Intel and Oracle recently acquired solutions in their telecom practices, while MetroPCS, Sprint and T-Mobile all go through their rebirth. It’s clear that money on the sidelines is open to finding a home if sense can be made as to the logic.
In Oracle’s case, I think their decision to get into the heart of the network has a lot to do with the fact that iConectiv (aka Telcordia, aka Bellcore) is now part of Ericsson. Ericsson is primarily a network shop, but as we are learning, the bundling of services is making the back-end systems more important.
Combine this with the virtualization coming to the switches, and you see a picture of the cloud becoming more of a distributed fog.
This is not a VC play; it’s an M&A play at this point. Exit strategies are “existence strategies” here, and the path they are looking at is not the next quarter but the next decade. Now the question is: Will it be worth it in the end?
As the industry consolidates, the PSTN is losing market share. When POTS is turned off, does it mean the OSS disappears?
The role of local repairman and truck rolls has changed tremendously with wireless, and on the Internet it has changed even more.
On the back-end side, the role of bundles has made a more interactive relationship with the billing system and the network. The customer now can have thresholds, Classes of Service and other features and functions that are dynamic. Which company can do better than the other company, quicker? Can Oracle get their sessions and signaling synchronized with their management products?
Will Ericsson deliver the services of the future by working with iConectiv to go up the stack to applications?
Will this become an “IMS vs. just IT” battle?
What other companies should be in this mix?
Unfortunately, I don’t see a quick answer here, but I do see a consolidating market. And if money is cheap, perhaps it’s time you consider whether you want to eat or be eaten.
Edited by
Rory J. Thompson
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