Archives : October 2008

Is the credit crunch a threat or opportunity for sustainable development?

published on 2008/10/29 by Axel Haentjens

The first part of 2008 underlined the importance of sustainable development. The price of oil sky-rocketed to $140 per barrel and the cost of primary materials such as steel, aluminum, copper, silver, gold rose, along with basic foodstuffs like wheat, milk and rice. Pollution was in the headlines in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics and by the end of the summer the Artic Sea was open to navigation, with permanent ice at the North Pole expected to vanish by around 2025. There was a growing consciousness of the challenges caused by climate change and pollution of the planet.......

Everything you wanted to know about the Internet of Things but no idea how to ask

published on 2008/10/24 by Stewart Baines

If it moves, ask what it’s doing. If it doesn’t, ask why it isn’t moving. Is talking to objects a sign of madness or prospect of things to come? Among the Web’s intelligentsia there has been great anticipation of the Internet of Things. The chatter is reaching a crescendo now, and reality appears to be within touching distance. The Internet of Things is what happens when you push the Web’s physical boundaries further out, beyond the data centres and laptops to encompass all manner of devices: a parcel, a tree, an elevator, a web cam, a humidity sensor in a......

unified communications: the message is getting through

published on 2008/10/16 by Anthony Plewes

There are clear indications that the message about unified communications is resonating with enterprises. Two recent studies by market analysts IDC found that enterprises were increasingly expecting their unified communications platforms to integrate with their core business applications. "This year's survey results show that end users have become more sophisticated about their understanding of unified communications, as well as have higher expectations about what solutions providers should be able to provide them," commented Nora Freedman, senior analyst, Enterprise Networks at IDC. The two IDC surveys were carried out with Infoworld magazine and respondents were drawn from its largely US readership.......

China overtakes the US to become the world's largest broadband market

published on 2008/10/13 by Anthony Plewes

It was only a matter of time before China became the world's largest broadband market, and analysts Point Topic have confirmed this milestone in a recent worldwide study. "This is a major milestone for China," says Oliver Johnson, Chief Executive of Point Topic. "Launching people into space is spectacular, but having the biggest broadband market down here on earth means a lot more for building a modern, hi-tech economy." Market watchers have been predicting for some time that China would become the world's leading broadband nation, as Enterprise Briefing reported in 2006, but in the end it had to wait......

Can telecoms profit from a recession?

published on 2008/10/07 by Stewart Baines

Current Analysis has an interesting take on the present credit crunch and financial markets turmoil – it’s good for the telecoms industry. Analyst Sandra O’Boyle believes that a tightening of capex means that telcos can get back to basics – focus on competition, reducing costs and completing the transformations that have been put off in the constant sprint to keep pace with rivals. “A greater emphasis on cash flow and a closer inspection of business margins and costs may not be a bad thing, it can even advance restructuring efforts among telcos that under normal circumstances would be difficult to......