While companies should always be on the lookout for unexpected hikes in their ICT spend, in today’s uncertain environment it is more important than ever to maintain vigilance.  Just last month Lumen notified its customers of an upcoming change to their operational and technical support structure that may leave enterprises footing a steeper bill. In this 5-minute podcast, TC2’s Theresa Knutson and Frank Zagrodnik join Sara Crifasi to discuss Lumen’s forthcoming shift in support and what...

Merger and acquisition activity can be beneficial to the business, but it can also lead to complications when it comes to integrating ICT deals of the two entities.  Harmonizing disparate commercial terms, service schedules and pricing from legacy contracts can be a headache. In this 7-minute podcast, Keith Cook and Tony Mangino discuss how, when approached strategically, deal integration presents a unique opportunity to both reduce costs and increase commercial flexibility across a...

On Saturday, March 30th, AT&T announced a significant data breach that exposed the sensitive personal information of millions of its current and former customers.  As data breaches seem only to increase in frequency, enterprise customers can’t rely on service providers alone to keep their data safe—they must be proactive about security, which includes negotiating appropriately protective contract terms, limiting unnecessary data exchange, and enforcing internal security practices. On...

5G was in the doldrums, but 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is a success story – it is growing and we predict more adoption by enterprise customers in 2024. In certain industries, particularly those with more remote or ex-suburban presences, 5G FWA tempts enterprise customers as an alternative to fixed broadband.  Investments by providers, fueled by the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program and other available funds (e.g., Connect America Fund), will make 5G FWA more...

This is the season of AI, and it should be no surprise that we predict that AI will continue to have a significant (and growing) impact on the ICT market and day-to-day use of information, communications, and network deals. Three areas in which AI-driven change will directly impact ICT in 2024: (1) the backend processes for vendors, including NOCs and staffing, (2) the refined use of AI in enterprises’ management of their services and customer relationships, and (3) security – with both...

2024 is a year of customer/user experience. In this 12-minute podcast, Frank Zagrodnik and Bryan Carriker join Sara Crifasi to discuss how enterprises continue to evolve their use of outsourced managed network service (MNS) arrangements, including co-management models – where the customer and provider collaborate on delivering certain functions deemed critical to the business. Changes in the provider landscape will accelerate this review, and combined with ever-evolving automation, machine...

Enterprises did a herculean job of adapting to the pressures imposed by the pandemic, but now find themselves managing multiple cloud solutions with confusing invoices and overwhelming costs.  In 2024 enterprise customers will deal with two big cloud-related challenges – cloud management and cloud costs. In this 10-minute podcast, Deb Boehling and Brent Knight join Tony Mangino to discuss what Cloud Services are, examine management of diverse cloud environments, integrating WAN...

When rethinking their ICT infrastructure strategy, enterprise customers will demonstrate an increased willingness to diversify away from Cisco, focusing on the continued transformation to cost-effective, secure, easy-to-manage, cloud-first architectures.  Equipment providers including Juniper, Palo Alto, Arista Networks, and HPE/Aruba are positioned favorably to benefit from the diversification.  Odds are that the Gartner quadrants will look very different at the end of 2024 than at the...

Looking forward into 2024, we expect an upsurge in migrations from on-premise solutions to cloud and hybrid cloud deployments.  While enterprises often engage third-party help for implementation support and optimization as they move from legacy to cloud-based solutions, once implemented, enterprises will continue to bring more of the day-to-day management in-house. Listen to this 9-minute podcast as LB3’s Laura McDonald and TC2’s Julie Gardner join Sara Crifasi to discuss the maturation...

On this episode of Staying Connected we continue our ongoing discussion of enterprise use of private 5G networks in general and in particular, enterprise use of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). In this 9-minute podcast, David Lee and Steve Rosen join Tony Mangino to discuss the technical and regulatory idiosyncrasies of CBRS and examine enterprise uptake of CBRS and the role that providers, equipment manufacturers, and regulators have in supporting increased enterprise...

Laws and regulations related to technology issues can have direct (and sometimes indirect) impacts on the cost and delivery of the products and services that enterprise customers must purchase to keep their businesses running.  In 2024, information and communications technology policy developments coming out of the Federal Communications Commission – including updates on net neutrality, SIM swapping and port-out fraud, robocalling and robotexting, USF reform, and 911 requirements – will...

Satellite networks, low-earth orbit (LEO) constellations, and edge computing solutions will play a more prominent role in WAN connectivity for remote locations and latency-sensitive applications.  LEO providers will begin trialing technologies such as optical inter-satellite links (OISL) that create mesh networks in space with the ability to transport data 30% faster than terrestrial fiber optical cables.  In addition, we see terrestrial wave service deployments growing as enterprises...

MPLS has long been the networking technology of choice for most enterprises.  But while many enterprises have already dropped MPLS completely many others still rely on MPLS and, arguably, are losing out on the benefits of alternative networking technologies. In this 11-minute podcast, Mark Sheard and Keith Cook join Tony Mangino to discuss how the enterprise WAN is evolving and provide key considerations for embarking on your transformational activity and effectively managing around...

In this special New Year’s installment of Staying Connected, we identify trends and share predictions in the ICT market and how we think they will impact enterprises in 2024. This 12-minute podcast features Laura McDonald, a Partner at LB3, and Tony Mangino, Director at TC2, to give you a preview of TC2 and LB3’s predictions and hot topics for 2024.  Be sure to stay tuned to Staying Connected for a forthcoming special series of podcasts where we’ll take a deeper dive into these trends that...

Private 5G has drawn little media attention compared to consumer-oriented 5G from the big 3 wireless providers. However, Private 5G is gaining traction in the enterprise space with specific business and use cases. In this 14-minute podcast, TC2’s Technology Director David Lee and Steve Rosen, Partner at LB3, join Tony Mangino to discuss the technical elements and regulatory considerations of the service and how Amazon’s recent move into this market may end up an overall boost to the...

Lately, not a day goes by when artificial intelligence isn’t in the news—but from AI to foundation models to machine learning to Generative AI, you need to have a baseline understanding of what the various services can do before you can determine what type of AI will best fit your enterprise, particularly in the ICT space. In this 11-minute episode, Kevin DiLallo, a partner at LB3, joins Sara Crifasi to kick off a series of Staying Connected podcasts on AI for the enterprise. This episode is...

It’s that time again when organizations that operate on a calendar-based fiscal year are in the midst of the complex task of budgeting for 2024.  Transformational projects, projected usage trends, understanding your contracts, and the moving target of taxes and regulatory charges all play into the exercise. In this 10-minute podcast, Theresa Knutson, Julie Gardner, and Frank Zagrodnik join Tony Mangino to provide helpful insights on the sometimes overlooked, but critically important,...

In an effort by network services providers to increase their margins and push their costs of doing business onto the customer, enterprises should be prepared for a meaningful change in the way they are likely to be charged for the cost of basic network services. In this 8-minute podcast, TC2 Director Keith Cook joins Tony Mangino to discuss what enterprises need to know when their provider proposes the addition of new, explicit charges for service management, a function that has...

Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) is a networking staple for enterprises that have deployed or are planning to deploy SD-WAN solutions.  DIA pricing, however, can vary significantly among providers, and enterprises may be losing potentially significant cost savings if they don’t understand the cost elements for these types of circuits. In this 9-minute podcast, TC2 Managing Director Jack Deal and Senior Consultant Brent Knight join Tony Mangino to discuss what customers need to know when...

This week, the Federal Communications Commission began a rulemaking proceeding to consider re-adoption of the net neutrality rules.  This contentious, long-fought proceeding examines changing the regulatory classification of broadband internet access service, and imposing safeguards to prevent internet service providers from exploiting the access monopoly they control between their customers, and every person or business trying to transmit content to their customers, by engaging in tactics...

On this episode of Staying Connected, we discuss how customers can effectively negotiate a contract renewal with an incumbent provider in the absence of a full-blown competitive RFP process.  Why might a customer choose the alternative of a negotiated renewal rather than running an RFP? Larry York, TC2’s Executive Director and Tony Mangino, a Director at TC2, join Sara Crifasi in this 11-minute podcast, to answer this question and provide current insight on strategies necessary when...

Every fall, LB3 and TC2 host a full-day conference in New York City to discuss the latest trends and best practices in Information and Communications Technology.  This year, our New York event centers on “The Accelerated Pace of Technology Evolution.”  If you have any responsibility for networking or technology sourcing at your company, you should plan to join us in New York. On this 10-minute podcast, Ben Fox, Managing Director of TC2, and Andrew Brown, the Managing Partner of LB3 and the...

On this episode of Staying Connected, we discuss Gartner’s recently updated Market Guide for Telecom Expense Management (TEM) Services.   In this 12-minute podcast, Theresa Knutson and Julie Gardner join Tony Mangino to provide their perspective on Gartner’s updated Market Guide and the larger TEM marketplace based on the work they do through competitive RFPs and implementations. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Contract...

On this episode of Staying Connected we discuss what we’ve learned since the August 10th announcement of the strategic partnership between Verizon Business and HCL Tech. In this 8-minute podcast, David Lee, TC2’s Technology Director joins Tony Mangino to provide insight on what we now know and what Verizon’s rationale and motivations may be in forming this partnership. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting and Strategy...