In the last two decades, the power of interconnectivity has spawned many innovations with it. In this article, we explore the concept of interconnectivity as a precursor to connect the world better in the near future.
Mohita Jaiswal - September 2019
Now the world is abuzz with new kids on the block – emerging technologies like AI, AR, VR, and IoT. But enabling these technologies and placing them to their best usage is not an easy “plug and play” scenario. Their successful integration requires a complex network of highly sophisticated services and providers underpinned by reliable connections.
Interconnectivity is indispensable today.
When living in a world which is connected but not interconnected… Imagine 3 scenarios:
- You have to buy an Internet connection for each application you use at work, such as email, e-commerce, CRM application, etc.
- You need to have a SIM card for each mobile operator to ensure that you can reach people on all other networks.
- You can connect your phones to the internet, your lights, your thermostats, your watches, and even your coffee makers and ovens but you do not have a way to manage and control all of those devices in one place.
Interconnectivity is all about getting disparate ecosystems to work together in harmony, opening up a plethora of new possibilities. All the challenges in the scenarios above our being solutioned with the power of interconnectivity. It takes away the need to have so many expensive, dedicated, single-purpose connections, all through the availability of one connection.
Interconnectivity is propelling the growth of IoT technology
According to the Equinix Global Interconnection Index, private data exchange between businesses is expected to outpace the public internet by nearly two times in growth and six times in volume by 2020. Towards that end, Equinix has created an Interconnection Oriented Architecture™ which both enterprises and service providers can use when directly and securely connecting locations, people, clouds and data. This would be of value as it would shorten the geographical distance between applications, data and the people that use them and also reduce the amount of data that needs to travel across networks. Allowing colocation of data with analytics can significantly improve response times and enhance business productivity and output.
1. A new opportunity for Telecom Players
Telecom networks that carry your data and voice between different systems are secured and private networks. These networks are configured to provide specific quality for each kind of traffic they carry and some traffic such as emergency calls are prioritized over other traffic (the opposite of Net Neutrality!)
These networks have mostly remained direct, point to point connections for each service. So the telecom operators need to purchase a number of expensive, dedicated, single-purpose connectivity for each of their service requirements, making it months to get a connection set up.
An opportunity lies in being able to create a single unified network that is private, secure and interconnects operators, service providers, and technology companies together. Such a network can enable near-instant secured path creation (think of it as a private highway for a specific service) with guaranteed bandwidth, low latency, and prioritization between any systems anywhere in the world.
2. IoT and Edge Networking are accelerating interconnectivity
According to market research firm IDC, the space of IoT will grow to an explosive $1.7 trillion market in 2020, up from $655.8 billion in 2014.
IoT innovators today are looking for simple connectivity options for their devices and encounter a number of options. There are Personal Area Networks (PANs) such as Bluetooth; local area networks (LANs) like WiFi and ZigBee; cellular networks like 3G and 4G; and low power, wide-area networks (LPWANs) like SIGFOX, Ingenu, etc.
- Both service providers and operators can collaborate to create new revenue-generating solutions expediently and very cost-effectively. They can also connect to any cloud applications and deploy new services without having to purchase software or hardware.
- Everything from connected homes to smart city solutions to industrial IoT solutions, making possibilities as endless!!
- As IoT grows and we’re able to link more and more devices together, the number of total connected devices will skyrocket.
- Edge allows systems to process data on-site quickly and efficiently, without a constant connection to the cloud. For example, if the data processing occurred in the cloud, there would be a time delay between the data being sent, processed and received. During that time, a car if it is still driving, without that data telling it to take action, could have easily had an accident.
That’s where Edge computing comes in and solves the challenge where lack of interconnectivity poses a roadblock. We are moving towards a smaller world with Ubiquitous and interconnected network connectivity!
Effective interconnection arrangements are essential for the development of today’s integrated global telecommunication networks. Interconnection is one of the foundations of ensuring viable competition, which in turn is the key driver of growth and innovation in the telecommunication markets.
