submarine Cable with Infinera

Orange deployed spectrum capacity with Infinera’s submarine solution on its MainOne submarine cable, a next-generation, 7,000-kilometer submarine cable that connects Portugal, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria and serves as the West African backbone network for Orange’s international connectivity in Africa.

Orange is using Infinera's XTS-3600 platform, based on Infinera’s fourth-generation Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE4), to significantly increase its regional capacity as well as improve the resilience of its submarine cables.

Infinera’s ICE4 technology leverages the unique features of the company's optical engine, which include Nyquist subcarriers, forward error correction gain sharing, and photonic integrated circuit-based technology. Infinera’s Instant Bandwidth enables ease of scalability and incremental capacity addition as needed within minutes, without requiring additional work on submarine infrastructure, providing a distinct advantage that operators can pass along to end-user customers.

“This deployment with Orange reinforces our ability to consistently deliver the highest performance in terms of submarine capacity and reach with our industry-leading Infinite Capacity Engine technology,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales at Infinera. “We remain committed to helping our customers cost-effectively keep pace with demand while lowering total cost of ownership.”

Orange to assemble West African backbone

Thursday, November 14, 2019  Orange, Subsea  

Orange will assemble a new international backbone serving West Africa by building a terrestrial fiber optic network coupled with submarine cables.

Orange said its new network will provide large-scale international capacity to the rest of the world via connections with other submarine cables. The new network will link up all the main capital cities in the region: Dakar, Bamako, Abidjan, Accra, and Lagos. Commercial launch of the West African backbone is planned for the second quarter of 2020.

Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, said: “For Orange, this West African backbone network represents a major investment that will secure availability of international connectivity and will enable us to meet the demand for increased bandwidth necessary for the continued digital development of regions within the zone.”

Jérôme Barré, CEO of Orange Wholesale and International Networks, said: “Through this project, Orange is clearly demonstrating its leadership and expertise in the design, deployment and operation of international network infrastructure. We are delighted to be able to offer our West African customers’ reliable, secure and high-quality international connectivity that connects them to the rest of the world.”

Orange is an investor in the MainOne submarine cable connecting Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire to Europe.

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Intel names a new tech team in wake of 7nm delays

Intel announced major leadership changes to its technology team, including the departure of Murthy Renduchintala, the company's Chief Engineering Officer. The news follows last week's disclosure that Intel's introduction of 7nm technology will be delayed by six months to a year.

Intel CEO Bob Swan said the changes are intended to accelerate product leadership and improve focus and accountability in process technology execution.

Intel's Technology, Systems Architecture and Client Group (TSCG) will be separated into the following teams:

• Technology Development, led by Dr. Ann Kelleher. An accomplished Intel leader, Kelleher has been head of Intel manufacturing, where she ensured continuous operations through the COVID-19 pandemic while increasing supply capacity to meet customer needs and accelerating the ramp of Intel’s 10nm process. She will now lead Intel technology development focusing on 7nm and 5nm processes. Dr. Mike Mayberry, who has been leading Technology Development, will consult and assist in the transition until his planned retirement at the end of the year. Mayberry has a 36-year track record of innovation at Intel, during which he has made key contributions in technology development and as the leader of Intel Labs.
• Manufacturing and Operations, led by Keyvan Esfarjani. Esfarjani most recently led manufacturing for Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group (NSG), in which role he set the vision and strategy for Intel’s memory manufacturing and led a rapid expansion of capacity. He will now lead global manufacturing operations and continue Kelleher’s work driving product ramp and the build-out of new fab capacity.
• Design Engineering, led in the interim by Josh Walden while Intel conducts an accelerated global search to identify a permanent world-class leader. Walden is a proven leader in technology manufacturing and platform engineering. Most recently, he has been leading the Intel Product Assurance and Security Group (IPAS), which will continue to report to him.
• Architecture, Software and Graphics will continue to be led by Raja Koduri. Koduri has responsibility for driving the development of Intel’s architecture and software strategy, and dedicated graphics product portfolio. Under his leadership, we will continue to invest in our software capability as a strategic asset and further build-out software engineering with cloud, platform, solutions and services expertise.
• Supply Chain will continue to be led by Dr. Randhir Thakur.  Thakur will report directly to the CEO as chief supply chain officer, recognizing the ever-growing importance of this role and our relationships with key players in the ecosystem. Thakur and his team are charged with ensuring supply chain is a competitive advantage for Intel.

“I look forward to working directly with these talented and experienced technology leaders, each of whom is committed to driving Intel forward during this period of critical execution,” said Swan. “I also want to thank Murthy for his leadership in helping Intel transform our technology platform. We have the most diverse portfolio of leadership products in our history and, as a result of our six pillars of innovation and disaggregation strategy, much more flexibility in how we build, package and deliver those products for our customers.”

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U.S. Cellular picks Nokia and Ericsson for 5G mmWave

U.S. Cellular is pushing ahead with its 5G rollout by signing contracts with both Ericsson and Nokia.

U.S. Cellular has chosen Ericsson to provide 24, 28 and 39 GHz millimeter wave (mmWave) equipment and services to support consumer and enterprise 5G use cases. In addition, Ericsson will provide 4G Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) equipment and services as U.S. Cellular continues its 5G modernization program.

U.S. Cellular will deploy Nokia’s AirScale portfolio, with Cloud RAN capabilities, to provide enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) 5G mmWave in the 24 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum bands.  The Nokia AirFrame open edge solution for Cloud RAN will also be included in the deployments, enabling a virtualized RAN that provides scalable benefits such as, significant Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) reduction through simplification automation and operation efficiency gains, as well as through the support of open ecosystems.

U.S. Cellular will also use Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) solution as a deployment component, which allows the scaling of 5G IoT services faster and more cost-effectively.

U.S. Cellular is beginning its multi-year deployment of 5G mmWave now, with commercial availability planned for 2021.

Mike Irizarry, CTO, U.S. Cellular, said: “U.S. Cellular and Nokia are taking bold steps forward together in the realm of 5G modernization and connectivity. With 5G mmWave technology from Nokia, we can provide our customers with the leading-edge capabilities of high performance, ultra-low latency 5G. By readying our network with these key foundational network elements, we can offer an even wider range of communications services that enhance our customers’ wireless experience.”

Ricky Corker, President of Customer Operations for Americas, Nokia, said: “We are pleased to extend our relationship with U.S. Cellular with 5G mmWave technology and enable the company to deliver to its consumer and enterprise customers exciting new 5G services that require lightning performance with no discernable latency. This is a big leap forward in the provision of fast, secure and reliable networks in the Western, Mid-West and Mid-Atlantic regions.”

Rob Johnson, Head of Customer Unit Regional Carriers for Ericsson, said: “Ericsson has a long history of working with U.S. Cellular, and I am excited to see the relationship grow even stronger as we support them on their 5G journey. By supplying 24, 28 and 39 GHz mmWave high-band and CBRS mid-band radios along with industry leading 4G and 5G products and services, Ericsson will enable U.S. Cellular’s customers to take advantage of all of the speed and versatility that 5G networks have to offer.

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Vantage completes acquisition of NGD data center in Cardiff

Vantage Data Centers completed its acquisition of Next Generation Data (NGD) from InfraVia along with the two founders of NGD. Financial terms were not disclosed.

NGD, which operates a data center campus located on 50-acres in the Cardiff Capital Region in South Wales, UK. The existing NGD data center campus is a Tier III 180MW facility, including an existing 72MW capacity and 108MW of expansion capacity. It uses 100% renewable energy and is rich in fiber delivered by many Tier 1 service providers. Latency between Wales and London is less than 1.5 milliseconds. In addition, NGD Cloud Gateway provides multiple access services, including Express Route and Connect, and NGD recently became a new hosting facility for LINX Wales. The highly secure site meets the U.K. government’s highest standards, and is one of many reasons that multiple blue-chip, high growth companies currently house their IT infrastructure within NGD’s 750,000 square foot facility.

Cardiff marks Vantage’s sixth European market following its acquisition of Etix Everywhere and entrance into Berlin, Frankfurt, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich in February 2020.

“The acceleration of digital transformation that continues to be at the forefront of our global economy emphasizes the need for reliable data center capacity that can scale quickly to meet skyrocketing demand,” said Sureel Choksi, president and CEO, Vantage Data Centers. “Vantage is excited to enter the U.K. market and is committed to growing around the world in locations that are most critical to our hyperscale and cloud customers.”

Vantage Data Centers launch $2 billion European expansion strategy

Monday, February 10, 2020  Data Centers, Vantage  

Vantage Data Centers has launched a $2 billion expansion into Europe with the aim of establishing itself in the hyperscale market.

As part of its expansion strategy, Vantage has acquired Etix Everywhere, which has 50MW of built data center capacity across its footprint and is building a 55MW hyperscale data center campus in Frankfurt, Germany. Financial terms were not disclosed. In conjunction with the Etix acquisition, Antoine Boniface, former CEO of Etix, has joined the Vantage executive team to serve as president, Europe.

In addition, Vantage Europe has secured land and is planning to develop hyperscale data center campuses in Berlin, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich. The facilities, which are currently underway, are in the following European markets:

• Berlin: 64MW campus on 13 acres (5 hectares)
• Milan: 32MW campus on 17 acres (7 hectares)
• Warsaw: 64MW campus 12 acres (5 hectares)
• Zurich: 40MW campus on 7 acres (3 hectares)

Vantage said intends to invest USD $2 billion in its planned European expansion, including more than USD $800 million in new equity capital provided by Vantage’s current investors and a new commitment from Digital Colony Partners.

“As data center demand from our customer base continues to rapidly increase worldwide, Vantage is embarking upon its largest expansion ever into Europe through the development of five strategic markets,” said Sureel Choksi, president and CEO of Vantage. “The acquisition of Etix accelerates our expansion to Frankfurt, Europe’s highest growth hyperscale market. We are very excited to welcome Antoine and his team to lead our European business.”

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F5 reports sales of $583M, up 4% YoY

F5 reported GAAP revenue of $583 million for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2020, reflecting 4% growth from $563 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2019.  GAAP net income for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 was $70 million, or $1.14 per diluted share compared to third quarter fiscal year 2019 GAAP net income of $86 million, or $1.43 per diluted share.

“Large enterprise customers are accelerating their digital transformations, increasing their digital engagement, and boosting capacity and security on customer facing applications and on platforms that enable employee collaboration,” said François Locoh-Donou, CEO and President of F5.

Some highlights:

• Product bookings: Government 18%, Enterprises 67%, Service Providers 15%
• F5 is nearly 100% work-from-home and expect the majority of F5ers will work remotely for the remainder of CY20
• Subscriptions accounted for 73% of Q3FY20 software revenue
• In Q3FY20, F5 closed the largest number of subscription deals ever in a quarter

https://investors.f5.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx

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DT: 30,000 antennas for 5G in live operation

Deutsche Telekom confirmed that its 5G network now covers 3,000 towns and municipalities in Germany, representing half of the country's population.

"Today, we are celebrating a special day for 5G. Half the population in Germany is now covered. 5G has arrived in all German states. This is a big step for our customers, our network and for digitization in Germany," says Walter Goldenits, Head of Technology at Telekom Deutschland. "But the 50 percent is no reason for us to rest on our laurels. The 5G roll-out continues with the same intensity. Two thirds of the population are our next target. And we want to achieve this too this year.”

Deutsche Telekom uses spectrum on the 2.1 and 3.6 GHz frequency bands.

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/5g-for-40-million-people-in-germany-604514

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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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Blueprint for the Quantum Internet

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) outlined a blueprint strategy for the development of a national Quantum Internet.

The DoE's 17 national laboratories will serve as the first nodes on the Quantum Internet. Also participating will be the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the National Security Agency, and NASA. The academic community and industry will also be invited.

At a launch event hosted by the University of Chicago, officals described the initiative as "bringing the United States to the forefront of the global quantum race and ushering in a new era of communications."

“The Department of Energy is proud to play an instrumental role in the development of the national quantum internet,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. “By constructing this new and emerging technology, the United States continues with its commitment to maintain and expand our quantum capabilities.”

In February, scientists from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, and the University of Chicago entangled photons across a 52-mile “quantum loop” in the Chicago suburbs, successfully establishing one of the longest land-based quantum networks in the nation. That network will soon be connected to DOE’s Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, establishing a three-node, 80-mile testbed.

“The combined intellectual and technological leadership of the University of Chicago, Argonne, and Fermilab has given Chicago a central role in the global competition to develop quantum information technologies,” said Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago. “This work entails defining and building entirely new fields of study, and with them, new frontiers for technological applications that can improve the quality of life for many around the world and support the long-term competitiveness of our city, state, and nation.”

 “Argonne, Fermilab, and the University of Chicago have a long history of working together to accelerate technology that drives U.S. prosperity and security,” said Argonne Director Paul Kearns. “We continue that tradition by tackling the challenges of establishing a national quantum internet, expanding our collaboration to tap into the vast power of American scientists and engineers around the country.”

Video of the event
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR0wVCs9DxI

Technical report: From Long-distance Entanglement to Building a Nationwide Quantum Internet
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1638794/

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