TelcoDR’s top picks for AWS re:Invent ‘23

Next week is AWS re:Invent, the annual event where the hyperscaler makes major announcements and generally promotes itself and all of its cool new tech. For AWS customers, it’s the best place to network with other cloud lovers and see how they are applying the latest cloud concepts. My latest blog is a shortlist of the best sessions for telcos at every stage of their journey to the public cloud. Check it out to fill up your dance card for next week’s event!

Weaving through the public cloud with Ribbon

Ribbon Communications President & CEO Bruce McClelland talks about how his company balances innovation with existing customers' needs, where he sees demand for the public cloud in telco, and more.

Listen now: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TelcoDR website.

I can’t wait to hop on a plane to Las Vegas for AWS re:Invent, running November 27 – December 1. Attending with your telco team? Shoot me a message and let’s meet! I can’t wait to tell you about what’s up with Totogi. Come seek me out at:

• The Building a sustainable, competitive, and smart telco with AWS session with Adolfo Hernandez, Chivas Nambiar, and Ishwar Parulkar
• The AWS Women in Startups Breakfast
• Mobi's session, Building a next-gen 5G telecom network with AWS, where I'll be checking in on Justen Burdette (guest on one of the year's best Telco in 20 podcasts!)

What an epic news weekend, at least if you’re in the tech world. Sam Altman, former CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI,?was summarily fired by his board last Friday, kicking off an avalanche of resignations and protests from OpenAI employees, Microsoft, and, uh, basically everyone in tech. The winner: Microsoft, who seems to have picked up very valuable OpenAI talent, basically for free.?Kara Swisher’s rundown on X (fka Twitter) is the most entertaining take, for sure. The losers? The dumbass board of OpenAI, of course. Talk about instant massive value destruction. WOW.

Just like we predicted, Microsoft announced its custom-designed AI chips at Ignite, its annual cloud conference, this week. You’ll be able to find these chips in a Microsoft data center near you soon, powering services like Microsoft Copilot (fka Bing Chat) and Azure OpenAI Service. Azure Boost, which should make storage and networking faster for AI processes, is also now generally available. The topline message of the show: Microsoft is building a comprehensive system to enable AI. Want to know what else happened at Ignite this year? Here are a couple of good rundowns of the show from?The Verge and?TechCrunch.

Here’s another great piece from The Verge about Taylor Swift's Eras Tour setting mobile data records, including Swifties on AT&T clocking 28.9 terabytes in data usage during a show in my home state of Texas. Telcos, if you were set up to use customer data to “tailor” hyper-personalized offers to individual subscribers (see what I did there?), you could monetize the heck out of heavy usage scenarios like these. The possibilities are endless. All you need is the public cloud and tech from my startup, Totogi!

MNOs are finding a new revenue stream by opening up their networks to MVNOs, according to a recent article from Broadband Breakfast. TelcoDR Chief Strategy Officer Kelly Green explains that the benefits run both ways, with MNOs making extra revenue from unused capacity and MVNOs getting strong networks without huge costs. Overall, these deals could increase revenue to the operator and new options for MVNOs.

There is a debate in our industry around whether GenAI will change the game for telecom, or just introduce new headaches. This article from TelecomTV’s Ian Scales summarizes viewpoints (including mine) shared during the recent AI-Native Telco Summit panel about using AIOps. You know where I come down: AI is the real deal. Telcos, you need to realize that?to maximize on AI, you’re going to need the public cloud for its chips, scalable compute, and LLMs. This past weekend’s news should be proof enough.

AWS has announced?a great way for telco IT groups to start experimenting with AI: Party Rock! It’s basically a playground for anyone who wants to learn about GenAI and experiment with what it can do. You don’t even need an AWS account to get started, and because anyone can use AI, even the mildly technical (that means you, telco exec!) can give it a spin.

SK Telecom wants billions in revenue from AI, and just invested?a few more million dollars in AI startups as part of its AI Pyramid Strategy, which it hopes will generate $18.5 billion by 2028. The startups are Imprimed, an AI biotech firm that recommends optimal cancer treatment for dogs, and Allganize, which offers enterprise apps that use existing LLMs. Don’t forget, SKT is also?building that telco-specific LLM. I can’t think of another telco so ALL-IN on AI, so it is?definitely the one?to watch and draft off of its AI learnings. Telus is thinking into the future as it transitions from a telco to a tech-co, focusing on customer experiences and social impact. The company is exploring AI and fostering a culture of learning to encourage leaders and workers to adapt to new technology.?

Cloud costs are a challenge for every company hoping to incorporate generative AI (GenAI) into their business. Naturally, everyone who wants in on this cutting edge tech is wondering where in the world they’re going to get the extra budget to fund the investment. My idea for you: use a cloud optimization solution that results in real savings, like CloudFix, that can help you save 30% on your AWS compute costs, then funnel those savings into spend on GenAI workloads. You’d be able to keep your cloud costs flat while investing in your AI future. Sounds like a great idea to me!

LLMs consume a lot of energy—as much as 3.5% of the world’s energy by 2030. This blog from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) proposes solutions to make algorithms, hardware, and data centers more sustainable. If you’re going to build your own LLM, you have to think about the data center. Hyperscalers can handle it, which gives you YET ANOTHER REASON to move to the public cloud.

Want something to keep you entertained while you’re waiting for that Thanksgiving turkey to pop out of the oven? How about?a little crossword puzzle for GKE node pools? Our super talented buddy Forrest Brazeal (what can’t he do?!?!) has you covered—give it a try for fun.

And finally, it’s time for my favorite holiday in the USA … THANKSGIVING! Woo hoo! This year I’m looking forward to chilling with my family, stuffing my face with great food, and celebrating my 53rd birthday. From me to you—Happy Thanksgiving! ??????

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