Cloud has silver lining for mobile operators

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 18 October 2011 16:03

Mobile operators have been slow to exploit the booming growth in revenue from mobile data service, the bulk of which has gone to over-the-top providers, but could be well-placed to profit from cloud computing.

According to Jagdish Rebello, senior director and principal analyst for communications and consumer electronics at US research firm, IHS. "Mobile communications service providers have lagged behind in the race to unlock the value in the mobile communications industry, which is estimated to grow to a trillion dollars during the next two years'¦To reclaim their share of profits, wireless carriers must be willing to take risks, move fast and be innovative in their offerings."

He said that a key offering would be cloud-based services for tablets and other mobile devices. "Consumer and enterprise spending on the public segment of the cloud is projected to rise to $110 billion in 2015, up from $23 billion in 2010."

IHS contends that mobile network operators (MNO) can capture about seven percent of the total spend on public cloud services in 2015, up from less than one percent in 2011.

"The transition to could-based services will require new levels of data security, backup and disaster recovery," it said. "This is especially important in the enterprise information technology (IT) environment to ensure that critical elements of the corporate knowledge base are protected and safeguarded."

It is in this new paradigm that IHS sees a tremendous opportunity for service providers to offer differentiated services and gain relevance. However, it says the cloud market will present major competitive challenges for wireless operators. "The market already is occupied by traditional IT providers, including IBM, EMC, Microsoft and NetApp, as well as newer players like Apple, Google and Amazon."