Telecom Predictions for 2017

Frost & Sullivan’s Telecommunications Strategic Forecasting (Stratecast) practice has produced some interesting predictions for 2017 [1]. Below are the predictions that I found the most interesting, including some comments:

When it comes to big data, analytics and AI, enterprises will have a focus on using AI to search through massive volumes of raw data to provide actionable insights (i.e., what IBM is enabling with Watson).
The retail industry continues expanding the use of analytics to optimize operations and serve customers in new ways. The healthcare industry is moving towards connected health ecosystems thanks to companies like Apple and IBM.
NFV-based virtual network services from the likes of AT&T and Verizon gain traction among enterprise customers. An example is AT&T’s network functions on-demand offering called FlexWare [4].
Network-as-a-Service hits the market. NaaS can include services like WAN connectivity, DC connectivity, bandwidth on demand, and security services. Examples of NaaS providers include Amazon, AT&T, Level 3, Telefonica, and Verizon [2]. SDN and NFV are helping to make NaaS more common.
SD-WAN (i.e., applying SDN to WAN connections that connect enterprise networks including branch offices and data centers [5]) will take a step forward from the early adopter stage and be ready for wide-scale market adoption, driven by the availability of managed SD-WAN services. In managed SD-WAN services, the service provider installs and manages edge devices, procures and manages access links from multiple operators, and handles day-to-day network management
Infrastructure-neutral management platforms gain traction in hybrid cloud environments. Infrastructure-neutral refers to cross-infra management platforms that can aggregate and manage resources across multiple infrastructures.
Providers introduce fog or edge computing solutions to facilitate IoT workloads. Fog and edge computing avoid the need to send massive amounts of data to the central cloud for processing
AI enters the home thanks to devices like Amazon’s Echo, Google Home, or Siri in the latest Apple TV.
Original video content is king – this is of course what we are seeing with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc. But maybe we will be seeing also the likes of AT&T starting to invest increasingly in original content [3].
More and more enterprises engaging in platform-based strategy will move the way they conduct business to web-based services
Systems integration and consulting services will become major components of operations again. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) will need to rely on systems integrators since technology interconnection, interoperability, and business models are becoming more complex due to NFV, SDN, IoT, and digital service deployments.
Advanced malware sandbox is among the hottest new security technologies and will be in high demand.