While it is not an uncommon occurrence for emerging concepts to change during their formative development over time, the lack of clarity can create confusion for those in need of the technology. Here we’ll discuss how data fabrics are evolving – and how they can help distributed enterprises better manage their far-flung data operations.

See the Top 7 Data Management Trends to Watch in 2022

What is a Data Fabric?

In a 2018 talk by NetApp’s data fabric chief architect, Eiki Hrafnsson, he outlined the Data Fabric 1.0 vision as “essentially being able to move your data anywhere; whether it’s on-prem, the enterprise data center, or to the public cloud.”

In a theatrical and entertaining tech demo, NetApp engineers debuted this technology in 2015 by rapidly transferring 10GB of encrypted data between AWS and Azure cloud, all from a simple drag-and-drop interface.

This addressed a real change toward fluid data transfer between mediums, something like a storage network for the Big Data and cloud era. However, years later, this kind of performance is now generally expected, causing a shift in the development of the data fabric and what it could be used for.

According to Gartner, a data fabric is:

“ … a design concept that serves as an integrated layer (fabric) of data and connecting processes. A data fabric utilizes continuous analytics over existing, discoverable, and inferenced metadata assets to support the design, deployment, and utilization of integrated and reusable data across all environments, including hybrid and multicloud platforms.”

Comparatively, IBM defines a data fabric as:

“ … an architectural approach to simplify data access in an organization to facilitate self-service data consumption. This architecture is agnostic to data environments, processes, utility, and geography, all while integrating end-to-end data-management capabilities. A data fabric automates data discovery, governance, and consumption, enabling enterprises to use data to maximize their value chain.”

While both definitions borrow from the original concept, the idea of what a data fabric is has become more complex in order to keep up with current data trends.

Also read: Enterprise Storage Trends to Watch in 2022

Data Fabric 2.0

NetApp reassessed their idea of the data fabric in the years following its debut, redefining the concept thusly: “The NetApp Data Fabric simplifies the integration and orchestration of data for applications and analytics in clouds, across clouds, and on-premises to accelerate digital transformation.”

In other words, the scope and functionality expanded to better integrate existing enterprise applications with data sources, making the programs agnostic to the source media.

NetApp claims this fabric architecture carries numerous benefits:

• It creates a better posture to resist vendor lock-in by liberating data and offering the freedom of choice between cloud providers or on-premises, switching at any time you like.
• It empowers data management, increases mobility by knocking down silos, facilitates cloud-based backup and recovery, and may also improve data governance, the company says.
• Data fabrics enhance data discovery by granting full-stack visibility with their suite of visualization tools.

Other companies such as Talend have their own data fabric analytical tools, many of which extend the fabric to both internal and external consumers and contributors through the use of APIs.

Data Fabric Challenges

Most companies today house their data in multiple locations and in a variety of formats; therefore, data fabrics can’t always have access to all data. Moreover, the distributed nature of the data often leads to poor data quality, which can skew data analysis when aggregated.

According to a study in the Harvard Business Review, a mere 3% of companies’ data adhere to the study’s standard of data quality. The study also found that nearly half of all newly-created records contain a critical error.

According to Talend, creating a unified data environment can alleviate these quality control issues by giving IT greater control and flexibility over the end product. Their tools, the company says, build better data stewardship, more effective data cleansing, and better compliance and integrity through data lineage tracing.

Data Fabrics and Data Management

Tools like data fabrics can make the job of data quality control easier, but if they’re wielded incorrectly, then the company may find itself spending more to make up for the issues with data or analyses.

How we interact with our data is only half the bigger picture. The other half is how we create it. Data tends to be created on the fly, and to serve a limited, time-sensitive purpose. A data fabric can help IT wrangle bad or outdated data more quickly, but ideally, we should also be mitigating these issues on the front end as data is created.

If you’re curious to see a demonstration of data fabric tools to see how you might leverage them in your company, check out this hour long talk from NetApp’s chief data fabric architect.

Read next: Top Big Data Storage Tools

The post Unifying Data Management with Data Fabrics appeared first on IT Business Edge.

In automation and interconnectivity, high-speed wireless communication plays a significant role, as it acts like a bridge between seamless yet scalable connectivity and machines, sensors, and users. It also connects the Internet of Things (IoT), robots, drones, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Another benefit comes in the form of eliminating cables from devices with limited mobility.

The expansion of Industry 4.0 has hastened the demand for faster and more secure connectivity. The fifth-generation cellular network (5G) offers the stability and speed to connect all these devices and then fetch and analyze the data.

5G for Industrial Applications, a new study by ABI Research, predicts widespread adoption of 5G technology in the manufacturing sector by 2028. The study also reveals that the manufacturing industry alone will generate 25% of the total revenue in the 5G global market.

Advantages of 5G in Industrial Automation

Faster and reliable digital connectivity

5G, the successor to the fourth-generation cellular network (4G), enables faster data transfer over the internet. Not only does 5G enhance the digital connectivity of users but also the connectivity of sensors and other IoT devices. 5G offers data transfer rates at 20Gbps with a low latency of one millisecond or, in other words, without any delay.

More than anything else, 5G is nearly as reliable as wired connectivity and makes it possible to conduct critical communications in real time. This sets the groundwork for a reliable, faster, and secure operation of applications and devices. Moreover, 5G offers new opportunities where other wireless technologies like Wi-Fi will not be sufficient.

Competitive edge

Currently, the number of IoT devices connected to the internet is many times greater than the number of actual human netizens. Recent research predicts that IoT devices worldwide will cross 31 billion units by 2025, a sharp rise from roughly 14 billion units in 2021. This additional number of connected devices is mainly used in industrial applications and automation.

Several IoT companies are investing a great amount on 5G technology research, as they realize it can revolutionize the automated and connected smart factories of the future. Thus, adopting 5G technology is crucial in gaining a competitive edge in today’s market. However, if a business fails to adopt it early enough, it will be left behind in the market.

Also read: Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022

Secured, enhanced, and flexible production

In a smart factory with 5G networking, only walls, ceiling, and floor will be the immovable components. Every other part will be scalable, portable, and easily reconfigurable. 5G networking creates a wireless yet high-performing infrastructure that enables efficient communication between machinery, people, and facilities.

Moreover, 5G technology allows the implementation of new industrial manufacturing concepts. It also has the potential to streamline gadgets and workforces in the field of industrial production and logistics.

Guaranteed data sovereignty

With the advent of 5G technology, industrial production lines got the first-time opportunity to set up, operate, and tailor local networks precisely for industrial applications. Additionally, it allows users to bring every relevant security aspect under their control. In this way, businesses can reduce cybersecurity and enterprise risks by guaranteeing data sovereignty.

More straightforward conversion to 5G technology

It is true that 5G technology accelerates data transmission speed among IoT devices and gives an extra boost to Industry 4.0. Everything from logistics to production lines benefits from faster, real-time data transmission.

But all of this is only possible if the business installs 5G-enabled devices and networks in the first place. As a result, several globally leading IT companies have begun helping businesses implement 5G technology in industrial automation from scratch.

Practical Use Cases of 5G Technology in Industrial Automation

Here are five practical 5G technology use cases and the companies that are currently pioneering these innovative approaches.

Industrial process automation

Smart factories powered by 5G technology automates monotonous, labor-intensive, and dangerous tasks. This brings down human errors and the risk of fatal accidents and, at the same time, provides the workforce with more time to concentrate on critical tasks.

MTU Aero Engines, a German aircraft engine manufacturer, experimented with 5G technology and made their operations more efficient. The innovations include testing their applications on blade integrated disks (blisk), a high-tech jet engine component, and reducing the manufacturing time of blisks by 75% using a smart factory.

Remote monitoring

In smart factories, production lines can be monitored and controlled remotely without the need for workers or operators on the factory floor. With its high-speed data transmission and lower latency, 5G technology makes real-time remote monitoring easy.

To take a real-world example, Siemens installed its first real-time remote monitoring system for Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) in one of its factories in Mexico.

Robotics

Industrial manufacturers have been employing robots for quite a long time, but the scene has totally changed with the advent of 5G technology.

Robots, designed to work alongside humans, are used mainly to move goods from one location to another. Previously, these robots were connected using a wired network, but 5G technology eliminated the wired network system and allowed faster and more efficient robotics.

KT Corp, South Korea’s leading telecom company partnered with Hyundai Engineering & Construction to develop 5G network infrastructure at construction sites. Their partnership has an objective to develop construction and automation technology. Along with that, they plan to deploy robots over the 5G infrastructure to boost productivity and efficient monitoring at construction sites.

Predictive maintenance

A recent Wall Street Journal report states that unpredictable downtimes cost more than $50 billion each year for industrial manufacturers. HIROTEC, a globally leading automobile parts manufacturer, deployed an IoT cloud platform and edge analytics to get real-time visibility into the efficiency of its business operations.

HIROTEC deployed all these industrial automation initiatives over a 5G network as a way to leverage machine learning (ML) to predict and prevent downtime and mishaps. The result led to reduced downtime and accidents as well as the elimination of manual inspections.

3D printing

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has already made ripples in industrial manufacturing, particularly for spare parts and construction. The higher bandwidth and lower latency of 5G technology are revolutionizing the arena of construction.

For instance, Hadrian X, an autonomous bricklaying robot and the first of its kind in the world, does its job effortlessly, as it can quickly process massive amounts of data transferred over a 5G network.

When 3D printing is synchronized with the speed and low latency of 5G technology, a four-bedroom house can be printed 95% percent faster and up to 90% cheaper. So, now there are no limits to the imaginations of the construction companies and architects. They are now free to design and construct buildings beyond traditional design-to-cost limitations.

5G Technology: The Central Nervous System of Industry 4.0

The emergence of 5G technology will transform how Industry 4.0 produces and distributes goods and services. The key features of 5G technology, such as lower latency, higher reliability, and increased speed, support emerging technologies and their innovative approaches and applications in smart factories.

CNBC reports that by 2023, smart factories, mainly because of their efficiency and cost-effectiveness, will contribute more than $2 trillion to the global economy.

Read next: 5G and AI: Ushering in New Tech Innovation

The post 5G and Industrial Automation: Practical Use Cases appeared first on IT Business Edge.

5G and Edge Computing

5G and edge computing are technologies that can capitalize on a symbiotic relationship to empower a new generation of smart devices and applications. Through its increased performance, 5G can enhance edge computing applications by reducing latency, bettering application response times, and improving the ability of enterprises to collect and process data.

The number of edge devices increases every day, with their capabilities continuously evolving. Internet of Things (IoT) devices are also becoming more sophisticated, as they can collect more types of data. The data generated by these devices fuels the need for actionable insights to help enterprises stay atop of trends, forecast new products and services, and create a competitive advantage.

Human beings generate more than 2.5 exabytes of data daily. Imagine remotely sending approximately 1.7 megabytes per second for each person on earth to be processed centrally.

This would result in strained network resources, which yields performance degradation due to latency, roundtrip delays, and poor use of bandwidth. This data deluge, the struggles of moving it, and the inefficiencies of remote data processing reinforce the need for 5G and edge computing to be leveraged together.

Additionally, more responsibility is being placed on edge devices as the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a shift to traditional workforce patterns. And with the ever-increasing quality of edge computing use cases and the data requirements these implementations have, a shorter control loop is necessary to satisfy the need for near real-time responsiveness.

As such, 5G is a network infrastructure that can support and enable the increasing complexity and specialization of edge computing.

Also read: Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022

Benefits of the Relationship Between 5G and Edge Computing

Ultra-low latency use cases

Combining 5G and edge computing is critical in attaining ultra-low latency in various edge devices and use cases.

Considering the increasing need for high reliability and ultra-low latency communications for use cases in smart factories, healthcare, intelligent transportation, smart grids, and entertainment and media among others, pairing 5G and edge computing enables such ultra-low latency applications to reach their full effectiveness.

Near real-time performance

Leveraging the combination of 5G and edge computing helps enterprises collect and process massive volumes of real-time data to optimize various operational systems and improve productivity and customer experiences. Enterprises can process and analyze data in the environments that yield the most value.

Carrying out processing and analysis close to where data was created brings enterprises close to near real-time performance for mission-critical applications.

Improved bandwidth usage

The relationship between 5G and edge computing impacts the success of 5G network technology. Edge computing helps ensure 5G is feasible when dealing with millions of devices connected to a 5G network.

In the absence of edge computing, all these devices would be transmitting data directly to the cloud. This would, in turn, push the bandwidth requirement for transmission to the cloud to an overwhelming level and counter the effectiveness of a 5G network.

Advancement of emerging technologies

High-speed connectivity coupled with data processing at the edge is critical for the advancement of technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). The advancement of these technologies is important, as they have the potential to revolutionize entire industries and enable boundless innovation as entirely new applications are made feasible.

Specifically, by moving compute closer to data, 5G and edge computing improve the ability to innovate, as this opens up the ability to infuse AI and machine learning into edge solutions, which opens up new possibilities for use cases and business models. It also opens up the possibilities for IoT solutions.

The pairing of 5G and edge computing and their impact on AI, ML, and IoT makes smart cities more feasible and provides a foundation to innovate further as compute and network challenges are minimized.

Another example of an area where limited deployment has the potential to be erased by 5G and edge computing is telemedicine. Industrial automation also stands to benefit from much more effective and creative solutions. Manufacturing could finally realize a truly intelligent and integrated supply chain to improve efficiency.

Also read: 5G and AI: Ushering in New Tech Innovation

Potential Drawbacks

• Greater attack surface: As 5G edge use cases become more ubiquitous, the attack surface becomes larger. This is seen as worthwhile to threat actors, as the likelihood of a successful attack is increased.
• Complexity: Enterprises may be drawn to the use cases of the technologies but fail to grasp the regulatory requirements; financial implications; and potential technical issues, such as massive scale, rate of change, and variability.
• Modular Ecosystem: The connectivity ecosystem proves to be challenging to navigate due to its increasingly modular nature. As such, there are many solutions to consider with different costs and varying levels of performance and control.

Enterprise Use Cases

Augmented reality and virtual reality

Enterprise consumers can enjoy more immersive real-time collaboration, as employees in different locations can collaborate on and manipulate the same virtual objects. Smart glasses can also help revolutionize maintenance, repairs, and operations as well as relay instructions to employees using AR to help them correctly carry out tasks.

AR and VR headsets can be used to train new employees. They can learn how to carry out various roles and tasks with minimal errors. 5G edge enables AR and VR in sales and marketing, allowing prospective clients to enjoy immersive virtual previews of products and services. For example, users can enjoy virtual tours of real-world properties or locations as well as virtually try out fashion and cosmetic products.

Manufacturing

Edge computing and 5G combine to improve oil and gas, food and beverage, and consumer goods manufacturing. Edge computing can be implemented at distribution and remote pumping sites. These sites can be connected to a main autonomous system using 5G. Infrastructure can also be upgraded to ensure these sites can handle 5G data requirements.

Another edge computing and 5G deployment involves monitoring environmental controls of food and beverage items in transit to maintain the quality of perishable products. Centralized production analytics can be replaced with distributed edge systems in consumer goods manufacturing. These edge systems can use a private network to connect to supply partners.

Moving Forward with 5G and Edge Computing

Enterprises can start by understanding the value and implications of 5G and edge computing from a technological as well as business perspective. They can then identify challenges or opportunities that 5G and edge computing can help them overcome or capitalize on.

At this point, developing a 5G and edge computing strategy will help ensure the intended use cases are aligned not only with the enterprise but also with the technologies. This also helps the enterprises to effectively implement use cases and make sure the technology is naturally evolving with the implementation.

Read next: Edge AI: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Edge Computing

The post Understanding the Relationship Between 5G and Edge Computing appeared first on IT Business Edge.

(Image source: Polaris Market Research)

Another recent study by Economist Impact and NTT that surveyed 216 C-Suite level executives found that half of the companies surveyed plan to deploy a private 5G network within the next six months to two years.

(Image source: Economist Impact 2021)

But why are the driving factors and conditions? How will companies go about building these networks? What is needed? What are the benefits and potential roadblocks?

What is Private 5G?

Private cellular networks have been around for a long time, but they are usually only used by large organizations like the military or enterprises with critical infrastructure. These private networks are designed to be isolated from the public network and offer a higher level of security and control.

Telecom operators are rolling out Public 5G for users worldwide. In contrast, Private 5G is a specialized network that businesses use to take advantage of its low latency, high availability, complete control, and enhanced personalization to promote Industry 4.0 adoption more quickly.

Private 5G Market Growth Drivers

The arrival of the Covid-19 epidemic and its subsequent recurrence in the form of second-wave and third-wave across parts of the globe compelled firms to embrace private 5G adoption because of the network’s inherent advantages. Private 5G enables low latency, high bandwidth, improved video quality, and remote sensing for virtually all verticals, effectively utilized in remote working.

As a result, businesses use private 5G to fulfill the criteria established by the post-pandemic new normal scenario, which sped up the global adoption of private 5G.

Organizations with critical communications and industrial IoT (Internet of Things) needs—such as national security organizations, the military, utilities, oil and gas businesses, mining associations, train and port operators, manufacturers, and industrial behemoths—are investing heavily in private LTE networks.

Industry 4.0 has given rise to a new generation of industrial robots that are smarter, more adaptable, and increasingly automated. Various primary industrial operations such as Siemens AG, ABB Ltd., and Mercedes-Benz AG have made significant use of sensor-based technology and industrial robotics to improve operational efficiency and productivity. The private 5G network is essential for delivering seamless and secure Internet access to Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices.

Also read: 5G and AI: Ushering in New Tech Innovation

Benefits of Private 5G

Private cellular networks offer many advantages over public networks, the most important being security, control, and customization.

• Security: A private network is designed to be isolated from the public network, which offers a higher level of security. This is because a private network can be designed with security features that are not possible on a public network. For example, a private network can be designed so that only authorized devices can connect to it.
• Control: Another advantage of a private cellular network is that it offers complete control to the network owner. The network owner can decide who can access the network and what type of traffic is allowed on the network.
• Personalization and customization: A private cellular network also offers enhanced personalization and customization options. For example, the network owner can choose to allow only certain types of devices to connect to the network or create a custom profile for each user.
• High speeds, ultra-low latency, and application support: Private cellular networks offer high speeds (1-20 Gbit/s) and low latency (1 ms), essential for applications requiring real-time data. In addition, private 5G networks can be designed to support specific applications. For example, a private network can be designed to support video conferencing or VoIP calls.
• Increased number of devices: Private 5G networks can support a high number of devices on the network. For example, due to the enhanced bandwidth, spotty Wi-Fi service in a crowded office will become a thing of the past.

Potential Roadblocks of Private 5G

The cost associated with building and maintaining a private cellular network is one of the main roadblocks companies face. To build a private 5G network, businesses must buy spectrum from the government, mobile network operators, or third-party spectrum vendors. In addition, they must obtain 5G equipment such as base stations and mini-towers from network infrastructure vendors. They also require edge devices such as routers, smartphones, embedded modules, routers, and gateways.

In addition, building out a private 5G infrastructure comes with some technical challenges. Businesses need to have expertise in-house to design and manage the network. One of the main barriers is integrating 5G with legacy systems and networks.

Another potential roadblock is that businesses may not be able to get access to the same spectrum as they would on a public network.

Proprietary technologies and the lack of standards can also be a challenge for businesses when setting up a private network. This is because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for setting up a private network. Instead, each company will need to tailor its solution based on its specific needs. 

However, even with these challenges, a private 5G network is the best option for businesses that need high security, ultra-low latency, control, customization, and need to support numerous devices.

Getting Started with Private 5G

Getting started with a private cellular network requires careful planning and execution. Organizations need to carefully assess their requirements and objectives before embarking on this journey. They also need to partner with experienced vendors who can help them navigate these challenges successfully.

Due to the challenges of rolling out and managing private 5G networks, many organizations prefer to use a managed services provider. A managed services provider (MSP) can help businesses with end-to-end planning, design, deployment, and private network management.

Companies like Cisco and Ericsson are blazing the trail in this regard. In addition, such managed private 5G services take the complexity out of building and managing a private network. This is good news for businesses that want to reap the benefits of private cellular networks without investing in the necessary resources and expertise.

Read next: Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022

The post Building a Private 5G Network for Your Business  appeared first on IT Business Edge.

A decade from now, the combination of AI and 5G networks will have revolutionized how business gets done in our everyday lives.

Consumers will interact with companies through their personal AI assistants and 5G-enabled devices, physical and virtual, and demand information quickly and efficiently. They’ll receive this requested information almost instantaneously due to the vast bandwidth provided by 5G.

This high-speed data connection will open up new opportunities.

What is 5G?

5G is the fifth-generation mobile network. It is a set of standards for telecommunications and wireless communication protocols. In addition, it can provide higher speed, ultra-low latency, more comprehensive coverage, and more capacity than previous network generations.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence, sometimes called machine intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals. It’s a broad term referring to computer systems that mimic human thought processes. The cognitive processes replicated by these computer programs include learning, reasoning, and self-correction.

Also read: Labor Shortage: Is AI the Silver Bullet?

Potential 5G and AI Uses

While it’s still early, there are already a few applications for combining 5G and AI technologies.

5G-enabled autonomous vehicles

Having connected cars on a single network would help eliminate the issue with dead zones. If your phone drops a call when you drive under an overpass or through specific tunnels, imagine how much worse it would be if you were driving an autonomous vehicle.

The combination of fast network speeds with onboard sensors could enable self-driving cars to communicate with each other in real time about traffic conditions, potholes, accidents, or other road hazards.

Additionally, cities and transportation agencies could use that data to improve infrastructure and optimize traffic flow—for example, by identifying areas where adding new lanes or rerouting traffic might make sense.

AI-driven tools for service operations

AI-driven technologies help network engineers automate and optimize network activities and business continuity planning, from reporting issues to reacting to events and incidents.

For example, mobile networks and AI are merging in a new form of automation called AIOps. This approach is already being used by telecommunication companies to empower software tools to act quickly and respond immediately in the event of any operational events or incidents, security issues, or both, all without the need for human intervention.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)

Both VR and AR rely on high-speed networks to deliver realistic images and sounds. With better connections, we’ll see higher resolution graphics and faster response times, which will lead to better experiences overall.

For example, a low latency connection won’t matter if your VR headset lags behind your head movements because it won’t take as long for image updates to reach your eyes. However, some industry experts believe 5G’s ultra-low latency may be critical to making VR and AR mainstream.

Also read: How Will 5G Change Augmented Reality?

Analyzing logs of data with AI

There will be a massive increase in the amount of data generated by IoT (Internet of Things) devices, servers, apps, network controllers, and other equipment due to the deployment of the 5G network. Unfortunately, there is little accessibility with conventional methods used to collect data in logs.

However, it is now possible for network management systems to be automated to analyze data, get results, and extract insights to improve network performance regularly, thereby decreasing downtime.

Utilities and energy

We’ve already seen a lot of interest in 5G-connected home appliances, including refrigerators and washing machines. Imagine a smart refrigerator that lets you know when your milk or eggs are going bad, so you don’t waste food.

Add AI to that mix, and suddenly your fridge will be able to order replacement items. Likewise, that same AI could tell your washer/dryer combo to run only after electricity rates drop to off-peak levels, potentially saving money on utility bills.

Also read: IoV: The Pioneering Union of IoT and the Automotive Industry

How Does 5G Help AI?

Advances in network technology like 5G could lead to greater speed and increased power efficiency for connected devices, which is crucial for developing self-learning systems.

As more and more devices connect to autonomous networks, more data will be created. The speed at which we can transfer data from one device to another has been a significant factor in how machine learning (ML) algorithms have evolved, helping them learn faster.

These advancements might even help us progress on some of AI’s biggest challenges, such as making it easier for machines to understand natural language and creating systems that can identify objects without being fed information by humans independently.

Here are three ways 5G could improve our future with AI:

Increased speed

Networking speeds determine how quickly computers can communicate with each other. This affects everything from latency times to processing speeds and energy consumption. In an age where connected devices are becoming increasingly common, these factors matter more.

Today, data transfer speeds over 4G networks average around 100 Mbps, while 5G promises up to 10 Gbps—an improvement of about 100 times faster. For AI, faster communication between devices means faster data transfer between processors, which translates into better responsiveness and higher levels of interactivity.

Additionally, faster response times allow for quicker feedback loops during training, meaning ML models can adapt to real-time changes rather than wait until their next scheduled session. It also makes it possible for machines to respond much more quickly if something goes wrong.

Reduced power consumption

Today’s mobile devices typically use two different kinds of wireless connectivity: cellular and Wi-Fi. Cellular connections are usually high-speed, but they consume more power because your phone needs to connect directly to a cell tower. On the other hand, Wi-Fi consumes less power because you can connect wirelessly to any available router, but its connection speeds tend to be slower.

5G networks promise lower latency times and longer battery life. One way this works is through beamforming, which allows 5G devices to transmit signals directly toward receivers rather than broadcasting them out in all directions. This reduces power consumption, allowing devices to be more efficient and get more out of a single charge.

Improved security

As 5G networks become more widespread, cybersecurity will become a bigger concern for consumers and companies. A recent report from Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that cyber crime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, so it’s no surprise that companies are starting to invest more in security.

5G networks will offer several benefits for cybersecurity, including faster data transfer speeds and improved encryption. For example, with 5G, it will be easier to transfer data from one connected device to another, making it faster and more secure for companies to share data between their employees. Likewise, 5G networks include an additional layer of encryption that protects data from hackers.

Also read: The Future of Natural Language Processing is Bright

AI and 5G are Enhancing Each Other’s Capabilities

Many envision a future where AI services work in conjunction with 5G networks, ensuring enhanced network speed doesn’t get bogged down by traffic. As companies become more reliant on cloud-based apps, they won’t have to worry about latency or service hiccups.

AI can analyze data gathered from 5G networks, providing valuable insights for businesses looking to improve their offerings. These two technologies are inextricably linked. Applying AI to both 5G networks and devices will increase efficiency and productivity across industries.

Millions of devices rely on speedy connections to receive information in today’s connected world. But 5G isn’t just speed—volume is about volume. The IoT devices worldwide are projected to amount to 30.9 billion units by 2025. Traditional network speeds won’t be able to handle them.

That’s where artificial intelligence comes in. Thanks to AI, networks can learn how best to deliver data to individual users based on their unique preferences and needs. So, while 5G provides a fast lane for massive amounts of data, artificial intelligence helps ensure every single piece of data gets where it needs to go as quickly as possible.

It’s an ideal pairing; by working together, these two technologies deliver better experiences for enterprises and consumers alike.

The Future Convergence of AI and 5G

As we think about how AI converges with other disruptive technologies, such as big data, cloud computing, blockchain, robotics, and IoT, converged systems have a distinct advantage over isolated systems.

The convergence of these two disruptive technologies can help businesses optimize their operations by making better decisions faster than ever before possible. These trends are already beginning to impact our daily lives through applications such as digital assistants, self-driving cars, and smart cities.

Combining artificial intelligence and 5G has many benefits in enterprise scenarios, including improving real-time analytics using ML techniques that enhance cybersecurity monitoring and protection, decision support for real-time actions and initiatives, predictive maintenance, and reducing network latency in business-critical applications.

Read next: Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software 2022

The post 5G and AI: Ushering in New Tech Innovation appeared first on IT Business Edge.

A sustainable business looks forward to a broader horizon that includes present and future generations. Additionally, it devises innovative business strategies to bring positive social and environmental impact while accelerating business performance.

With 5G and other data-driven technologies, organizations can begin moving toward both environmental and enterprise sustainability.

The Rise of Sustainability Efforts

Today, preserving nature and fighting environmental issues like atmospheric pollution and climate change has become a business imperative rather than a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity.

There is no doubt that risks and opportunities associated with environmental issues pose challenges to the strategies and operations of all enterprises in all shapes and sizes. But on the positive side, the ecological sustainability strategy on a broader scale will define an enterprise’s prospects in the current competitive marketplace.

Environmental challenges are plenty, and it stands among the top five risks for a business. So, these days investors and entrepreneurs can’t shy away from implementing sustainability ideas and strategies in their organizations.

In 2020, Blackrock, the largest fund manager globally, declared sustainability as their new standard for investing, and it embarked on a mission to make their customers and employees more environmentally conscious.

In addition, 80% of respondents in a recent IBM research study personally favor environmental sustainability, while 60% are ready to change their consumer behavior to bring down environmental impact.

However, while it is easy to talk about environmental sustainability efforts, putting them into practice is much more difficult.

Digital Transformation and Sustainability

Luckily, today’s digital transformation (DX) initiatives by most enterprises worldwide will make a huge difference in environmental sustainability. This is because there are several innovative technologies like the fifth generation of cellular networks (5G), artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, and blockchain that drive DX. 

These technologies accelerate sustainability in three ways:

• They utilize data to attain new insights and reach new solutions to existing problems.
• They transform business practices and operations, creating a sustainable enterprise.
• They create a new enterprise governance model forging public, private, and non-profit collaboration with environmental sustainability.

In short, since all these technologies are data-driven by nature, DX brings greater transparency and insights into business operations.

It transforms the way enterprises, investors, consumers, and governments buy, sell, produce, consume, transform, and operate businesses. This transition can even positively influence how economies function all over the globe and, in turn, bring improved environmental sustainability.

Also read: Top Digital Transformation Companies & Services 2022

Ways 5G Influences Environmental and Enterprise Sustainability

Energy efficiency

It is proven that fourth-generation cellular network (4G) stations consume more energy than the 5G base stations. Telecommunications giant Huawei reports that nearly half of the energy consumption of 4G base stations is used to cool down the transmission equipment.

Another recent research reveals that 5G technology brings down carbon emissions by nearly 80% and reduces operating costs by almost a third.

Streamlined water management

With just 3% of the water resources being consumable and just two-thirds of it being accessible makes water a valuable resource. Moreover, the lack of streamlined water management can lead us to face water shortages by 2025.

The World Bank found that the agricultural sector consumes an average of 70% of the world’s freshwater per year. But unfortunately, farmers worldwide use obsolete irrigation systems that use water inefficiently and impact climate change.

IoT devices paired with 5G technology helps transfer, monitor, and analyze agricultural data like soil moisture levels, pesticide levels, weather conditions, and other valuable information at record speeds. In addition, 5G grants farmers access to multiple technologies like GPS systems, chlorophyll sensors, and sprayer control to manage crops and water resources more efficiently.

The technologies leveraging 5G help farmers and the field of agriculture streamline water management. And, it can also do the same in cities.

5G technology set the ground for large-scale IoT sensor deployments that streamline water management. These inexpensive IoT devices detect dangerous chemicals, manage leaks in the water supply, alert people of possible health hazards, early flood warnings, and transform the agriculture industry.

Enhanced traffic management

As per a recent WHO report, the environmental pollution from vehicles kills over 3 million people globally every year. With 5G technologies, we can monitor traffic operations and devise more effective and scalable traffic designs to reduce carbon emissions.

Another 5G-enabled innovation that reduces carbon emissions would be driverless, or connected, cars. These fully automated cars connected over a 5G network, with streamlined cruise control and automated driving features, can improve energy efficiency up to 20–30%.

Energy efficient smart buildings

The heating, lighting, cooling, and other operations of buildings use up to 40% of the energy consumed globally. Smart buildings connected with 5G networks using automation will save energy, bring down carbon emissions, and fight climate change.

IoT sensors over a 5G network automatically turn lights off when not needed and adjust the lighting per the natural lighting. As a result, it reduces energy consumption by up to 70%.  

Beyond lighting, automated temperature control will also reduce energy utilization. Sensors connected to a high-speed 5G network monitor temperature levels, ventilation, and air conditioning automatically adjust the temperature.

A real-life example of a smart building is the Empire State Building in New York City. It has implemented sensors and meters that measure each tenant’s energy usage, letting them optimize energy utilization. These automated meters and sensors bring down energy costs by nearly 40% and cut the building’s carbon emissions by more than 100 thousand tonnes within a year.

Challenges of Implementing 5G for Sustainability

While 5G technologies offer several benefits to environmental and enterprise sustainability, there are still a few challenges for the effective implementation of the technology in our daily lives. 

Information technology (IT) is currently accountable for roughly 4% of global electricity consumption and nearly 2% of global carbon emissions, according to the 2020 report of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. And it has been anticipated that the rollout of 5G technology and devices can increase the current rate of IT energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Another 5G challenge is associated with the increased electronic waste, or e-waste, generation with the increased adoption of 5G devices and networks all over the globe. However, solutions like decarbonization, implementing more efficient cooling systems, recycling, and network sharing can overcome these challenges.

It is doubtless that 5G technology has the capability to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to a more significant extent and to efficiently streamline business operations at any level.

From a futuristic point of view, every business leader must take responsibility for their enterprise’s environmental impact by embracing 5G technology as a positive change. The businesses that leverage 5G technology to bring sustainability will definitely become trendsetters in this age of digital transformation.

Read next: Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022

The post The Role of 5G in the Sustainability Fight appeared first on IT Business Edge.

It features a flexible use of resources that can be scaled based on real-time requirements. As a result, it is favored by DevOps thanks to its quicker development lifecycle.

How Does Serverless Computing Work?

Serverless computing provides provisioning, scheduling, scaling, and other back-end cloud infrastructure and operations tasks to the cloud provider. As a result, developers get more time to develop front-end applications and business logic. This eases up on the workload of your teams and ensures their maximum focus is on innovation.

Though technically, it does use servers, it is called serverless computing because the servers, in this case, are hosted by a third-party service provider, making them seemingly non-existent to the customer, who is not responsible for managing them. This is an essential step towards NoOps (no operations).

Every major cloud service provider offers a serverless platform, including Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services. Serverless is also at the core of cloud-native application development.

Also read: Is Serverless Computing Ready to Go Mainstream?

How are Serverless Platforms Improving DevOps?

The serverless model is better suited for certain customers than the IaaS and SaaS models, which demand a fixed monthly or yearly price. Sometimes developers do not need to use the entire capacity offered by their cloud solution.

In such cases, serverless computing provides a fine-grain, pay-as-you-go model, so you only pay for the resources consumed for the life of the called function. This can lead to significant reductions in the projected cost, allowing for greater savings over other cloud models for many workloads.

However, serverless models can only be considered an evolving technology at best. Considering it as a universal solution for development and operations problems, this model can lead to certain drawbacks.

That being said, IT professionals have reported using serverless for a large array of applications, including customer relationship management (CRM), finance, and business intelligence.

Popular Applications of Serverless Computing

Many major cloud service providers offer serverless platforms to users who can finally enjoy a NoOps state, including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Serverless platforms by Alibaba, IBM, and Oracle, among others, are soon to follow. At the same time, open-source projects such as OpenFaaS (function as a service) and Kubeless are bringing serverless technologies to on-premises architecture. 

Get support for microservice architecture

One key usage of serverless computing is its support for microservice architectures, which enable the creation of small services with a singular job that can use APIs to connect to one another.

Serverless is uniquely suited for this model, which needs to run code that supports automatic scaling. Plus, the pricing model functions in such a way that you aren’t charged when no operations are running as opposed to PaaS or containers.

Also read: Securing Your Microservices Architecture: The Top 3 Best Practices

Work with different file types

Serverless works perfectly well with files in most formats such as video, image, text, or audio. You can carry out various functions such as data transformation and cleansing. In addition, text processing, such as PDF processing, sound manipulation like audio normalization, or video and image processing is also possible.

Compute parallel tasks

Any parallel task presents an excellent example for serverless runtime, and each parallel task triggers one action. Such tasks may include searching and sorting objects stored on the cloud, such as web scraping or map operations. Further, you can perform complex tasks like business process automation or hyperparameter tuning.

Robust foundation for streaming applications

Using FaaS, it is possible to build a steady foundation for the real-time creation of data pipelines and streaming apps. It is compatible with all kinds of data streams, including log data for IoT and other applications, validation, cleansing, enrichment, and transformation.

Test service continuity

You can set up FaaS, such as AWS Lambda functions, to make API calls to your services, much like API calls made by users. You can even create a mock flow of traffic to the services in production using FaaS.

These are good practices to test your service continuity periodically. Any failures that you might encounter are visible in your monitoring tool, so you are aware of failures or any performance drops.

Serverless pipelines for continuous deployment

You can use serverless to improve the CI/CD (continuous integration and continuous delivery) process and automate the entire process, from merging pull requests to deploying in production. And since FaaS functions are cost-efficient and easy to set up, DevOps engineers can focus on other parts of the infrastructure and further reduce costs.

Also read: Effectively Using Low-Code/No-Code in the Developer Cycle

Advantages of Using DevOps with Serverless Computing

Serverless computing has the potential to transform IT operations. By extending its property of levying charges based on function calls, developers can enjoy several applications. Some of the other major benefits of serverless computing include:

• Infinite scalability: Serverless computing allows you to scale functions horizontally and elastically based on the user traffic.
• NoOps: Infrastructure management in serverless computing is completely outsourced, so your in-house teams only need to deal with the operational tasks.
• No idle time costs: Legacy cloud computing models charge you per hour for running virtual machines. With a serverless computing model, you only need to pay for the execution duration and the number of functions executed.

Drawbacks of Serverless Computing

Serverless computing has enabled a range of operations, and organizations can run many different applications on it. However, it might not be the best choice for specific applications, which leads to a few possible disadvantages, including:

• Stable or predictable workloads: Serverless offers the most cost-effective model for unpredictable workloads. However, steady workloads with predictable performance requirements do not need this feature. Instead, traditional systems suit it better as they are much simpler and can be cheaper than serverless in such cases.
• Cold starts: Serverless architectures are optimized for scaling up and down to zero, but not long-running processes, meaning they might be starting up from zero for a new request. This might cause a noticeable startup latency, which might not be acceptable to specific users.
• Monitoring and debugging: A serverless architecture aggravates the complexity of the already challenging operational tasks. For example, debugging tools are typically not updated to meet the requirements of serverless computing.

The Future of Serverless Computing in DevOps

Serverless computing works uniquely well with DevOps, opening a vast array of applications faster at lower cost and complexity of architecture. Developers rely on it for its various functions which offer several unique features.

The concept of serverless computing is constantly evolving to solve more and more development and operational challenges. Though there are certain challenges that need addressing, the tools and strategies in serverless will eventually adapt to serve DevOps better. Today, most major cloud service providers are betting on serverless, and one can expect better-optimized solutions in the future.

Read next: Best DevOps Monitoring Tools for 2022

The post Improving DevOps with Serverless Computing appeared first on IT Business Edge.

5G is the fifth generation mobile network that is the new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. The 5G network is designed to connect everyone and everything, including devices, objects, and machines.

5G wireless technology is meant to deliver a uniform user experience to a larger user base, increased availability, tremendous network capacity, enhanced reliability, ultra-low latency, and higher multi-Gbps (gigabits per second) peak data speeds.

Why is the 5G Network Important?

5G wireless technology will offer unprecedented connection speed as well as numerous features that were not available in previous generations of wireless technology.

5G uses edge, cloud, and software-defined technology to broaden the wireless spectrum and increase bandwidth, which ensures you can connect more devices to a network simultaneously. Owing to its ultra-low latency, 5G technology continues to grow in popularity for both general and enterprise use.

The use cases of 5G technology cover a wide range, from live streaming to smart cities, smart factories, autonomous vehicles, and drones. Since 5G network access is not widespread at the moment, many enterprises are resorting to private 5G networks and benefiting from greater security and less latency compared to public 5G networks.

Also read: 5G Cybersecurity Risks and How to Address Them

Top 5G Network Providers

Ericsson Private 5G

Ericsson Private 5G fosters innovation possibilities and real-time, data-driven enterprise automation. The 5G business internet network provides several features, including high network security, automation of operations, remote control of any process, real-time control of every business process, a flexible design, and high-performance demand handling.

Key Differentiators

• Ericsson Private 5G is a next-generation private network built to modernize and digitalize business process operations and infrastructures.
• The private network is designed to support a wide array of deployment needs, requirements, and sizes. 
• Ericsson Private 5G is a scalable and future-proofed private network that is easy to install and comes with pre-integrated components.
• The end-to-end security of the private network ensures the privacy of data.
• The 5G network provides secure and robust communication with consistent latency.
• Ericsson Private 5G can manage the high-performance requirements of modern smart facilities powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. 
• By employing Ericsson Private 5G, enterprises can unlock use cases and applications such as augmented reality (AR), edge computing, automation, and advanced manufacturing.

Pricing: Reach out to the Ericsson sales team for pricing details. 

AirScale Cloud RAN

AirScale Cloud RAN by Nokia enriches the potential of existing enterprise cloud infrastructure with 5G wireless connectivity in real time. The characteristics of the 5G provider include openness, flexibility, and agility.

Key Differentiators

• AirScale Cloud RAN helps enterprises commence their digital transformation with 5G wireless connectivity.
• With radio access network (RAN) virtualization, you can use shared edge infrastructure for edge cloud deployments.
• This architectural evolution to RANs introduces 5G radio capacity for a variety of innovative services and technologies that enable the establishment of new revenue and business models.
• AirScale Cloud RAN enables close collaboration with public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud.
• Shared cloud infrastructure enables the efficient and cost-effective usage of network resources.
• The 5G network provider enables the co-hosting of enterprise applications in the on-premises cloud at the edge of the network.
• AirScale Cloud RAN enables the automation and simplification of network operations.

Pricing: Contact the Nokia sales team for pricing information.

AT&T Business Mobility

AT&T Business Mobility provides secure, reliable, and quick 5G network coverage. With services built for productivity and flexibility, AT&T Business Mobility helps improve the efficiency of your employees and how they communicate with customers.

Key Differentiators

• You can obtain tailor-made solutions depending on your 5G business necessities.
• Select the right 5G wireless connectivity plan for each employee depending on the services they need.
• With the help of a broad portfolio of wearables, tablets, and smartphones, you can mobilize your business and help your employees collaborate and work efficiently.
• Business tools such as email marketing, online fax, web solutions, and data backup enhance the performance of your mobile workforce.
• AT&T ActiveArmor provides 24/7 proactive wireless network security.
• You can benefit from high-definition (HD) and 4K ultra high-definition (UHD) video streaming.
• AT&T Business Fast Track benefits you in times of congestion, as it assigns a higher priority to eligible business data.

Pricing: AT&T offers three 5G wireless plans: AT&T Business Unlimited Elite, AT&T Business Unlimited Performance, and AT&T Business Unlimited Starter. AT&T Business Unlimited Elite is ideal for enterprise use and costs $40 per month per line when you purchase six lines.

Samsung’s CBRS Solutions

Samsung’s Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) solutions provide ideal installation options to empower enterprises with a simpler introduction of private 5G networks and facilitate quick network deployment.

Key Differentiators

• Samsung is equipped with CBRS equipment that can encompass both indoor and outdoor environments, which enables enterprises to select the optimal solution for an environment and services that need a private 5G network.
• Samsung’s complete CBRS portfolio can facilitate a quick and seamless 5G deployment.
• The 5G provider offers concurrent support of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G.
• For enterprises that want to operate an LTE network, Samsung offers an easy software upgrade path for a smooth transition to 5G New Radio (NR).
• The CBRS Massive MIMO Radio is a vital solution that supports large data capacity, wide bandwidth, and high speed.
• Other solutions include the CBRS Radio and the CBRS Outdoor Small Cell.
• Samsung’s CBRS solutions make possible several use cases in the hospitality, residential, logistics, and utility sectors.

Pricing: To learn more, please reach out to Samsung’s sales team.

Also read: Best Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) 2022

AWS Private 5G

AWS Private 5G is a 5G cellular provider that allows you to simply scale, manage, and deploy a private cellular network, with all the required software and hardware provided by AWS.

Key Differentiators

• AWS Private 5G enables you to build a private cellular network to take advantage of the benefits of 5G technology while maintaining the device controls, granular application, and security of a private network.
• Get your 5G network up and running in days with automated setup and no complex integrations or long planning cycles.
• You can connect to thousands of machines and devices with high bandwidth and low latency.
• Safeguard your private 5G network with granular access controls for each connected device, integrated with existing IT policies.
• Pay only for the throughput and capacity you use, add devices with a few clicks, and scale the capacity of your network on demand.
• The use cases of AWS Private 5G include delivering reliable enterprise connectivity, enabling business-critical applications, and running a smart manufacturing facility.

Pricing: Contact the Amazon sales team for further information.  

Choosing a 5G Network Provider

5G technology is the new global standard of mobile networks and is expected to enhance the way people work and live. It is set to offer a much quicker connection speed than previous mobile networks.

That said, we advise you to visit the website of each 5G provider and review features, compare pricing plans, scrutinize peer-to-peer reviews, and purchase a 5G internet provider accordingly.

Read next: Top Infrastructure Monitoring Tools 2022

The post Best Enterprise 5G Network Providers 2022 appeared first on IT Business Edge.

While telecoms are upgrading cell towers and other components of their networks, they have been presented with an opportunity to change some of the old ways of doing business in the hopes of reducing costs and driving innovation. From this wellspring emerged the Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) movement, an effort by telecoms to break free of vendor lock-in, and allow more hardware providers to participate in an expensive market with very few players.

Market Drive for Open RAN

Under the traditional model, telecommunications equipment vendors made up a small crowd, composed almost exclusively of Nokia, Ericsson, and Huawei. Their hardware is proprietary, secretive, and non-interactive with their competitors. Telecoms get locked into a vendor ecosystem and forced to pay high prices as a consequence of that exclusivity. Switching ecosystems is similarly expensive, with similarly high prices demanded by the competition. This locked and controlled marketplace has left the telecoms seeking an alternative, and the demands of 5G networks only further applied pressure to the problem. 

The answer to this is Open RAN. Members of the industry united in their efforts to develop new standards and specifications that would allow any hardware or software vendor to participate, without the barrier of the proprietary standards that exist today. Imagine building a computer, and every component inside the computer must come from the same manufacturer. When it comes time to upgrade RAM or a CPU, there may be some attractive options out there, but you’re forced to purchase RAM from a single provider. Under the Open RAN model, you can purchase hardware from whomever you please, and the broader system still works.

Also read: Edge Computing Set to Explode Alongside Rise of 5G

The Origins of Open RAN

Many of the formative moments in the Open RAN movement can be traced back to early 2018, when Samsung announced its new partnership with Verizon. Samsung had just become a supplier for the telecom’s network hardware, entering into that once tightly controlled field. Verizon had been seeking new, more open protocols as opposed to the proprietary ones that vendors like Samsung could previously not interact with. Simultaneously, competitors such as AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, and China Mobile formed the oRAN Alliance, founded on three principles:

• Lead the industry toward open, interoperable interfaces
• Minimize the use of proprietary hardwares while maximizing off-the-shelf alternatives
• Develop and standardize APIs

“To take full advantage of the flexibility of 5G, we have to go beyond the new radios and change the overall architecture of the end-to-end system,” AT&T’s chief technology officer said at the time. “Open modularity, intelligent software-defined networks, and virtualization will be essential to deliver agile services to our customers. ORAN will accelerate industry progress in these areas.”

A Boost from DoD

In 2021, a US Department of Defense initiative encouraged industry to adopt greater openness in communications hardware and software. Fast and fluid communications are essential to lifting the shroud of war in modern combat theaters, and setting up a communications network is a top priority whenever the military is deployed into a new area. In an effort to strengthen its own communications backbone, DoD, in conjunction with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, issued a notice of inquiry to telecoms, requesting that the members of industry seek ways to open up the 5G stack ecosystem, speed up innovation, and increase interoperability. Most importantly, the military wanted ways to choose from a broader pool of hardware vendors to increase their data processing abilities at the edge and in the field.

Open RAN: Boon or Bust?

Optimists within the telecom industry hope that by allowing more hardware vendors to participate, the industry at large is better posturing itself for future upgrades, while also lowering the costs of installing or maintaining infrastructure. Radio networks are multi-billion dollar investments, and even minute cost savings on a single component can have ripple effects throughout the network. 

That notion, however, has been met with skepticism, as early adopters have yet to realize some of the profit potential they foresaw. Industry fragmentation is another challenge that telecoms are navigating. There are many proponents of open RAN, and not all of them are developing the same standards. 

While the open RAN model has existed in theory for many years, its implementation is still in its infancy. There are still open questions as to how disruptive it will be to the telecom industry, but the major carriers such as AT&T and Verizon remain optimistic. Moreover, even one of the proprietary telecom hardware vendors, Nokia, has joined the fray, working alongside the oRAN Alliance—a sign that even the old guard can sense the changing winds.

Read next: 5G Cybersecurity Risks and How to Address Them

The post What is Open RAN? appeared first on IT Business Edge.

This means there is not much connection to the traditional banking infrastructure, which involves managing and maintaining physical infrastructure and personnel, sometimes worldwide, to provide financial services to customers. The reason for this is that DeFi is built on blockchain and crypto technology.

While this certainly has the potential for being disruptive to the traditional financial services industry, the market opportunity is also massive. For example, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman estimates that the size of the digital payments market could reach $100 trillion.

Let’s take a deeper look at DeFi and what it means for the financial services industry.

Also read: Top 5 Benefits of AI in Banking and Finance

What is DeFi?

The financial services industry is one of the biggest spenders on IT systems. This has allowed for more efficiency and scale.

But there are still problems. After all, there remain myriad intermediaries like brokers, investment bankers, market makers, and so on, which add to the friction and costs for transactions.

Then, there is the issue of access to financial services. Often you need a strong credit rating or a long history to get capital. The result is that many small businesses are undercapitalized. There are also millions of consumers who cannot get access to affordable credit.

True, FinTech (financial technology) companies have been trying to democratize financial services, but the apps still use the existing banking infrastructure. Consider peer-to-peer     payment app Venmo, which connects to the existing gateways for any payment. In fact, for a user to create an account, they need to provide information for a debit card, credit card, or bank account.

But with DeFi, there is a completely different approach. Based on blockchain, anyone can participate in the network as long as they have a connection to the internet. This peer-to-peer structure means that there is no intermediary, like a bank, to determine whether a loan should be issued and payment made.

DeFi software is based on dApps or decentralized apps. They usually operate on the Ethereum blockchain and use smart contracts, which securely store the transaction information.

“These contracts are blockchain-based programs that execute actions automatically once the agreed-upon conditions are met,” said Ramanathan Srikumar, chief solutions officer at  Mphasis. “Users can become participants and shareholders on the blockchain system by earning tokens, and the user has control and ownership over their data.”

Also read: Bank-grade Security: Is it the Ultimate Cybersecurity Solution?

What Can You Do With DeFi?

With DeFi, you can carry out any transaction that the traditional financial system can. The technology is also highly composable—you can interact with the protocols in seemingly endless combinations—and permissionless.

“If someone has an idea for a new type of financial instrument that doesn’t exist in DeFi, they’re able to use and combine the existing suite of DeFi primitives to bring their new idea to life,” said Nick Emmons, co-founder and CEO of Upshot. “This sort of permissionless composability, in the form of ‘money legos,’ has led to breathtaking rates of innovation in the DeFi space.

“Innovations that might take years to bring to life in traditional financial industries are able to take weeks or months in DeFi.”

The technology also allows for much quicker transactions on a global basis and lower fees. As a result, there are more opportunities to earn higher yields compared to traditional banks.  

The Risks

While the benefits of DeFi are clear, there are still considerable risks. When it comes to people’s money, they want strong safeguards. This is why the U.S. government has tight regulations on the financial sector and protections like deposit insurance.

“DeFi essentially replaces the role of the intermediary and regulator in protecting consumers with smart contracts,” said Emmons. “This substitution does place more onus on the people interacting with these financial products to do their due diligence, ensuring there is no potential for technical exploits in the smart contracts.

“Most cases where consumers have lost money in DeFi to date have come from technical vulnerabilities that were later exploited.”

According to a report from Elliptic, there was more than $10 billion in stolen funds from DeFi accounts in 2021. This is up 7x compared to the following year. By comparison, there is $247 billion deposited in DeFi accounts. 

The Future of DeFi

DeFi is still in its early stages, with adopters who are willing to take risks and pioneer new approaches. But if DeFi wants to become more mainstream, there will need to be improvements in making the systems easier to use as well as protections to ensure users’ financial safety.

Although, in the next few years, much of the growth in DeFi may come in emerging and frontier markets. They have the most challenges with traditional finance and need better systems to help improve economic growth.

“We’re seeing a new gig economy emerge in Kenya,” said Jackie Bona, CEO of Valora.  “Workers earn their paychecks in crypto in real time and use their crypto earnings to pay for everyday expenses and use DeFi tools to save and earn more crypto.”

Read next: Web3: A New Catalyst for Enterprise Software

The post DeFi: Should Wall Street Be Worried? appeared first on IT Business Edge.