5G Demands a New & Unified Approach to Data
The move to Digital, 5G and IoT has generated significant pressure for operators to overhaul their data strategy and fast. Ericsson forecast that there will be in the region of 1.5 billion IoT devices driven by cellular connections by 2020. What’s more, Silicon Republic project that, with the onset of 5G from 2019 onwards, mobile data traffic is expected to surge by eight times during the forecast period, reaching 110 exabytes per month by 2023. As is already evident, market changes in technology, economics, shifting business models and customer engagement practices have profoundly impacted operations. This is due to inordinate data volumes, the embracing of Internet economics and the bespoke relationship management models required for operators to prosper in the new Digital Economy.
Impending Data Complexity Requires a Proactive Strategy
Until now, the focus has been on catching the wave of change through accelerated Digital Transformation efforts and 5G rollouts. Notably, the 5G business case has been largely driven at a use case level by IoT, VR/AR services and Super High Definition video services – All of which are presenting heightened interactive dynamics, demanding real-time actionable data. However, the attempt to stay at the forefront of these industry evolutions has meant that operators have failed to move from a reactive to a proactive position when it comes to effectively managing and leveraging the data complexity coming down the track.
The comprehensive management of such complex data environments demands that operators move away from point data solutions and siloed ecosystems towards a consolidated view of data and its consumption channels. In the converged networks of today, data flows originate from a myriad of upstream data sources, often with a myriad of conflicting format types. Ingested raw data in and of itself holds minimal value to the business until it is aggregated, correlated and enriched to form applicable data sets which can be consumed by downstream applications or consumers for either direct value delivery or automation purposes.
5G & IoT Driving Intelligence to the Edge
It is becoming acutely clear that a unified data fabric, which sits across the network, is the best means of resolving the data orchestration complexities experienced today. Forrester rightly foresee that the move to 5G and IoT will increasingly drive intelligence to the edge, compounding the need for a consolidated, 360 degree data integration layer to guarantee data completeness and decisioning integrity.
So what is a data fabric and why should you care? As described by IDG, the concept of a «data fabric» is an approach to help organisations better deal with fast growing data, ever changing application requirements and distributed processing needs. Resolving not only today’s data management constraints, the move to 5G necessitates a data fabric approach to ensure that operators are strategically positioned to truly deliver on network slicing and the secure execution of 5G service orchestration.
To learn more, download Mastering Data Management for the Digital Economy
