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Investing in the Digital Future

Team arroWebs
• July 24, 2024

Enterprise and SMEs look ahead with next-gen connectivity solutions.

Spending More On Next-Generation Connectivity

Earlier this year, over half the SMEs and enterprises surveyed by McKinsey indicated they plan to increase spending on technology and connectivity. For larger, well established companies, nearly three quarters had plans to invest in next-generation connectivity including 5G, SASE, and cloud. In general, responses revealed a solid understanding that “no aspect of tech or telecommunications can be taken for granted” and that investment in the digital future is key to an organization’s success. In this article, we take a brief look at some of the connectivity solutions leading the way forward.

5G

The increasing deployment of 5G networks has propelled technology innovations including 5G fixed wireless access internet, private 5G, and network slicing. With the rapid expansion of 5G networks, commercial adoption of 5G-related services continues to grow. For most businesses requiring high capacity, speed, and performance, McKinsey’s observation rings true: “…fast- growing companies are placing increasing emphasis on next-generation solutions, with investments in 5G technology becoming a prerequisite for success…”. The strength of this market trend indicates the direction organizations should be heading when planning their technology budgets.

Fixed Wireless Access

5G fixed wireless access internet (5G FWA) delivers a better customer experience by combining high speed, low latency connectivity with the easy deployment of wireless. Especially in locations where the cost and effort required to deploy fiber are just not feasible, 5G FWA provides high speed broadband easily and reliably. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to launch their businesses into the digital future should consider upgrading to this high performance, cost-effective connectivity solution.

Private 5G Networks

With the continued growth of global 5G, private 5G networks are forecasted to make up over 90% of the market by 2027. From manufacturing to entertainment to healthcare, these and numerous other industries have already invested – and will continue to invest – in the deployment and expansion of private 5G networks that deliver fast, wireless, secure communications and connectivity for their critical, on-demand business applications. Many organizations will continue to choose a managed private network option, which allows them to focus on business strategy instead of the day-to-day details of network maintenance.

Network Slicing

5G architecture enables network slicing, a configuration which allows for customized, isolated network “slices” that have been optimized for specific applications and use cases. For example, video-centric and other data-heavy processing that requires significant bandwidth benefits from network slicing. Similarly, numerous industries rely on network slicing for their IoT applications, including healthcare (for example, health monitoring systems such as pacemakers), manufacturing (for example, autonomous vehicle management), retail, and entertainment (for example, security monitoring in a stadium)

SASE

For the last several years, SASE offerings have delivered networking improvements with secure, cloud-based solutions, including SASE-as-a-Service, Managed SASE, and Managed SD-WAN. With enterprise continuing to invest in this secure networking technology, many organizations choose Managed SASE for a complete solution, with their sourcing, deployment, and support details handled entirely by a managed service provider.

Cloud

As SMEs and enterprises continue increasing their technology budgets to align with future-focused innovations, some are expanding their cloud connectivity with managed CloudLink networking. This option deploys and manages a direct, private connection for any single or multicloud network, connecting business locations, data centers, and cloud providers. With better performance, security, and privacy, a CloudLink connectivity solution can offer better agility and resilience than other cloud network options.

Investing In The Future

As summarized in the McKinsey report, “The growth in enterprise budgets signifies a recognition of the importance of being at the forefront of technology to drive innovation. Being agile and adaptable is critical, but the vast majority of organizations now also seem to indicate they believe that truly investing in the digital future requires increasing the size of their portfolio year by year.” Digital business has been the norm for some time now, and continued transformation toward stronger innovations will drive enterprise success. Several of the connectivity solutions discussed here, especially 5G-related services, are innovations that have already shown to be foundational in establishing the next chapter of digital business. For companies ready to expand their success, the decision starts with increased investment in transformative technologies.

Survey image and quoted citations are from “Technology and telecommunications B2B customer buying trends: Bright horizons with some warning signs” February, 26, 2024, McKinsey.com