ATLANTA – Jan. 6, 2022 – PRLog — Rising consumer expectations have collided with supply chain disruptions to redefine how network service providers (NSPs) bring compelling value propositions to market. While cutting-edge product developments on the customer premises equipment (CPE) front once provided an opportunity for NSPs to secure a competitive differentiation, it has become clear that a more comprehensive view of innovation will be required to improve their market position through 2022 and beyond.
Supply-chain constraints, for instance, have generated serious challenges for NSPs seeking to meet customer demands. Critical component shortages and logistical disruptions have hampered the flow of goods and services through the value-chain, putting pressure on decision-makers to continue accelerating the introduction and deployment of new exciting customer experiences, despite challenges on the global logistics front.
“Success — and out-of-the-box thinking — in this volatile environment will hinge on understanding the underlying long-term trends while managing the more immediate short-term forces that will impact the market through 2022 and 2023,” says Eric Rutter, President of the Americas for Technicolor Connected Home. “Effectively navigating these intricacies will be critical for network service providers serving connected home markets across the region.”
The connected home has become an integral part of today’s work environment. As consumers and employers adapt to on-again, off-again shelter-in-place requirements, NSPs across the region are gearing up to address growing demands for speed and bandwidth over low latency networks.
“Strategic investments in new technologies and business processes will support the elevated role of the connected home in the daily lives of consumers for years to come,” adds Rutter. “These trends are driving unprecedented — and constantly evolving — demands for new services and experiences that are based on high levels of network performance.”
Navigating the Roadmap for a Fractured Supply Chain
While the global economic recovery has not quite reached pre-pandemic levels, the industry is improving the design, development, and deployment of the products and services consumers want in today’s volatile environment.
“Technicolor has embraced the principles of continuity, agility, resilience, and transparency (CART) into every relationship that we have with customers and suppliers,” says Rutter, adding “The central strategic focus for service providers in 2022 will be to continue designing value propositions around enhanced experiences that meet changing customer expectations.”
But offering a greater variety of services requires more resources to manage. As customer demand for content and entertainment services across the Americas continues to grow, NSPs will need to balance customer guidance to navigate the complexity of content requirements with optimizing the performance of devices over residential wireless networks.
“NSPs are investing in network and CPE upgrades that address consumer demands for more reliable high-speed access to the home and low-latency wireless coverage throughout the home,” says Rutter. “The new generation of CPE — which accommodates the growing array of capabilities from many different ecosystem partners — provides NSPs with an opportunity to offer managed services to address ensuing intricacies associated with the growing complexity of traffic, devices and content offerings.”
Building a More Open Tomorrow Today
While customers throughout the region are price-sensitive, they have demonstrated an appetite — and willingness to pay — for better experiences. The question is: how can this be offered effectively and profitably?
“Bandwidth has become a commodity,” warns Rutter. “It is now table stakes for operators hoping to remain competitive in today’s market. But access is a finite game. Providers that fail to evolve through managed services will face challenges in enhancing the customer experience. Beyond lowering prices, NSPs have few competitive alternatives to hanging on to customers in a saturated market.”
The answer, says Rutter, lies in open systems, automation and advanced analytics. NSPs that invest in innovation, diagnostics, and artificial intelligence and machine learning will be able to address the shifting needs of customers without overspending. Providers that fail to keep pace are going to be left behind.
“The only way to navigate this environment is by adopting a comprehensive strategy of innovation across all operations,” adds Rutter. “The status quo will not help accomplish future objectives. All assumptions have to be challenged in delivering value to the evolving needs of consumers throughout the region. At Technicolor Connected Home, the efforts that we put into developing new CPE are matched by our efforts to find new ways of ensuring that products make it to market at the right time, the right place and at the right price.”
While the industry continues to deal with a complex supply chain, the industry cannot afford to let the urgent distractions of today disrupt the focus on bringing new, exciting value-propositions to market.
To read the full Q&A from Technicolor’s Eric Rutter, please visit: https://www.technicolor.com/news/connectedhome/agility-in…
The 4th CSRtech Innovation Summit (CSRtech 2021), co-organised by Orange, Saint-Gobain, OPPO and Deutsche Telekom, and co-hosted by Impact Hub Shanghai, was held successfully in Shanghai on October 28. Startups, large domestic and foreign companies and investment institutions gathered for a sustainable development vision in the post-COVID-19 era. The summit looked into the prospects and explored CSR in the context of China’s carbon peak and neutrality goals, and further promoted the practice of CSR by empowering innovative tech startups. CSRtech 2021 consisted of keynote speeches, roundtables and startup pitches. The summit invited experts to elaborate the effect of climate change and China’s carbon emission goals, enterprises to share their best practice and exploration of green transformation, and startups to present their innovative solutions. The summit offered a platform to connect innovative startups and the needs of socially responsible industries to further promote the best practice of CSR.
Orange has co-organized the CSRtech Innovation Summit for four consecutive years, since its launch in 2018. Dr. Alex WANG, VP of Global Procurement & Supply Chain at Orange Group, stated that CSRtech put social responsibility, which had been promoted with industrial partners for a long time, into practice through involving innovative technologies. Orange would like to thank all the startups for providing products and solutions in favor of social responsibility, and hoped to work with partners from all sectors to reach a consensus on sustainable development.
Saint-Gobain, as one of the first multinational companies setting a carbon neutrality target for 2050, is driving sustainable developments in the areas of construction, transportation, healthcare and industrial applications. To achieve the net-zero carbon target by 2050, the Group has developed a clear roadmap and is implementing global initiatives including industrial performance and capacity improvement, product and service innovation, and energy transformation. In his speech, Mr. Denis Michel, Saint-Gobain APAC Secretary General, indicated that participation in CSRtech means a lot to Saint-Gobain. Collaboration between large companies and innovative startups is crucial in addressing various social and environmental challenges.
OPPO as a tech company shares the brand mission of “technology for mankind, kindness for the world” and its efforts of becoming a healthier and more sustainable company since day one. Mr. Scott ZHANG, OPPO Vice President of Oversea Sales, shared OPPO’s CSR practices and indicated that CSRtech aligns with OPPO’s long-standing brand spirit of sustainability. OPPO also believes that sustainable development required the joint efforts of the industry and the whole society, and it hopes to work with cross-industry partners to actively identify innovative solutions so as to create more sustainable values for people and society.
Deutsche Telekom has always been committed to innovation for sustainability and has created Green Magenta Program to implement this concept. Melanie Kubin-Hardewig, VP Group Sustainability Management of Deutsche Telekom, explained further in terms of greener consumer products, zero waste, greener networks and greener governance. She emphasized that the Green Magenta Program is a great initiative, but it will not come to fruition without the support and inspiration from innovative startups and solutions.
Thirteen outstanding innovative startups presented their innovative products, services and technologies, responding to the challenges of “Protect Our Planet”, “Drive Sustainable Business” and “Value Everyone’s Wellbeing”. Among them were Passive Edge Tech, YOUBANGANDA, SATOR TECH, Autonom Loop and Knowcarbon, focusing on energy and carbon emissions; CarbonPlanet, AI Tyre, OrcauBoat and HOHIILIFE, dedicated to resources and environmental protection; AMA and Virtual Scene, using technology to enable health and safety in daily life; Voibook and OPO Disability Group, focusing on accessibility solutions.
This is the fourth year of CSRtech. In these four years, CSRtech has witnessed companies, investors, innovators and every consumer having a deeper understanding of responsible footprint and sustainable development; witnessed the growth and success of many startups, and their collaborations with large companies, making positive impact on industries and society. CSRtech believes that persistent collaboration on open innovation will create a more sustainable and inclusive world, and welcomes more aspirants to join us.
“Effective communication is paramount and it works best when combined with trust. When there is a pandemic or another crisis that affects the human race, we should use our capabilities to the best of our ability and find solutions – together.” – Dr. Ankit Bharat, Chief of Thoracic Surgery, Northwestern Medicine
Published by Seraph Books, Howard, Ohio is pleased to announce the new release of “Innovation Amid Despair: Restoring Hope and Time,” by Ankit Bharat.
Dr. Ankit Bharat is a tenured Professor of Surgery, Chief of thoracic surgery, and director of the Canning Thoracic Institute at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. Work by Dr. Bharat and his team resulted in the first successful double lung transplant in the United States to save the life of a young COVID-19 patient on June 5, 2020. His research team published some of the early scientific papers that informed the medical community about the importance of lung transplantation for patients with severe COVID-19. This procedure provides a second chance for critically ill patients affected by COVID-19 and similar infection who have no other options for survival. Dr. Bharat and his team have helped other centers successfully perform transplants for similar COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Bharat received his training at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, and Washington University in St. Louis. At Northwestern Medicine he performs lung transplantation and surgeries for patients with cancers in the chest cavity. Dr. Bharat leads an NIH-funded scientific research program as the Harold & Margaret Method Endowed Chair and teaches at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Bharat was part of the coronavirus task force leading many initiatives such as the ECMO transportation for critically ill patients at his institution. He conducted “warm” autopsies and operated on numerous COVID-19 patients.
About the Book: As COVID-19 and its variants Delta, Lambda, and Mu plagued the world with an unimaginable period of death and despair, the world raced to innovate and save lives. Dr. Ankit Bharat, Chief Thoracic Surgeon, and his team worked to find solutions to combat this virus, fastidiously pioneering the double lung transplant procedure for COVID-19 patients with no other hope of survival – which has been adopted globally.
“Innovation Amid Despair” unveils heart-wrenching and awe-inspiring stories about the extraordinary crisis told by patients and their loved ones. These accounts display how innovation can be accomplished in the darkest, most desperate moments by genuinely caring about people – restoring hope and the need for time – to reconcile conflicts.
This prolific story spans many dimensions beyond medical discoveries, revealing damning consequences of political dividedness, conflicting narratives, and public distrust, while illustrating the importance of mutual harmony and collaboration so that we are better prepared – for the next catastrophe.
Foreword By:
“Doing lung transplants for COVID-19 patients – that’s interesting and it’s a wonderful contribution. But what he has accomplished in his research career is far more impactful than his great significance for thoracic surgery.”
– Alexander Patterson, MD Performed One of the World’s First Successful Double Lung Transplants.
Patient Stories Include but are not limited to:
“Politics aside, the virus is real. It happened to me, and it can happen to you. If you don’t care to protect yourself, do it for others around you. Just be a human.”
– Mayra Ramirez, First COVID-19 Patient to Receive a Double Lung Transplant in the United States
“When faced with a life-threatening situation, your resources may become futile. Your family means everything.”
– Terrence A. Duffy, Chairman & CEO Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) successfully launched the ATL Space Challenge 2021 for all school students across the country.
The challenge has been designed for all the school students, mentors and teachers across the country who not only are associated with schools having ATL labs but for all the non ATL schools as well.
This is to ensure that students of classes 6 to 12 are given an open platform where they can innovate and enable themselves to solve digital age space technology problems.
The ATL Space Challenge 2021 aligns with the World Space Week 2021 which is being observed from 4 to 10 October each year at the global level in order to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology.
Speaking during the official launch, Mission Director AIM Dr Chintan Vaishnav said that the aim of this challenge is to enable innovation among young school students to create something in space sector that will not only help them learn about the space but create something that space programme can use itself.
“We are envisioning that the young innovators across the country will learn and engage in creating new the space sector and develop solutions that might be further beneficialas well. We are grateful to ISRO and CBSE who have partnered with us to make it a great success. Students who secure top positions will be presented exciting prizes at the conclusion of the challenge,” he said.
He further mentioned that the ATL Space Challenge 2021 one-of-a-kind challenge for school students across India that aligns with this year’s theme of celebrating 75 years of India’s independenceas “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements.
The Space Challenge perfectly aligns with the objective of the nation-wide Mahotsav and support the young innovators and introduce them to newer technologies and skills.
Director Capacity Building Programme office (ISRO) Dr Sudhir Kumar expressed extreme joy on launching such a challenge for students. He said, “We take pride in collaborating with AIM & CBSE to launch this challenge where students can explore space with creative freedom. We are hoping to launch this challenge every year,” he asserted.
Chairman CBSE, Shri Manoj Ahuja in his address said that ATL space challenge 2021 has a huge potential in terms of allowing the children to come up with ideas and having an environment where they can see their ideas turning into a reality through the ecosystem that AIM, ISRO & CBSE are providing through this challenge,” he said.
“I feel for the sake of education sector and for the bigger arena of innovation and creativity among students, government organizations often need to come together” he added.
Meanwhile, Students (from ATL and Non-ATL schools) can submit their entries be it a solution or an innovation in team of up to three members. Teams must be aligned to one of the Challenge Themes under which the problems can be identified.
Students can create a solution that can be implemented and adopted leveraging technologies such as:
1. Explore Space
2. Reach Space
3. Inhabit Space
4. Leverage Space
The application for the Space Challenge can be submitted on the AIM online portal. Each team based on their interest and understanding, must select one problem which falls under any one of the Space Challenge themes.
Each unique solution must be submitted under one theme only. Submitting the same solution/ innovation under multiple themes will result in immediate disqualification.
The online application form submission will include- document submission (description of the innovation/ solution) and video submission (capturing a 360-degree view of the working prototype/ solution)
School Teachers, ATL In-Charges and mentors have been advised to support the student teams. Individual member entry is not allowed. Also if the team size exceeds 3 members limit, the entry/ submission will be immediately disqualified.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog successfully completed two month long and a first of its kind, digital skills and an exclusive entrepreneurship ATL Tinkerpreneur summer bootcamp held across the country.
Designed for high school students across the nation, ‘ATL Tinkerpreneur’ saw a record-breaking 9000+ participants (including 4000+ girl participants) across 32 states and 298 districts.
The Bootcamp witnessed participation from 820 ATLs, 50+ live expert speaker sessions were conducted with over 4.5 lakh views and imparted 30+ digital and entrepreneurial skills.
‘Tinkerpreneur’ – the name derived from the phrase ‘enabling students to tinker from the comfort of their homes and become an entrepreneur this summer’ was a bootcamp focussed on cultivating a hands-on innovative mindset among students.
Spread across a span of 9 weeks from 31st May 2021 to 1st August 2021, ‘ATL Tinkerpreneur’ enabled the participants to develop a business idea and create an end-to-end strategy for setting up a new venture. Over the course of the bootcamp, the participants learnt the required digital skills, created and developed a business model around a digital product, generated a marketing plan, developed/established an online store, learnt business finance and culminated it by presenting their pitch deck in front of Industry experts.
Students along with their ATL in-charges were mapped in small groups with Mentors-of-Change. All those who registered got access to a repository of digital and entrepreneurial curated learning resources, do-it-yourself content, simple assignments etc. to empower the participants to create their own digital products and ventures.
Emphasising on inculcating a hands-on and innovative mindset during the finale session, Mission Director AIM, NITI Aayog Dr Chintan Vaishnav said “The whole bootcamp was designed to instil an innovative mindset as well as to help students go from an idea to a venture in a short time, by trying-failing-and trying again. We wanted them to experience both the creation of a solution as well as a business around it. As they learnt these skills by ‘doing’, we expect these learnings to stay with them throughout their life’s journey.”
Speaking during the virtual finale session of the bootcamp, Founder Infosys Mr. Narayana Murthy said, “A leader has to be a uniter and not a divider. The most important responsibility of a leader is to raise the aspiration, confidence, energy, and enthusiasm of the people and teammates around. The leader must do whatever is necessary to make a person feel an inch taller in the leader’s presence.”
He further added, addressing young innovators, “if you become a leader, ensure that people that come to you leave with higher confidence in them. His or her main job is to craft a vision that is aspirational and individually rises above region, religion, caste, and economic clauses. A leader has to imagine something that nobody has dreamt of, moving towards this requires a lot of sacrifice, hard work, discipline, deferred gratification, confidence, hope & enthusiasm. Such attributes come to the people when the followers trust the leader.”
Meanwhile, participants leveraged the knowledge and hands-on involvement of 650+ Mentors (including 180+ women mentors), inculcated and applied their inputs and improved upon their ventures. With inputs from industry leaders, regular sessions by guest speakers in 6 regional languages (Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada) and a positive environment provided students a thorough introduction to entrepreneurship along with an opportunity to network with fellow innovators from across the country.
An exclusive Tinkerpreneur web portal was also created with a curated 9-week content for self-paced learning. The portal enabled the students to submit quizzes, assignments and enabled the mentors to review student assignments and share feedback.
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