CeBIT is one of the world's largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments. Many of the the over 5,000 exhibitors use the event to launch an avalanche of press releases, product announcements, and presentations. Current Analysis was at the the show, and our analysts wrote a series of intelligence reports on announcements made at the show. Highlights from these reports appear below. Clients with a subscription to respective modules can read the full report by clicking the Client Access links. |
Analyst Show Flashes from CeBIT Contents
| ► | T-Mobile Germany Scores Microsoft SCMDM First, but Not for Long - Enterprise Mobility - Europe |
| ► | T-Systems Partners with Cognizant for Global Offshoring - Business Telecom Services - Europe |
| ► | Yahoo! Adds onePlace Content Management to Its Mobile Suite - Consumer Broadband Services Europe |
| ► | BTI Systems Joins Packet Optical Fray with Small Form Factor Platform - Optical Infrastructure |
| ► | Vodafone Showcases mobi+, the Mobile Portal Goes ‘A La Carte’ - Wireless Services - Europe |
| ► | Extreme and Soapstone Demonstrate Dynamic PBB-TE Provisioning and Services - Carrier Infrastructure |
| ► | BT Germany Announces Mobile Access with Onevoice - Business Telecom Services - Europe |
| ► | T-Home Cuts Prices to Turn Germany into an IPTV Nation - Consumer Broadband Services Europe |
| ► | Siemens’ Combined Comms and UC Software Will Facilitate Cross-sell Opportunities - Enterprise Communications |
T-Mobile Germany Scores Microsoft SCMDM First, but Not for Long
| Analyst: Sandra O'Boyle | Enterprise Mobility - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 5, 2008 - T-Mobile Germany will introduce a new solution based on the Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 (SCMDM) platform to its customers in April. The ‘Big Package’, aimed at large companies, will include centralised device and security management, and OTA software updates. It will be initially available on the MDA Compact IV smartphone. T-Mobile will also offer a Hosted Exchange mobile email solution to smaller companies that don’t have an Exchange server of their own, as well as an updated Microsoft Exchange Server Solution aimed at SMEs, both using the new Windows Mobile 6.1 platform.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on T-Mobile Germany’s pledge to deliver centralized mobile device management based on the forthcoming Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager (SCMDM) 2008 platform because enterprises will be looking for improved over the air (OTA) methods of securing and administering large fleets of smartphones and PDAs based on Windows Mobile 6.1 as the devices grow in availability and market share over the coming years.
• Vendor Importance: High to T-Mobile Germany, because it is the first MNO to commit to a commercial service using SCMDM 2008. Rival MNOs are sure to follow with similar announcements at some point in the coming weeks/months. The Hosted Exchange mobile email solution also gives T-Mobile Germany a new sales avenue to SMB customers.
• Market Impact: Low on the enterprise mobility sector in the short term, because the ‘Big Package’ solution based on SCMDM is initially limited to T-Mobile Germany and supports just one device, the MDA Compact IV smartphone. While Microsoft is not due to commercially release MSCMDM until April 2008, the new platform has been heavily publicised over the last six months and most operators are expected to adopt the platform within the next year.
T-Systems Partners with Cognizant for Global Offshoring
| Analyst: Dustin Kehoe | Business Telecom Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 7, 2008 – T-Systems has announced a partnership with Cognizant to target European MNCs with global requirements for system integration, outsourcing, and offshoring. The two companies will have 110,000 employees, expanded vertical focus and global service delivery. As part of the deal, Cognizant will also pick up T-Systems Indian operations through a share purchase. Financial details are not disclosed.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on T-Systems’ partnership with Cognizant for global system integration and offshoring capabilities as the company will gain overnight access to 40,000 employees based in India and China and 35 regional delivery and development centres. T-Systems will also be able to expand its vertical expertise into new verticals (e.g., life sciences, health care, finance and manufacturing) across Europe.
• Vendor Importance: High as T-Systems needed to improve its offshore and global service delivery to support its IT operations and system integration businesses. This was also important for improving the company’s application outsourcing, integration and business transformation services on a global basis. T-Systems had to offer strong offshore competence in order to compete in these areas at competitive prices.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the European ICT market as T-Systems will be more competitive (as a result of the Cognizant partnership) for global ICT outsourcing services. Indian competitors, such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro, targeting European MNCs for global offshoring deals will be impacted the most by this announcement. Operators that are offering network-based ICT services will also be forced to reconsider their own offshoring strategy.
Yahoo! Adds onePlace Content Management to Its Mobile Suite
| Analyst: Bernt Ostergaard | Consumer Broadband Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 4, 2008 -- Yahoo! announced onePlace, a mobile content management solution that will enable consumers to better manage the wide selection of content available across the Internet. Yahoo! onePlace will put all a consumer’s interests into a single location and then serve it up in the most personally relevant manner, using an intelligence-driven system to organize according to their unique interests and passions. It will also present only the information the user wants, the way they want it. The solution will launch in Q2 2008.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on the Yahoo! announcement of a onePlace content management solution, because it strengthens Yahoo!’s position in the emerging converged, personalized fixed and mobile information space. However, user acceptance of the centralized storage model and carriers’ fears of the business model remain open.
• Vendor Importance: High to Yahoo!, which is unleashing a series of oneX products designed to support its push to become the global focal starting point for the most users’ Internet browsing, from both their PC and their handset.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the broadband Internet market, because it lays out an integrated and personalized approach to content seeking, storage and updating on both PC and mobile handset platforms.
BTI Systems Joins Packet Optical Fray with Small Form Factor Platform
| Analyst: Jason Marcheck | Optical Infrastructure | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 4, 2008 -- BTI Systems unveiled its new packet optical edge platform: the BTI 7000 Series. The platform is slated to support C/DWDM, OTN, and carrier Ethernet, along with 10G multi-protocol muxponders and dual 10G transponders. The product comes in 1RU or 2RU form factors, and it can be stacked to support up to 400 Gbps of transport capacity. BTI will also offer an environmentally hardened unit for remote deployment. The company did not offer any date for general availability.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on BTI Systems’ news that it is launching a microWDM platform aimed at the packet optical market segment, because by offering a smaller, low-density packet optical solution, BTI is promising to help operators handle increasing demands for sophistication in the metro edge in support of services such as E-LAN, HD VoD, and other high-bandwidth offerings. Going further, targeting the platform specifically at IOCs and alternative carriers in Tier 2/3 markets should help BTI avoid the brunt of competition from larger equipment vendors that, while being happy to supply Tier 2/3’s, are much more focused on landing larger accounts.
• Vendor Importance: High to BTI Systems, because the move is designed to address what arguably will be the hottest topic in optical networking over the next few years (i.e., packet optical). Doing so in a way that targets operators that might not have the network capacity requirements addressed by most of the competing metro core platforms should help BTI gain visibility from a group of operators looking for a more affordable packet optical solution. However, products such as Alcatel Lucent’s 1850 TSS-5 and TSS-40 platforms, the Tellabs 7100 OTS Nano, and the Ciena CN 4200 MC are arguably all relevant for this market segment, indicating that BTI is going to have to stake its claims of differentiation on more than just a small form factor.
• Market Impact: Low on the optical infrastructure market, largely because BTI Systems is a small company whose size will keep it from competing vigorously against Tier 1 competitor. Nevertheless, BTI’s new offer looks impressive on a slide deck. So, if the vendor can rack up a few early reference customers, it could become a strong contender among the Tier 2/3 vendor market and become an attractive acquisition target by any number of larger packet optical vendors that currently focus on the metro core.
Vodafone Showcases mobi+, the Mobile Portal Goes ‘A La Carte’
| Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune | Wireless Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 3, 2008 -- Vodafone showcased a new mobile portal for the first time at CeBIT: mobi+. The portal can be individually adapted to the personal preferences of single users. For example, customers can put their favourite Web sites on the mobi+ entry page to see their top content at a glance. Freely configurable widgets and RSS feeds can also be easily integrated. mobi+ launch dates have yet to be confirmed.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on mobi+, as this represents a step in the right direction of mobile portal self-customization, putting consumers in control. The service promises to allow users to build their own mobile portal experience, choosing from a catalogue of widgets online, for a fully personalized portal that can be changed as required. However, mobi+ is still rooted in WAP portal technology, which lacks immediacy, content update dynamism, and ease of access. We believe that this service could be best delivered as an on-device portal (ODP).
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to the Vodafone Group, as mobi+ is just another strain of the operator’s evolving strategy to offer consumers a broader choice in mobile Internet services. Going forward, we’ll see Vodafone’s mobile Internet portfolio proliferate beyond Vodafone live! to mobi+, Vodafone live! services via Nokia’s Ovi and other new channel arrangements, including a pilot Vodafone live! ODP currently showcasing at CeBIT. This is all in a bid to appeal to the widest possible audience.
• Market Impact: High on the European mobile media market, as this is one of the best demonstrations to date of where service provider mobile Internet strategies are headed in 2008. All stakeholders should anticipate a seismic shift in mobile Internet strategies this year, and a sudden flowering of multiple services from operators that had, hitherto, attempted to target consumers with a one-size-fits-all WAP portal.
Extreme and Soapstone Demonstrate Dynamic PBB-TE Provisioning and Services
| Analyst: Glen Hunt | Carrier Infrastructure | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 4, 2008 -- Extreme and Soapstone demonstrated dynamic provisioning of PBB-TE services across Extreme’s Ethernet switches using Soapstone’s Provider Network Controller (PNC). The demonstration is one of the first events to highlight dynamically provisioned PBB-TE trunks. OAM functions such as service monitoring, repair, and support were also demonstrated. Earlier PBB-TE demonstrations used static configurations and focused on establishing proof points for reliable transport functions.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on the announcement that Extreme and Soapstone are demonstrating the dynamic provisioning of PBB-TE services, because the demonstration shows that PBB-TE technology and vendor implementations have progressed beyond hand-crafted, manually established point-to-point circuits, to dynamically constructed services flowing over Extreme’s BlackDiamond series switches. The demo also showcases additional capabilities of Soapstone’s Provider Network Controller (PNC), such as monitoring, repair, and network operations support functions.
• Vendor Importance: High to Extreme and Soapstone, since both vendors have been early endorsers of PBB-TE, and the demonstration shows that they are ready to move toward field and lab trials with an integrated end-to-end solution. This is the first public demonstration conducted by Extreme, which uses a control plane manager to establish services and provide basic OAM functions. The demonstration highlights the progress Soapstone has made since its inception and that its concept of using an external control plane to provision and manage network devices is valid.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the carrier Ethernet market, since the demonstration shows that PBB-TE is closer to being ready for service provider lab and field trials. The combination of the PNC and the BlackDiamond switches provides a visible example that the PBB-TE services can be provisioned, monitored, and managed, which is a prerequisite for any service provider before they will entertain launching a field trial or limited scope service offering.
BT Germany Announces Mobile Access with Onevoice
| Analyst: Dustin Kehoe | Business Telecom Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 5, 2008 – BT Germany has announced the launch of BT Mobile Access with its Onevoice IP telephony product. The new product, BT Mobile Access Onevoice, directs all international calls made from within the home subscriber country to BT’s IP network with the help of a software agent installed on the mobile device. The solution is available for BT Onevoice customers in 23 countries and supports Symbian and Java-based operating systems.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on BT Germany’s announcing the availability of the BT Onevoice Mobile Access at CeBIT, because customers can now benefit from mobile telephony services that can be diverted across the IP infrastructure through forced on-net functionality. BT is improving mobile integration with respect to its IP telephony product and is offering customers other benefits such as cost-savings for international mobile calls dialed from within the home subscriber market.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to BT Germany, as the company needs to continue to showcase key features to its IP telephony product to differentiate from key competitors, such as T-Systems, which have no such offer at this time. The announcement at CeBIT gives BT Germany the limelight in terms of drawing attention to its IP product suite.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the European market as BT’s move to integrate mobile services its IP telephony product is likely to force competitors to respond with similar offers in the short to medium term. Most operators, such as Orange Business Services, Verizon Business, AT&T and T-Systems, are working to improve and integrate mobile solutions into their IP telephony product suite and are not too far away with similar launches.
T-Home Cuts Prices to Turn Germany into an IPTV Nation
| Analyst: Ben Tudor | Consumer Broadband Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 3, 2008 -- In an attempt to establish itself as a leader in the German IPTV market, T-Home is cutting the prices on its IPTV offers. In addition, T-Home plans to extend VDSL to another 13 Germany cities this year, and it wishes to put ADSL 2+ into a total of 1,000 cities, giving a reach of 20 million households.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on T-Home’s price cut on its IPTV bundles, as it may help stimulate a rather moribund market for IPTV in Germany. While France and Italy have romped away with services offered by companies such as Neuf Cegetel, free and FastWeb, Germany lags behind even the UK in the adoption of IPTV.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to T-Home, as the firm already has a dominant position in the German IPTV market. As the incumbent, and with far more network penetration than its competitors, T-Home is in a comfortable position anyway. However, it does face increasing competition, in terms of network reach and price, from both Arcor and HanseNet’s Alice service.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the German IPTV market, because Arcor is pricing its barebones IPTV service at nearly the same as T-Home’s, with broadband access thrown in. While a price cut may stimulate the market for IPTV, it is far from a given that subscriber numbers will be boosted by a price cut alone. That said, the extra EUR 10 a month on top of T-Home’s broadband tariff is an enticing proposition.
Siemens’ Combined Comms and UC Software Will Facilitate Cross-sell Opportunities
| Analyst: Brian Riggs | Enterprise Communications | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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March 3, 2008 -- Siemens Communications announced OpenScape Unified Communications Server, a set of communications applications that initially includes OpenScape Voice Application (HiPath 8000 V3.1 R2), OpenScape Video, and OpenScape UC Application V3. OpenScape UC Server can operate in virtually any existing IT or telephony environment and it will be available in three versions: Medium Edition for up to 1,000 users, Large Edition for up to 100,000 users, and Hosted Edition for service providers and hosting organizations. OpenScape Unified Communications Server will be generally available worldwide in Q2 2008 at a cost of $39,000 for 100 user licenses for both the voice and unified communications applications.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on the introduction of the OpenScape Unified Communications Server, because the new offering packages together two of Siemens Enterprise Communications’ innovative software-based communications products, allowing the company to deliver a combined voice and unified communications platform.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Siemens Enterprise Communications, because the introduction of OpenScape Unified Communications Server indicates that the company is beginning to re-envision its portfolio less in terms of point products and more along the line of a suite of completely interoperable software that customers can deploy either on the same industry-standard server or on separate servers.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the enterprise communications market, because the introduction of OpenScape Unified Communications Server fundamentally changes the way Siemens’ customers, resellers, and business partners source and deploy two of the company’s newer and more innovative product offerings. Rather than ordering and deploying HiPath 8000 and OpenScape separately, the two can co-reside and be tightly integrated on a single server. Competitors in the unified communications market will likewise be moderately impacted by this announcement, as they will face off against a Siemens consolidated offering that is more comprehensive in feature set than it is at present.
