Camille Mendler - Chief Analyst
Enterprises don’t need convincing about 5G’s vaunted benefits: they’re increasingly eager to buy into them, according to Omdia’s 2022 IT Enterprise Insights Survey, which queried 4,500 B2B decision makers about their digital investment plans (see figure). But to satisfy increasingly impatient B2B customers, MWC exhibitors must demonstrate progress in three key areas: the delivery of on-demand 5G network slicing services, provision of real-time service orchestration tools, and not least, the availability of market-ready industry solutions.
5G network slicing is ripe for the taking: 34% of enterprises expect to invest in 5G network slicing within the next two years.
Most MWC announcements will focus on technical performance features rather than the contractual terms of a network slicing SLA. But do ask about billable metrics that any network slicing service plans to use—the answer will suggest how soon a true commercial launch is likely.
Source: Omdia
News about 5G professional services capabilities is a signal about 5G market maturity: deploying enterprise 5G isn’t trivial. Watch out for integrator, vendor, and CSP alliances for on-the-ground services. Design, build, and implementation partners are important, but so is the ability to manage enterprise 5G services. Anticipate new management tools from enterprise service management and telco BSS/OSS firms eager to ride the 5G wave. Further adoption of open APIs for 5G enterprise services should follow.
Finally, expect more industries to make their presence felt at MWC: besides automotive, look for manufacturing, energy, utilities, transportation, and industrial control firms’ involvement. Industry associations allying with technology counterparts are a positive sign. No single industry owns enterprise 5G, but further codification of dialogue and service definitions can—and must—preempt a 5G Tower of Babel.
Serious about telco, excited about 5G, Google wants to build deeper relationships with CSPs that deliver mutual monetization. Expect a focus on three complementary propositions: building the data-driven CSP, cloudification of networks, and the 5G edge. It is the latter proposition that will stimulate more enterprise 5G service co-creation across a range of verticals. Watch out AWS!
Japan’s NTT continues to be a pragmatic thought leader in the enterprise 5G space, with solutions bridging both private and public networking environments, as well as IT and telecom competences. Expect to see a nuanced exposition of its service management expertise that puts multisite, multinational enterprises in greater control of their 5G service experiences, while also securing their physical and virtual assets.
Sometimes overshadowed by other Chinese vendors, ZTE tells an increasingly compelling enterprise 5G story and has garnered a growing number of industrial customers. Expect to hear more about its 5G network as a service proposition, which simplifies on-demand service creation, personalization, and deployment. Enabling slicing as a service for both SMEs and large enterprises is an interesting element of the portfolio.
You can meet with Omdia's expert team at the following events:
Comcast Business Analyst Day (March 8, virtual event)
Enterprise Connect 2022 (March 21–24 , Orlando, FL)
The Big 5G Event (May 16–18, Austin, TX)
