5G: Where we are, where we're going next
Let's start with our special feature on 5G, which shows deployments are moving beyond enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access and are beginning to enable a wider range of use cases. But there's still a long way to go. As you might expect, the biggest category of 5G devices is phones (48.8%).
5G connections continue to rise
The result of increasing network and device availability is, of course, more connections. In May 2021, analyst firm CCS Insight forecast that connections to 5G networks would reach 670 million worldwide by the end of the year and were on track to reach 3.6 billion in 2025.
Cloud computing just hit another huge milestone
Businesses globally spent $53.5 billion on cloud infrastructure in the fourth quarter of 2021, hitting the milestone for the first time and bringing full-year spending to $191.7 billion, or nearly $50 billion more than in 2020, according to analyst Canalys.
Cloud computing is taking over enterprise IT spend
Tech analyst Gartner predicts that as much as half of spending across application software, infrastructure software, business process services and system infrastructure markets will have shifted to the cloud by 2025, up from 41% in 2022.
SEE: What is cloud computing? Everything you need to know about the cloud explained
How the initial access broker market leads to ransomware attacks
As noted in new research conducted by KELA, the ransomware-as-a-service economy relies on initial access brokers (IABs) to reduce the need for extended reconnaissance. On average, IABs sell initial access for $4600, and sales take up to three days to finalise.
SEE: How the initial access broker market leads to ransomware attacks
Zero Trust strategy: Federal government makes some strong calls
Analyst Forrester says Zero Trust advocates should be jumping for joy over the federal government's understanding of the cybersecurity concept. It says the the US Office of Management and Budget doesn't just make the right call, it makes the bold call and doubles down on Zero Trust.
Open source is more important than ever, say developers
More than three-quarters of organisations increased their use of open-source software during the past year as the popularity of DevOps tooling, data technologies and AI/ML tooling grows. Perforce-owned OpenLogic and the nonprofit Open Source Initiative (OSI) found that 77% of organisations were more reliant on OSS than they were 12 months ago.
SEE: Open source is more important than ever, say developers. Here's what's driving adoption
70% of customer interactions are now digital, but companies are not ready
MuleSoft's 2022 Connectivity Benchmark Report found that 70% of organizations struggle to provide completely connected user experiences across all channels. At the same time, the report noted that almost three-quarters (72%) of organisations' customer interactions are now digital.
SEE: 70% of customer interactions are now digital and most companies are not ready