Staying Connected

Looking forward into 2024, we expect an upsurge in migrations from on-premise solutions to cloud and hybrid cloud deployments. While enterprises often engage third-party help for implementation support and optimization as they move from legacy to cloud-based solutions, once implemented, enterprises will continue to bring more of the day-to-day management in-house.

Listen to this 9-minute podcast as LB3's Laura McDonald and TC2's Julie Gardner join Sara Crifasi to discuss the maturation and development of the CCaaS provider market and solution capabilities. Effective integration and adoption of AI in CaaS solutions is expected to improve both customer and agent experience in the coming year but be prepared for telco providers' increasing push for managed solutions as they lose traditional contact center space and encounter increased competition from niche system integrators.

You can learn more about our experience in the space by visiting our Unified Communication & Collaboration and Success Stories websites.

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On this episode of Staying Connected we continue our ongoing discussion of enterprise use of private 5G networks in general and in particular, enterprise use of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).

In this 9-minute podcast, David Lee and Steve Rosen join Tony Mangino to discuss the technical and regulatory idiosyncrasies of CBRS and examine enterprise uptake of CBRS and the role that providers, equipment manufacturers, and regulators have in supporting increased enterprise adoption of this service.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development and Success Stories webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: TC2 & LB3

Laws and regulations related to technology issues can have direct (and sometimes indirect) impacts on the cost and delivery of the products and services that enterprise customers must purchase to keep their businesses running. In 2024, information and communications technology policy developments coming out of the Federal Communications Commission – including updates on net neutrality, SIM swapping and port-out fraud, robocalling and robotexting, USF reform, and 911 requirements – will certainly influence enterprises' procurement decisions, operations, and customer outreach behaviors.

In this 9-minute podcast, Andrew Brown and Sara Crifasi join Tony Mangino to discuss the forthcoming ICT regulatory developments that enterprise customers should be aware of.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Communications Regulatory Advice & Advocacy and Success Stories webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: LB3 & TC2

Satellite networks, low-earth orbit (LEO) constellations, and edge computing solutions will play a more prominent role in WAN connectivity for remote locations and latency-sensitive applications. LEO providers will begin trialing technologies such as optical inter-satellite links (OISL) that create mesh networks in space with the ability to transport data 30% faster than terrestrial fiber optical cables. In addition, we see terrestrial wave service deployments growing as enterprises continue to seek more bandwidth and lower latency WAN solutions that Internet and MPLS services cannot deliver.

In this 10-minute podcast, David Lee joins Sara Crifasi to discuss the latest news on LEO satellites, the use of Passive Optical Network (PON) technology to deliver fiber-based Broadband services, and Wave services – three technologies that may not be in front of mind for CIOs.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development and Information Technology Advisory Services webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: TC2, LB3

MPLS has long been the networking technology of choice for most enterprises. But while many enterprises have already dropped MPLS completely many others still rely on MPLS and, arguably, are losing out on the benefits of alternative networking technologies.

In this 11-minute podcast, Mark Sheard and Keith Cook join Tony Mangino to discuss how the enterprise WAN is evolving and provide key considerations for embarking on your transformational activity and effectively managing around indecision, setting your organization up for success.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development and Strategic Sourcing webpages.

Follow us on LinkedIn: TC2, LB3

In this special New Year's installment of Staying Connected, we identify trends and share predictions in the ICT market and how we think they will impact enterprises in 2024.

This 12-minute podcast features Laura McDonald, a Partner at LB3, and Tony Mangino, Director at TC2, to give you a preview of TC2 and LB3's predictions and hot topics for 2024. Be sure to stay tuned to Staying Connected for a forthcoming special series of podcasts where we'll take a deeper dive into these trends that we see as likely shaping the ICT marketplace in 2024.

Private 5G has drawn little media attention compared to consumer-oriented 5G from the big 3 wireless providers. However, Private 5G is gaining traction in the enterprise space with specific business and use cases.

In this 14-minute podcast, TC2's Technology Director David Lee and Steve Rosen, Partner at LB3, join Tony Mangino to discuss the technical elements and regulatory considerations of the service and how Amazon's recent move into this market may end up an overall boost to the uptake of Private 5G in the enterprise community.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development webpage.

Lately, not a day goes by when artificial intelligence isn't in the news—but from AI to foundation models to machine learning to Generative AI, you need to have a baseline understanding of what the various services can do before you can determine what type of AI will best fit your enterprise, particularly in the ICT space. In this 11-minute episode, Kevin DiLallo, a partner at LB3, joins Sara Crifasi to kick off a series of Staying Connected podcasts on AI for the enterprise.

This episode is meant as an introductory session. Future podcasts in this series will include:

· Coverage of the technology underlying AI and Generative AI and how it differs from other technology tools used by enterprises

· What enterprises should know when contracting for AI-based tools

· Developing legislation and regulation of AI and what it means for enterprise customers

· Data protection and privacy issues implicated by Generative AI

· Commercial issues in the procurement of AI-based tools.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Information Technology Advisory Services and Technology Consulting & Strategy Development webpages.

It's that time again when organizations that operate on a calendar-based fiscal year are in the midst of the complex task of budgeting for 2024. Transformational projects, projected usage trends, understanding your contracts, and the moving target of taxes and regulatory charges all play into the exercise.

In this 10-minute podcast, Theresa Knutson, Julie Gardner, and Frank Zagrodnik join Tony Mangino to provide helpful insights on the sometimes overlooked, but critically important, function of budgeting and forecasting for your ICT spend.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Lifecycle Services and Success Stories webpages.

In an effort by network services providers to increase their margins and push their costs of doing business onto the customer, enterprises should be prepared for a meaningful change in the way they are likely to be charged for the cost of basic network services.

In this 8-minute podcast, TC2 Director Keith Cook joins Tony Mangino to discuss what enterprises need to know when their provider proposes the addition of new, explicit charges for service management, a function that has historically been included in the cost of the service. This tactic has increased tremendously, in fact becoming nearly standard practice today.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Strategic Sourcing and Success Stories webpage.