Sustainability is not a fashionable topic or an action that companies must take individually: in recent times, long-term care for the environment and society has been consolidated as one of the main priorities of executives around the world. It is not just about altruism, but also about staying profitable and competitive in a world where 35% of people say they are more willing to engage with responsible companies, according to data from the #CCSIndex (Conscious Consumer Spending Index).

Digital transformation acceleration and the exponential growth of the need to generate, capture, transmit, store, and process data place data centers on the spotlight: an estimate of IDC consulting from the end of 2021 projected that in the previous three years energy consumption of multitenant data centers had grown 31% while hyperscalers had increased 117%.

Our industry is the protagonist of change.  According to the statistics portal Statista, “green” data centers investments will almost grow by 3-fold in barely six years; in fact US$49,2 billion from 2020 will become more than US$140 billion by 2026.

A purpose that multiplies

Many measures are being taken towards decarbonization (for example, most companies have truly clear goals in place aimed at zero emissions with the furthest horizon located in 2030), but this is just the beginning.

Purpose multiplies and becomes more challenging; it’s no longer about stop damaging the planet, as proposed by corporate social responsibility policies until a few years ago but generating benefit for the environment.

Although some macro trends stand out, such as the growing use of renewable energies, the implementation of solar panels to power the network nodes directly, or the use of increasingly efficient technological components in terms of energy consumption, the reality marks that sustainable practices must be in the DNA of organizations and permeate every project and initiative that arises: process optimization, elimination of inefficiencies, the ability to detect redundancies… All these actions result in a positive impact

Time of cooperation

Cooperation and collaboration are other big challenges sustainability calls for: organizations must not only worry about their individual actions but for what happens throughout their value chain.  It’s a topic where synergies are key and the whole is definitively greater than the sum of its parts.

Metrics play a fundamental role: speeches and intentions are useless unless supported by reliable and transparent data to understand where we are going and how close the company is to meet its sustainable targets.  Managed data center and connectivity service providers capable to prove their math and carbon footprint estimates, are helping their current and potential customers move forward with their own decarbonization strategies where the cloud had a fundamental role, since it decreases organizations’ internal consumption.

We often hear the phrase “future is digital”. However, it is sustainability, which in fact assures quality of life and wellbeing in that future.

Author:

Gabriel del Campo
VP Data Center, Cloud & Security
Cirion Technologies

With the increased use of artificial intelligence and other technologies that demand a high volume of data processing, Edge Computing is the only architecture capable of improving response times and saving bandwidth. 

This is because next-generation applications require speed, low latency, and security.  These are items that represent a big challenge for IT teams around the world.  After all, these features directly influence management, user experience, and costs.  

There’s no use in having the best team, money to invest, customers, etc., if a structure doesn’t support what’s necessary to unlock and take advantage of the complete growth potential.  The barrier is that traditional architectures present latency, coverage, and cost issues.  And more than 1,700 IT decision-makers and C-level executives around the world say so, according to the trends report “The indispensable in edge computing”, from April 2021. 

For 83% of participants, network latency is the main determinant of application performance.  On the other hand, most are concerned that high latency is affecting the quality of these applications.  Another key finding from the survey is that 86% of IT decision-makers agree that low latency applications help differentiate their organizations from the competition. 

The great benefits of Edge Computing 

The arrival of 5G is expected to accelerate businesses’ digital transformation, increasingly demanding more computing power and speed. Edge Computing’s architecture proposal prevents data from traveling long distances to be processed and returned to where they are needed. This minimizes infrastructure latency.  Plus, reducing the difference from 10 milliseconds to 5 milliseconds makes a tremendous difference, even though it seems unlikely at first glance.  

To give you an idea of the difference this makes in terms of business, a global e-commerce giant noticed that a 100 milliseconds delay was enough to reduce its sales by 1%. 

This also seems to be the solution of choice for executives who took part in the survey.  Three out of four expect edge computing to have a positive impact in expanding access to technology and stimulating innovation. Most believe it will enable job creation and boost entrepreneurship. In other words, it will very likely generate positive impacts on business and society. 

Edge computing provides more security 

Besides latency, network services’ performance and reliability are major concerns challenging IT managers on a daily basis. However, data security is what demands more work and care.  

After all, besides financial losses, a leak can seriously affect the customer’s trust, as has happened almost ten years ago with a graphic software company, when hackers gained access to 153 million user records.  

As we have observed in the increasing cases of cyberattacks around the world, traditional perimeter-based security approaches are no longer sufficient to protect companies, employees, and customers.  

Again, that’s where Edge Computing comes in.  It can provide security, speed, and capacity – all key elements in enabling greater privacy and data protection. 

To deliver amazing, differentiated experiences for your business and customers, next-generation apps need distributed, secure edge computing that operates in close proximity to where things and people are, where they produce and consume information.  

Edge Architecture will increasingly gain ground 

What motivated me to talk more about Edge Computing is that, for many, it is a term that is still poorly understood.  I can notice this on my daily contacts with customers and potential customers.  So, there is still a lot of room for building together and understanding every value and potential this architecture has to offer. 

Last, but not least, IT managers have already found that Edge solutions provide the best balance between cost and performance, for both local solutions and the main public clouds.  This is why our company believes that Edge Computing will exhibit a significant growth in the coming years.

Tatiana Fonseca
Vice-President of Operations at Cirion 

For 23 years, she has worked as a technology executive and consultant for large telecom companies, always achieving significant results in environments of large investments and challenging timelines.  She has led digital transformation projects, organizational restructuring in mergers, development and deployment of new business models, systems and critical processes involving Operations, Engineering, IT, Customer Relations, Marketing, and Sales, always meeting the complex challenges presented.

This October 4^th we celebrate International Customer Experience Day, CX Day 2022.  This date is important because it invites us to remember – and accept – that customer experience must become a fundamental pillar in the culture of our organizations. 

However, how can this be achieved?  How can we move from a simple statement to a real practice that impacts the entire organization?

It is key to understand that all employees in the organization, regardless of the hierarchy of their responsibilities, must be able to place customer satisfaction at the core of their work.  

In principle, this implies mindful, registered, and measurable processes that, through consistency, one must aspire to transform into practices that are an inherent – natural and almost instinctive – part of the organizational culture.  This is the point where one truly begins to live, breathe, and feel customer experience at every stage and period of the organization.

However, when we position customer experience at the core of our organizational culture, we are both contributing to add value to our business and, particularly, to the success of our operations. 

At Cirion, 80% of our 2021 revenue stems from customers who have been with us for more than 5 years, while 74% of our customers acquired two or more of our solutions that same year.

The numbers are indisputable: a satisfied customer should be an organization’s main aspiration.

When we focus on the organization’s energy, especially that of its employees, – the ones that ultimately build culture – the customer can benefit from an enriched experience, with increased added value over time.

Finally, although this CX Day represents a milestone where we can reflect on our performance in terms of customer experience, as an organization we should strive to make every touchpoint, every day, every moment, an opportunity to test ourselves, assess ourselves and give our best.   

We have at stake our companies’ purpose, focused on strengthening customer loyalty and fidelity.  However, these two concepts aren’t equal.

A faithful customer is one who’s interested in the company’s products or services; the company is able to ensure that they continue requesting our range of products and/or services thanks to loyalty programs that grant them offers and/or services.

On the other hand, loyal customers are those who internalize not only the company’s products or services, but also the values we claim.  In this instance, they are customers who would have an equally consistent relationship with the company, even without specific loyalty programs or advantages. In other words, they are customers who have established a long-term relationship with the organization because of an identification with its values, asserted as actual standards. 

Author: 
Emilio Madero
EVP, Marketing
Cirion Technologies

Recently, my term ended as chair of the ITW Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF), a group that brings together representatives from the world’s most influential wholesale carriers. It was an amazing experience. The role offered me a chance to view industry concerns holistically, rather than from a specific corporate point of view. It also allowed me to work with my peers during one of the most challenging periods in recent memory on a wide range of important issues, such as diversity and interconnectivity.

Our board and working group discussions gave me a wide range of perspectives and practices, which in turn helped confirm a core principle of mine—that we live in an age of technological optimism. The pandemic reinforced that we can never escape uncertainty, but I also believe that days of promise and progress lie ahead. Here are a few trends that stand out.

Diversity Is Now A Business Practice, Not A Buzzword.

During my career, I have seen a dramatic transformation in how we view the value of diversity and inclusivity. What used to be perceived as a “nice to have” has quickly become a “must-have.” The GLF released its third Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) report at the 2022 International Telecoms Week in May. Among those companies that participated in our first two reports, 54% indicated that DIB drives individual performance, attracts and retains talent, enhances innovation, and enables closer customer relationships.

Customers Are In The Driver’s Seat.

I’m a big believer in customer centricity—using customer insights to determine business priorities and decisions while leveraging data to do the right things at the right time for clients. Customers have a thirst for bandwidth and connectivity, and we need to deliver these services in a timely and secure manner with a full understanding of their business needs. New technologies, such as blockchain, also require network providers to offer safe environments for data and collaboration, including strong cyber security and consistent standards. By staying close to our customers, we can make sure that innovation stays collaborative and relevant to what is important to them.

Humanity Is Our True Bottom Line.

Business leaders recognize that technology has transformed the way we work and live; those of us responsible for delivering data and applications understand our impact on the wellbeing of society and the role we can play to build sustainable economies. At Lumen, we focus on furthering human progress through technology. It is our mantra, the reason we come to work. The pandemic highlighted the importance of keeping communities linked through technology and made it clear that network connectivity represents an essential service throughout the world, just like water and electricity.

Technology accelerates innovation, almost to the point that miracles have become commonplace. For instance, consider the extraordinary speed that pharmaceutical companies managed to develop effective vaccines to address the Covid-19 crisis. Once upon a time, it was enough to ensure everyone was connected. Now, we can make connectivity a core component behind meaningful, positive change, and that’s clearly something to be optimistic about.

Read the original post in English > https://blog.lumen.com/the-case-for-technological-optimism/

AUTHOR

Laurinda Pang

Laurinda Pang is President of Global Customer Success for Lumen. She brings more than 25 years of telecommunications experience to this role, which helps protect, nurture and grow enterprise customer relationships. Laurinda also leads business and operational results in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Lumen’s wholesale business. Over the course of her career, Laurinda has driven significant business initiatives while holding several global and North American leadership roles with Level 3 Communications and Global Crossing.

According to Lumen’s experts, highly interconnected networks and top performance data centers are key elements to enable companies leverage the potential of opportunities this new technological paradigm proposes. 

Metaverse is on the spotlight – this new virtual and immersive universe that redefines the way people interact, entertain, and work, also entails new challenges for organizations. The so-called “Industrial Metaverse” or “Business Metaverse” promotes new spaces to launch products, hold customer events, perform remote demonstrations, showcase new experiences for consumers or drive collaboration between team members, among various cases of use. 

There are no limits: the combination of 3D technologies, virtual reality and augmented reality, big data, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence make it possible to simulate any situation or build digital twins, i.e., reproductions of elements of reality (from a machine to a factory, from a power grid to a rail run, and from a building to an entire city) to test or change what-if scenarios with very little cost, no delay, and no risk of disruption. This is how successful elements can be deployed into reality.  For example, a technical team that must test a car engine under different circumstances can sense acceleration, speed, noises, and many other variables. 

From a technology standpoint, Internet is the backbone that enables the Metaverse performance -it can be hosted both in the cloud and on the edge. To deliver the best experience, connectivity must provide high bandwidth levels and minimal latency. 

This is so because real-time processing and transfer of huge amounts of data and the speed of response are key – these are multi-user environments where all avatars (or users) must see the same reality. Each of these actions -a movement, something they say, an element shown or shared- have an impact on the rest. A bare second delay can “disrupt” this alternate universe’s sense of reality. 

“Network infrastructure service behind these Metaverses must be highly interconnected to minimize latency, provide edge proposals to bring processing closer to the place where facts occur, and provide maximum bandwidth to support immersive and complex experiences with the highest quality”, says Alejandro Girardotti, Regional Director of Connectivity and Content for Lumen LATAM. 

Lumen’s Platform combines a fiber-optic network to connect different clouds, both public and private, edge and endpoints, end-to-end managed services, and low Latency processing capacity for any kind of application, which altogether assure performance, flexibility, agility, and security levels that Metaverse requires. 

Telecommunications were extended worldwide in the mid-19th century through the telegraph, telephone, radio and television. However, it wasn’t until the mid-20th century, when satellites took off from Earth and were put into orbit, that the simultaneous transmission of information connected every corner of the planet.  Satellite services have come a long way since their not-so-early implementation, and while we may forget they are out there, the impact they have had on the transformation of humanity is unparalleled. 

Satellite systems make it possible to provide telecommunications services to isolated or access-limited areas or communities where terrestrial communications systems do not provide coverage or where implementation is economically unfeasible. For this reason, they have begun as a fundamental tool for long-distance communications. 

If the launch of the first ‘early bird’ satellite had not been successful in 1963, probably many of the telephone, television and internet services we enjoy today would not be possible.  Simply, without Mexico’s first connection to Intelsat’s (Satellite Telecommunications Organization) communications satellites via its Tulancingo, Hidalgo ground station, the worldwide broadcast of the 1986 Olympic Games would not have occurred. 

Since the 1960s, satellites have been used to provide television, broadcasting, data and voice transmission services, strengthening information distribution systems for industries and in preventing events (such as weather phenomena, for example). As technology evolved, humanity continued progressing in all aspects; in this sense, satellite capabilities have evolved. 

Today, satellites have gone beyond their initial capabilities to add value to each connection generated, optimizing time and resources in corporate activities that are often complemented by terrestrial infrastructures. Satellite services have enabled companies in different industries to advance in the development of their solutions and the delivery of services, aligned to current needs through monitoring of traffic and latency. 

In industries that require specific speed and bandwidth, or those that may have shared bandwidth, there are satellite networks with end-to-end capabilities.  Internet of Things (IoT) applications to allow fast decision making in the business field has increased the demand for flexible satellite services, which is why we will continue to see transformations in this area. 

The evolution of satellite services will continue to occur in tandem with our development as humanity and we will see how it will advance to be able to sustain not only the types of communication known since the 19th century, but also aligned with innovations such as IoT, autonomous cars, and smart cities.

Author:
Carlos Allende
Country Manager, Mexico and Sales Director, Cluster Norte
Lumen Technologies