What MNOs say isn’t always what enterprises hear. How to bridge the disconnects in the name of private wireless network progress.
No matter how many times I’ve seen it, the experience remains wildly uncomfortable.
I’m sitting at a table where MNOs are pitching to a major prospective enterprise customer and the two sides have no idea they’re talking past each other. They’re using familiar words but they’re speaking different languages.
When it comes to private wireless network conversations, we’ve got a full-blown “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” situation unfolding.
Turns out, seemingly universal terms like network, networking, edge, automation and security can mean something very different depending on who’s saying them. This creates a problem when it’s time to get on the same page, plot a deployment and close a deal.
In the spirit of fostering better communication, let’s look at a few of the ways conversations are becoming misconstrued and how to make sure everyone is saying what they mean. After all, private wireless network adoption could be on the line.
“Network”
What MNOs say: Our network is a large, massive buildout run by thousands of people who make sure we maintain five 9’s reliability so you can trust connectivity will always be there for you.
What enterprises are thinking: A network to me is all about LANs and WANs. I need to take what you have and make it do what I do.
Bridging the disconnect: Enterprises view networks as a foundation for business building, whereas MNOs see networks as all about great connectivity to many. MNOs can make more progress by talking about how the network they’ve built will extend and enhance existing enterprise workflows.
“Agile”
What MNOs say: Our network is becoming agile. As we deploy more 5G and edge, you’ll see how well we’ll be able to meet your evolving needs.
What enterprises are thinking: I have apps and workloads that I need to deploy right now and exactly where I want.
Bridging the disconnect: Enterprises need to move fast now and don’t have time to wait. Agile means something very different to them as they’ve lived in cloud-based hyperscale worlds for the better part of 20 years. MNOs may celebrate deploying 150 servers inside a year but the enterprise they’re talking to may have just rolled out 1,500 within a week, across continents. Enterprises want to know that MNO partners fully appreciate the size and scope of the work they’re doing and what they can do for them right now to advance it.
“Networking”
What MNOs say: We’ll make it easy for you to use our connectivity, just use our API, VPN and APN networking tools.
What enterprises are thinking: I don’t want to just use your connectivity, I want to manage it as if it were my own. APNs don’t give me control of the network I’m going to rely on, they simply serve it to me. Maybe I should just stick with Wi-Fi.
Bridging the disconnect: MNOs need to understand that enterprises don’t just have a connectivity challenge, they have a mobile network flexibility challenge. If MNOs can speak to solving this need versus simply offering connectivity in the right places, enterprises will see a partner they can grow with.
“Security”
What MNOs say: Trust us, our network is air tight because we operate a proprietary, closed system. We can even enhance security on network slices dedicated to you. Don’t worry, your workloads are safe with us.
What enterprises are thinking: I’m concerned there’s no mention of intrusion detection, SIEM or intrusion prevention systems. Slicing sounds interesting but what I really want to hear about is how you’re doing segmentation. I have existing security processes and protocols that I need to know will extend easily to your network.
Bridging the disconnect: Enterprises need A to Z data packet path control, especially if they’re going to adhere to regulatory requirements like HIPAA. Deployment management and control in a multitude of LAN and hyperscaler environments is also critical for data to be authenticated within enterprise environments and where apps reside.
“Edge”
What MNOs say: We’ve got edge clouds in your region and can easily connect our edge to your data center edge.
What enterprises are thinking: Well, our datacenter isn’t exactly our edge. Our edge may be a critical device sitting out in our macro network collecting important data. The hyperscalers talking to us understand this and may be better suited to meet our needs.
Bridging the disconnect: Enterprises have already designed their edges or at least have an integrated vision for how they want to deploy it. MNOs can’t expect these enterprises to conform to their interpretation. In some cases, MNOs are connecting to enterprise edge via overlays but enterprises want deeper control of the data packet path between edge deployments, including regions and countries.
“Automation”
What MNOs say: We’ve built automation into our network, and can detect and reconcile trouble issues before they happen. If a disruption does occur, it is diagnosed quickly to get service back up as fast as possible
What enterprises are thinking: Every aspect of my operations is hyper-automated and increasingly migrating to the cloud. When something doesn’t work, I’m used to killing it quickly and spinning it right back up. I’m concerned your network is going to spend too much time trying to fix itself while my operations suffer.
Bridging the disconnect: Enterprises want to work with MNOs but they need MNOs to be more flexible, specifically as it pertains to shifting perspective on control boundaries. Enterprises don’t want to get caught in a customer lock-in situation so want to preserve as much autonomy as possible in these fledgling connectivity tie-ups.
Speaking the same language
The good news is that MNOs are tirelessly improving network capabilities, building internal expertise and better understanding what enterprises need via early rollouts. Converting this knowledge into a common vernacular will go a long way toward getting heads nodding instead of scratching when it comes time for MNOs to talk about how they can take enterprise network operations to the next level. The payoff will materialize in the way of outstanding outcomes for the enterprise as MNOs scale service offerings on the journey to mass market adoption.
