NEW YORK–As the internet of things (IoT) continues to take shape, working toward projections of tens of billions of new networked devices by the end of the decade, there need to be some major changes to how service providers approach billing and network resources.
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Oracle Communications, Douglas Suriano, speaking during the Oracle Industry Connect event this week, contemplated how the combination of blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence and 5G would drive the IoT. “All of that capability is coming together to produce what we’re calling an internet of value.”
On the policy and charging side, Suriano said IoT devices command a usage-based model in order for operators to monetize IoT-related services. He also highlighted the distinction between a network designed to support mobile data traffic like streaming video and a network designed to support a large number of devices that may send intermittent, small amounts of data. He called for “massive, low-power connectivity. Our networks are going to have to evolve to be able to take advantage of that.”
Back to the concept of the internet of value, Suriano said using cloud-based services with built in capabilities like blockchain, AI, machine learning, etc..will accelerate digital transformation and, “It will help us manage, monetize and secure billions of these transactions.”
He gave the example of North American customer working to roll out a mobile virtual network operator model. Changes needed to a legacy billing system were projected to take 12 months to modify. “The service is going to be ready in a few months and their ability to monetize that service is not going to ready for a year. That’s a huge problem and that’s, I think, indicative of where we are as an industry.”
Suriano made the point that IoT requires massive interoperability between devices, between networks and between cloud services. “We all have to work together. Cloud enables easy and fast integration. We are going to have to connect to multiple clouds. It’s just a fact of life. To do that on-premise has been very difficult and very costly. So we’re talking about this enabling technology through APIs.” Open systems and open data, he said, will help operators leverage new technological capabilities in a profitable manner; upgrade cycles will get faster and new features will go to market in days or weeks instead of months or years.
Editor’s note: Oracle provide travel and lodging for this event.
