Although edge computing presents new challenges for telcos, as they have to deal with thousands of micro data centers and mobile edge computers at 5G cell sites, edge intelligence will provide incredible untapped value. In fact, telcos will be capable of delivering more than just transport capabilities, according to Steve Canepa (pictured), managing director and general manager of the global communications sector at IBM. 

But telcos are looking in both directions — edge and cloud, distributed and central. Telcos are also leveraging hybrid-multicloud networks to use open IP network platforms. They are transforming their entire data, voice, and multimedia networks and creating a new set of services that will likely compete with big cloud providers. 

“The idea here is that all industries are going to want to provide a next-generation of insights to their customers and to their partners,” Canepa said.“Edge allows us to take advantage of those 5G attributes and to put it wherever that workload should run.”

Canepa spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. They discussed telco’s new challenges, edge computing, and 5G. (* Disclosure below.)

[Editor’s note: The following has been condensed for clarity.]

With so much going on in your space, and of course this pandemic hit the communications industry in so many different ways … what are you seeing and what are you guys doing to support clients? 

Canepa: The telecommunication space, as you know, it’s an essential industry that’s helping the world deal with this [pandemic] as we are all going virtual. So we’re working with clients to help them get their resources in place so that they can support their businesses, their network platforms, their media services in a way that they can keep the business running. Our telecommunications customers all around the globe had to get their resources and work-at-home environments … in deploying real-time services.

When you think about telco infrastructure, what comes to mind is: It’s hard and it’s reliable. It works and all of a sudden you’ve got all these remote workers. The pace of the pivot has been actually quite astounding.

Canepa: It actually goes hand in glove in what way we’ve been preparing the industry for generally. There’s been this evolution that’s been happening in the industry now for a number of years and, in fact, the center point of what we’re doing now to help telcos virtualize and abstract those networks so that they’re software-based services platforms that can respond to these kinds of peak load demand issues. 

I want to ask you about something you said in a recent article in Forbes. You said, “Winners in the 5G and edge era will be those who embrace a hybrid multicloud approach.” I want to ask you, 5G can’t get here fast enough, but still, you’re kind of predicting a 5G and edge era coming this decade. What are your thoughts on this coming era? 

Canepa: In my view, there are three fundamental things that are happening simultaneously. So first, obviously, 5G is emerging. Most service providers around the world are starting to already deploy their private 5G capabilities. The second key transformation that’s happening is the telco network itself is becoming a hybrid cloud platform. And then the third key thing that’s happening in the market is this edge phenomenon. And this is all about the ability to move workloads, move services out closer to where things happen and take advantage of those key 5G features like ultra-low latency, increased bandwidth, and of course the ability to slice the network.  

I would imagine that one of the technical challenges is maintaining that level of reliability and predictability while at the same time being able to support remote workers. Can you comment on that?  

Canepa: Once we go through an open platform, a software-based platform, we can infuse automation — extreme levels of automation — and AI for intelligent predictive capability. And now think about the network becoming a living, breathing, responding platform where it’s based on software. So we can deploy services and functions and we can automate those services and functions. 

We had a decent understanding of the Red Hat and the strategy around Open Shift and the container approach, hybrid multicloud. What I didn’t realize is that there was specificity around the telco industry. Can you talk more specifically about what IBM is doing in that regard?  

Canepa: Red Hat has a very significant presence in 120 telcos around the globe. So not only they’re Red Hat Linux, which is kind of a de-facto standard in the marketplace, but their OpenStack architecture, now moving after the OpenShift architecture. And so we [IBM] are able to really infuse into Red Hat the kind of requirements that are necessary for their software platform to serve as “The Platform.”

It has been an incredible synergy. At IBM we’ve had a long-standing relationship with all the service providers around the world and helping them transform their business, and now with Red Hat, we have the opportunity to really integrate what we’re doing with automation and AI standpoint with all the power of that Red Hat Platform. 

Where do you see the edge fitting into this hybrid multicloud approach?  

Canepa: I think of it in a kind of simple Venn diagram where you have kind of this virtualized open software-based telco network on one side and you have the edge on the other and in the middle. You have this kind of combination where you do edge in partnership with the telco. And the idea here is that all industries are going to want to provide the next generation of insights to their customers and to their partners. 

Well this is huge for the telcos. They’re responsible for putting in that infrastructure, maintaining that infrastructure, and then you got the over-the-top providers laying out content [and] growing like crazy, [which] has really disrupted that industry. This is going to change the way in which telcos are able to compete.

Canepa: In this edge world, we essentially are creating [new] platforms for innovation for businesses and all industries. And they [telcos] can now innovate on those platforms and create incredible value in their business. And the telcos now can add beyond just the transport capability. But artificial intelligence, automation, they can expose certain data capabilities, they can make those applications smarter, understanding proximity data, that could be applied to things like logistics or pricing. So a tremendous new set of values.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. Neither IBM Corp., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE