As the likes of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) integrate into business operations, companies are becoming more reliant than ever on the cloud.

With multi and hybrid cloud solutions, cloud security, and resilience among the top cloud computing trends for 2024, the focus shifts to how the infrastructure is keeping up with demand.

A 2021 Virtana report found that 72% of enterprises who shifted applications to the cloud have moved at least one app back to an on-premises environment.

A central theme of the research was that decision-makers at the time required greater observability into application behaviours and public cloud costs, amongst others, before embarking on a cloud migration. T

oday, there is now a greater focus on first ensuring there are robust capabilities to manage different public and private clouds across the business using a consistent set of services.

This has contributed to the adoption of a hybrid model which combines public clouds, private clouds, and on-premises resources.

This provides organisations with a more flexible way of embracing advanced technologies while still maintaining legacy environments in which significant investments have already been made.

Keep adapting

Regardless of the environment chosen, modern networks must be enablers of innovation and not just conduits of data. Being able to access a global, cloud-centric core network specifically designed for a multi-cloud world has become a business imperative.

Such a network infrastructure can deliver a variety of business use cases. On the financial services side, it facilitates critical apps which must remain on-premises while delivering the flexibility to provide digital banking solutions to customers regardless of geographic location.

In retail, this could mean adapting to the changing dynamics of online and physical stores to ensure operational efficiencies are maintained.

Security priority

One of the less discussed, yet critical, aspects of this are security and resilience. As the cloud becomes more complex and nuanced, so does its security landscape.

The rise of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments have made the traditional perimeter-based security model obsolete.

There is now an increased focus on zero-trust security models, where trust is never assumed and must always be verified.

Companies are not just looking at how to prevent attacks but also at how to maintain operations during disruptions and recover quickly afterward. This requires a holistic approach to infrastructure operations that can adapt in agile ways to disruptions on both hardware and software levels.

Modularity 

The ideal network for the digital age must therefore allow for a more modular and automated approach when it comes to catering for traffic.

Such a network creates the ability to add multiple services over a single access and port, flexing bandwidth services as required, while still opting for pay-as-you-use commercial cloud models.

One such example is our newly launched Global Fabric network which represents a generational shift in technology, based on a network-as-a-service (NaaS) technical and commercial model, underpinning futureproofed networks.

Think of the modern, digital network as an environment that delivers software defined control, being able to dynamically change services or bandwidth, and avoiding vendor lock-in.

Networks are no longer the rigid, physical, and limited environments of the past. Instead, they are becoming more fluid and continually evolving ecosystems.

With businesses now reliant on different types of cloud, whether AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and others, to software-as-a-service applications and even private clouds in their own data centres, flexibility must be the building block of any modern network.

Given how edge computing continues to proliferate, the ‘new’ network infrastructure must enable the creation of small clouds at remote sites to do localised processing of IoT data.

Ultimately, to achieve the best application performance while optimising operating costs, organisations need to consider the routes that their digital workloads are taking. Moving between clouds, devices, and remote environments requires a level of adaptability that is not found in more traditional network environments.

Instead, the focus shifts to leveraging more powerful and advanced networking technologies that provides organisations with an infrastructure platform able to adapt to modern business requirements.

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Spurred on by the pandemic, many organisations greatly accelerated their digital transformation plans over the past three years. Digital transformation became an existential necessity, which entailed migrating to or more fully adopting the cloud.

In particular, we saw multi-cloud become increasingly popular, being highlighted this year as one of the top five cloud trends to be aware of. In 2023, organisations are increasingly needing to contend with being in a multi-cloud environment.

It is important to differentiate between using multiple clouds versus multi-cloud. Using multiple clouds entails working with applications in different cloud platforms, with limited data exchanged between these two environments. For example, organisations may use Google’s cloud platform for analytics while simultaneously tapping Microsoft Azure for Office 365.

According to Gartner, using two or more cloud services is already established, with 81% of those using public cloud turning to multiple cloud environments to fulfil their requirements.

The main reasons for multiple cloud adoption are to a) avoid being locked into a specific vendor, and b) take advantage of best-of-breed solutions.

Multi-cloud explained

In a multi-cloud environment, applications operate in a true hybrid model, continuously enabling the exchange of data between private and public clouds. Adopting a multi-cloud approach is more far-reaching than simply availing of different cloud providers.

Implementing multi-cloud is part of a progressive digital transformation strategy, which is critical to mitigating against disruptions technological innovations may pose to an organisation.

A multi-cloud environment also requires a new approach to management that combines the public and private clouds in ways previously unimagined. Further, it is expected to be the primary approach for companies in the foreseeable future, with global BT research revealing that 73% of businesses are planning to migrate to a fully software-defined data centre within the next two years.

Adopting the multi-cloud moves organisations closer to being able to unlock greater flexibility, agility, optimised performance, and enhanced cost savings. However, that can only be fully accomplished when the cloud strategy is built on distributed applications working in a true hybrid fashion.

Mastery at hand

Running a multi-cloud environment is one thing, mastering it in all its complexity and fully reaping its benefits is quite another.

Mastering the multi-cloud entails fitting together several key pieces.

First, organisations need to consider that not all their traditional IT solutions will work in the cloud, and opt instead for operating within a dynamic, hybrid environment. As obvious as it is, it bears stressing that a multi-cloud environment cannot be operated in the same way as the current (or legacy) one.

Businesses also cannot assume that pilot multi-cloud projects that were successful will function efficiently when scaled across their organisation.

Second, it is critical that organisations resist the temptation to view their network in isolation. Rather, multi-cloud implementations need to be approached holistically by integrating all relevant areas of their business.

It is highly likely that new processes and skills will be required across the board, from network and data centre to security.

Strategy essentials

Beyond these initial steps, mastering the multi-cloud further entails designing an effective multi-cloud strategy. As with implementing a data strategy, organisations should ensure that cloud-based resources are optimised and integrated in conjunction with a well-managed multi-cloud strategy.

This is essential if businesses want to benefit from the speed, elasticity, innovation, availability, and costs savings that the multi-cloud can deliver.

Digging deeper into correct management, it means focusing on managing the delivery of services rather than physical assets. This also means guarding against misconfigurations which could lead to compromised security.

Lastly, another mistake to be wary of is provisioning one’s cloud to cope with peak demand. Not only does this lend itself to inefficient design, but it can also (and likely will at some point) lead to a shockingly high bill that the business was not prepared for.

Partnering for success

Mastering the multi-cloud does not mean you have to do it all on your own. A particularly effective strategy is to work with a reputable partner who already has a strong reputation and extensive expertise in managing both the public and private clouds.

Leveraging the skills of a partner who is well versed in managing hybrid cloud environments not only empowers the organisation, but it also gives a far better chance of ensuring that the multi-cloud environment runs optimally.

It is not sufficient anymore to just work with network and security specialists. The provider of choice should be able to deliver cloud security skills, a control framework to assess any gaps, and provide readily available assistance with ongoing compliance issues.

With this in place, organisations will be well positioned to not only keep up with the trend towards multi-cloud adoption, but they’ll be well on their way to mastering it, as they continue their digital transformation journey into the future.

In light of recent disruptions involving undersea Internet cables, the importance of these cables for South Africa and the entire continent cannot be overstated.

Acting as the continent’s digital arteries, they represent crucial entry points into the region.

As digitalisation rapidly advances, especially in light of the presence and anticipated impact of hyperscalers in South Africa and throughout the continent, the significance of these cables becomes even more pronounced.

South Africa’s undersea cable network is an indispensable digital lifeline, tethering the country to the global digital community. Daily, these cables process terabytes of data, underpinning near ever local sector, from mining to finance, healthcare, entertainment, and e-commerce, etc.

This connectivity stimulates trade, promotes information exchange, and fosters international research and development collaborations.

The economic boost provided by the network augments the nation’s GDP, facilitating the burgeoning digital economy. Approximately 80% of Africa’s Internet traffic courses through South Africa, underscoring its key role as a digital beacon for the continent.

Mitigating connectivity risks

However, with such pivotal infrastructure comes inherent risks: challenges to connectivity reliability, potential lengthy downtimes affecting service quality, and reputational hazards arising from adverse customer experiences.

Our commitment to foresight and adaptability has been unwavering. Drawing lessons from a 2021 incident, for instance, allowed us to buttress our strategies, ensuring businesses are insulated against such risks.

Historically, our forward-thinking approach has manifested in investments in key undersea cable consortiums, pivotal for global communication and data relay.

Mention-worthy are the SAT3/WASC, SAFE, and EASSY cables, enhancing connectivity between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Furthermore, our capacity swaps with strategic partners have augmented its global communication network.

Though our initial strategic investments in African undersea cables can be traced back to the 2010-EASSY initiative, our modus operandi has evolved. Currently, we capitalise on capacity trades with our strategic allies, reciprocating with assets in regions where BT has formidable stakes.

The recent unveiling of new cables, like 2Africa by META and Equiano by Google, heralds a new era for African connectivity. A burgeoning competitive landscape augments both capacity and affordability – a boon, especially for regions like Africa.

Power of partnerships

The myriad advantages of strategic subsea cable partnerships encompass enhanced resilience, geographical diversity, elevated reliability, reduced downtime, and expansive global reach.

The migration from MPLS to Internet Underlay, supporting SD-WAN Overlay, introduces agility, scalability, direct cloud connectivity, dynamic traffic routing, and cost-effectiveness for organisations.

Exemplifying our dedication is the number of cloud partnerships we have entered into aimed at bolstering cloud connectivity, ensuring data transfer rapidity, and delivering premium managed services.

The enormity and reach of our global network, with its sprawling presence across numerous nations, reaffirms our pledge to provide unparalleled connectivity solutions.

BT this week announced a new era in its partnership with ServiceNow, the leading digital workflow company that makes the world work better for everyone, with plans to launch a turnkey, contact-centre-as-a-service (CCaaS) package integrating digital workflows, global communications and a cloud-hosted contact centre platform.

It is being developed in response to demand from customers to simplify and accelerate digitalisation of their contact centres and workflows.

Digitalisation, including the move of contact centre systems into the cloud, offers more flexible and responsive user experiences for both customers and agents.

It also helps reduce costs, boost productivity and enables new service innovations and compliance tools. 

It will be delivered and managed by BT and ServiceNow to help customers create fully digital, comms-enabled workflows without having to engage multiple partners.

It combines ServiceNow’s powerful Now Platform capabilities with BT’s Global Voice network, integrated into a choice of tools, such as call recording, and a leading CCaaS platform.

The partners have already deployed this with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with the support of the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC).

They will now offer it to organisations around the world, including domestic business and public sector customers in the UK.

It marks the latest step in the BT and ServiceNow ongoing partnership. Announced in 2022, the collaboration will allow ServiceNow to partner with BT Group’s Digital unit to modernise service management Group-wide. This will help BT Group create an AI-powered, self-healing digital infrastructure for its business operations.

“Integrating comms into the workflow and case management simplifies compliance processes, makes colleagues more efficient and gives a better experience to everyone,” said Andrew Small, director of voice and digital work, Business, BT. “Our new package in partnership with ServiceNow will create a compelling pathway for customers looking to move to the cloud and achieve all the benefits digital transformation has to offer.”

Chris Bedi, chief digital information officer, ServiceNow, added:

“Customers are increasingly looking for turnkey options to remove complexity from cloud migration and workflows. The combination of our cloud‑based platform, with BT’s global network and communication expertise, will offer customers a unique opportunity to digitise and unify their organisations to be smarter and faster.”

Telecommunication companies have transformed the way we connect with people around the globe. But what does it take for telcos to deliver innovative solutions that will meet the ever-changing needs of customers? How far will operators go before the world feels the environmental reverberations of their tech developments?

The ecological impact and costs of technological advancements made by the telco industry might be more sinister than we think.

Impact on environment

As the world emerges from the aftermath of Covid-19, the unprecedented demand for digital communications has compelled telco infrastructures into greater energy consumption.

 According to GSMA Intelligence, energy consumption accounted for 15 – 40 percent of telcos operating expenditure in 2021. And with global data traffic expected to grow around 60 percent per year, the industry’s share will grow further unless investments in energy efficiencies can offset the effect.

Telco operators are significant contributors to both carbon emissions and waste. The energy-hungry infrastructure adopted by telcos required to cope with skyrocketing data traffic and the energy exigencies of broadband customers’ routers account for a majority of telcos’ carbon emissions. 

Apart from carbon emissions, digital waste is also a primary cause for a telco’s sizeable environmental footprint. A United Nations University study shows that Asia generated 24.9 million tons of e-waste in 2019, or 5.6 kg per capita, of which only 11.7% was documented to be collected and properly recycled.

About 80% of e-waste is discarded in landfills, burnt or illegally traded every year, according to Global E-waste Monitor.

Implementing sustainable practices into business decision-making

To limit the repercussions of their energy usage, telcos need to go above and beyond current capabilities to implement effective initiatives that will help them limit their environmental impact.

Remote equipment monitoring and diagnostics enabled by telco services can help businesses maintain their hardware more efficiently while reducing emissions.

By increasing the quality of these electronic devices, the amount of e-waste generated will also be reduced.

Incorporating digital carbon calculators into devices will help to measure, monitor and reduce power and carbon emissions across customers’ IT networks. 

These carbon calculators can scan the customer’s network inventory to estimate its carbon footprint and tracks its responses to changes and upgrades over time. It includes lifecycle management, highlighting devices at the end of service to prioritise for replacement. Customers can also choose to use the calculator by uploading an inventory of their network equipment for analysis.

Digital twin technology can be used to test changes to a sample resources’ configuration, behaviour, and use in business processes in ways that are less destructive than their real-life physical equivalent. This concept can help to increase climate resilience, reduce emission intensity and improve efficiencies in IT networks. Such an optimisation enables enterprises to improve innovation and performance, particularly when it comes to monitoring and identifying ways to become more efficient, prevent downtimes and plan for future events.

Telcos need to educate other organisations on the consequences of inappropriate disposal of e-waste. Telcos can develop specialised programmes tailored to guide business customers towards repurposing old electronic equipment and recycling e-waste to leave minimal damage on the environment.

Telco operators should also consider pursuing opportunities to help other industries become more energy efficient. By offering solutions that can replacing high carbon physical products and activities with virtual low carbon equivalents, telcos can collaborate with other businesses to help customers and partners curb emissions and save energy.

Developing smart products and solutions can help other industries reduce their carbon emissions by an amount up to 10 times the telco industry’s own emissions.

Telcos can research the potential for tech to enable a lower carbon economy and scale up solutions to encourage businesses customers transition to net zero.

Sustainability at the forefront of the telco agenda 

Tech corporations are taking charge of a digitally transformed generation by streamlining workflow processes, improving efficiency levels and changing the way we build relationships with people.

While such developments herald in an exciting digital era for the world, telcos and other high energy consumption organisations must find ways to harness the benefits of technology without harming the environment.

In launching company manifestos, telcos can track goals towards accelerating responsible, inclusive and sustainable growth. Such a commitment towards energy efficient and low emission practices sets the stage for telcos to contribute towards a future that is more climate resilient. Telco operators need to build their business decisions around the sustainability narrative – not only to reduce their environmental ramifications, but to enable their customers to better manage their ecological footprint as well.

It is the latest step in BT Group’s Manifesto pledge to move to circular products, networks and operations by 2030, and then extend this across its supply chain by 2040.

The new programme comes as organisations around the world are transforming their network and IT infrastructure to support the latest multi-cloud deployments.

As part of this transformation, BT environmental specialists will work with customers to better understand and map the role of sustainability in a digital world. 

Replaced or decommissioned electronic equipment from a customer’s network will be shipped back to Cisco to be responsibility re-used or recycled through its takeback and reuse programme. Up to 99.9% of what is returned will be re-used or recycled.

BT has Cisco-certified environmental specialists in the UK, US, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland and Singapore to manage the process. Further countries will be added by end of 2022.

The programme adds to BT’s existing take-back and reuse services for smartphones providing an easy way to upgrade, securely dispose and recycle the devices using a single, complete solution that handles everything.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 57.4 million tonnes of e-waste was generated during 2021 with only 20% recycled. If left unchecked, this could rise to 120 million tonnes each year. WEF also reported that 70% of hazardous waste deposited in landfills is from e-waste.

“E-waste is a growing concern and according to WEF now the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. Our customers and partners have made commitments to report on and improve performance in this critical area,” said Hriday Ravindranath, chief product & digital officer at BT’s Global unit. “Creating a more sustainable, circular economy, where we prioritise dematerialisation and avoid equipment going to landfill, is vital. It builds on our leadership in sustainability and will help deliver on our BT Group Manifesto commitments and ambition to connect for good.”

Energy companies also face familiar cost, performance and efficiency imperatives as well as the unprecedented social, political and regulatory demands for sustainability. All these factors combine to create a fairly volatile market.

The possibilities of untapped data

Can big data transform the efficiency of oil and gas exploration and extraction? Like so many other businesses, energy companies need to explore ways to access their growing volumes of untapped data to unlock their transformational potential.

Consider how easy it is to collect data compared to the amount which is actually used. An oil rig for example generates a huge amount of data daily from tens of thousands of sensors, but much, if not most, of that data goes unused.

Data which is not analysed and turned into actionable information represents lost opportunities to improve service, reduce waste and boost profitability throughout the supply chain. Given the scale of today’s energy challenge, if harnessed properly, this information could have major benefits for companies operating in the energy production and distribution industry, as well as for their customers and suppliers.

So, what’s preventing organisations in the energy industry from harnessing this valuable data?

The energy sector’s data processing challenges

Energy companies’ offshore and onshore operations are being set up in increasingly challenging and remote geographical locations. This means the connectivity hurdles they face are virtually unmatched. In the first half of 2019, 50% of all the newly discovered reserves were situated in deep water.

In reality, this means many new platforms are being established in places where cable or microwave connections are either impossible or too expensive to install, or where the level of on-site computing required to analyse large volumes of data cannot be maintained.

Anyone who’s ever managed an industrial process or road traffic network will be familiar with the concept of a bottleneck. In the energy industry’s case, the problem is a data bottleneck caused by insufficient broadband capacity to send large quantities of data to a processing centre with sufficient computing power.

Next generation connectivity

Fortunately, the ability to deliver real-time access to data without huge IT and network infrastructure costs and lengthy deployment times is now attainable with fast, high-throughput satellite communications.

Energy companies should therefore look to partner with a reputable solutions provider who can, with SES, deliver high-capacity end-to-end data services that are proven, robust and critically built on dedicated bandwidth.

A provider who can also offer global reach powered by SES’s proven and reliable geostationary (GEO) satellites, plus O3b MEO and O3b mPOWER middle earth orbit (MEO) constellations.

This next-generation connectivity offers low latency performance links across even the most remote locations and is providing the opportunity for the energy industry to turn previously untapped data across operations into business enhancing action.

By moving data processing towards the ‘edge’, you bring real-time decision-making to where it’s needed. This supports whatever capabilities will be critical tomorrow, from Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered applications.

Edge computing will be bigger than cloud computing

I’ve been working at the heart of edge computing for several years now, tracking the evolution of the technology and developing ways for industry to harness its potential. Edge computing is the new growth area, and I believe it will ultimately eclipse the take up we’ve seen for cloud.

I’ve noticed a change in how organisations are approaching data; they’re starting to think about how many versions of data they keep, as well as how they store and manage it.

This is tying in with increasing concerns about the amount of energy used by data centres from a cost and sustainability point of view. Organisations are finding it makes sense to move processing close to where they’re creating and using the data.

Based on my experience, here are the top eight future-proofing benefits of adopting edge computing:

#1 Ensuring business critical applications are always available

Hosting business critical applications in the cloud is a high-risk strategy because connectivity is vulnerable to interruption, for example a network cable being severed by accident. An edge computing solution supports smoother operations without disruption, even in remote areas. Reliability increases because the solution is less exposed to external interruptions and so its risk of failure falls.

This reliability, combined with the real-time processing that can support so many technologies that improve the end-user experience, can be transformative.

Edge computing is an enabler for IoT technologies and AI-powered applications that unlock new, more efficient ways of operating that improve productivity.

#2 Facilitating real-time decision-making

Bringing processing to the edge means data isn’t making a roundtrip to central data centres or clouds to be processed, so latency improves to the levels needed to support real-time analysis and decision-making.

This near instant decision-making is critical to addressing so many emerging and future needs across industry – from optimising manufacturing processes and production scheduling, to running closed loop applications to optimise energy usage and reduce the carbon footprint.

#3 Improving sustainability

Edge computing shifts the organisation towards more effective ways of operating that optimise energy use and reduce carbon emissions. It reduces the amount of data centre capacity needed by cutting the volumes of data sent to the core.

In many cases, running some IT processing alongside Operational Technology (OT) processing at the edge drives efficiencies such as consolidating cooling requirements and combining maintenance visits.

#4 Reducing data and operational costs

Data is the lifeblood of global organisations and the volumes involved are increasing all the time. As data traffic grows, the costs of the bandwidth to support it are spiralling upwards, with no sign of stopping.

Continuing to send vast quantities of data to core data centres or clouds for analysis isn’t sustainable, and the costs of managing and storing this data are growing, too. Edge computing breaks these patterns, so that only intelligent, processed data needs to make the journey to the core.

#5 Meeting data sovereignty regulations

Data sovereignty legislation is already rigorous, and this will continue impacting on organisations’ ability to extract value from data. Edge computing is a flexible way to stay compliant, keeping data storage and processing in-country rather than sending it out of country into a main data centre or public cloud.

#6 Supporting innovative applications

Talking to our edge computing partners, the biggest use cases they’re meeting at the moment involve private 5G networks and remote ways of bringing expertise into operating environments with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

It makes sense that, after tasting the possibilities during the pandemic, organisations don’t want to go back to flying experts out to locations for training or maintenance, for example. Instead, they’re using smart glasses and AR apps to guide maintenance remotely and using VR for training. Edge computing is critical to delivering the ultra-low latency these applications need.

#7 Supporting the needs of remote locations

Sometimes edge is the only option. For much of the natural resources sector, cloud connectivity is either non-existent, highly limited and / or very expensive. For remote mining sites and oil fields, edge processing is often the only choice for hosting apps to reduce expensive unplanned downtime and supporting local engineers with VR training for health and safety.

Recently we’ve been approached by clients keen to improve the energy efficiency of their bulk ore carriers and LNG tankers. In both cases, cloud connectivity is very expensive as the only option is via satellite, so edge processing on the vessel to run applications to optimise the use of marine diesel is the only viable option.       

#8 Supporting faster deployment of updates and in-life change requests

Edge computing delivers local processing power with central control, and this can transform the arduous process of updating local information.

Take digital signage in retail, for example. Controlled centrally, it enables consistency over the customer experience and makes it possible to change all store displays at the touch of a button. Plus, centralised, remote configuration ensures consistency by reducing the chance of missing software patches.

Soon, every car will be connected and able to talk to everything around it using Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology, including other cars and smart city infrastructure.

But as with any connected computing device, the advent of CAVs brings with it security threats, as the number of computing and network components both inside and outside a car will dramatically increase – raising the attack surface for criminals to wreak havoc.

The infamous Jeep hack in 2015 is a prime example. Two white-hat hackers were successfully able to hack a Jeep on the motorway – stalling the engine to bring it to a complete stop. Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.4m cars in response, and it resulted in the first legal dispute of its kind.

New threats on the horizon

While the hackers in the Jeep incident didn’t harbour any sinister intentions, others won’t be so kind.

As connectivity grows to become the nervous system of our new mobility infrastructure, connecting our cars to base stations and our future smart cities, we will start to see malicious actors spread code with increased virality – much like how biological pathogens spread. For automakers and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) device producers, tracking all the vulnerabilities across the systems running their CAVs is a challenging task.

Firstly, because there are no established standards for vehicle security. For instance, the EU only offers recommendations on how auto and OEMs should cope with cybersecurity challenges for autonomous driving.

The absence of clear, defined technical requirements for autonomous driving security means getting security right in autonomous cars is tricky.

Automakers and OEMs not only have to consider the security of the firmware and software against the typical threat of cyberattacks, but it’s also made more complicated by a connected IoT system where one vulnerability could open up the system to even more threats. With a lack of standards and potentially millions of OEM devices connecting with each other, it’s nearly impossible to know exactly where the threat will come from.

Building our defences

While in some industries security breaches only disrupt business operations, for CAVs, breaches can be a matter of life or death. For autonomous vehicles to become a reality, they need to be safe, reliable and resilient enough to earn the public’s trust. Fortunately, the solution lies with the technology that will make autonomous driving a reality in the first place – AI and machine learning.

One project showing AI’s budding potential is the BT Mobius project. Trialled in 2020, the project showed that AI powered epidemiological methods – typically used to model the spread of pathogens – could be deployed to model the spread of malware over V2X communications in CAVs. This is potentially game changing in turning the tide against malicious actors.

If deployed across our entire mobility infrastructure, it could function as the immune system for the network, responding to an attack in the same way our white blood cells would respond to infection – using SDN-based security applications to quickly block malicious intruders at the entry point where possible, otherwise change security controls to slow down and limit the spread of the attack or divert them to firewalls before they do more damage to the network.

On the road to autonomous driving

Connectivity is the key force bringing us closer to a future where automation plays a central role in our daily lives, particularly where mobility is concerned. However, as we advance towards that goal, we must keep our eye on the hazards that threaten to throw us off course.

Connectivity providers can help automakers and OEMs monitor and protect their connected vehicles from future threats, creating a secure operational environment that will enable them to maintain control over their cars and safeguard the passengers that ride them.

AI and machine learning are the indispensable tools that will protect against cyber threats to the mobility networks of today, and tomorrow.

New and existing MTN Business customers will get access to a raft of solutions, including cloud-based security and consultancy, managed connectivity, and voice services which will be delivered seamlessly as part of MTN’s Enterprise portfolio, meeting local regulatory and compliance requirements. 

The two leading operators will collaborate closely to enhance each other’s strengths. Customers will benefit from BT’s leading-edge technology combined with MTN’s strong presence on the ground and proximity to customers.

The first offering by BT and MTN will be a Security Operations Centre (SOC)-service, which will enable customers to consistently monitor and improve their cyber-security while preventing, detecting, analysing, and responding to cyber-security incidents.

The new service is based on BT’s cloud-based Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) service, which combines the leading technologies with BT’s unparalleled track record in securing leading global organisations.

With a subscription-based model that requires no capital investment, and BT’s accredited security team providing 24×7 monitoring and in-life support, the service will be scaled up and available immediately to MTN’s existing and new customers.

The partnership is evidence of MTN Business’s ongoing drive to provide digital solutions, world class services and innovation to businesses across the continent.

MTN will also tap into BT’s wide range of Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) solutions, including the provision of wholesale voice, Microsoft Teams voice, and global SIP solutions.

Alessandro Adriani, indirect sales director, BT, said: “The world’s leading banks, healthcare providers, energy companies and governments put their trust in BT to connect and secure their operations. We look forward to working with MTN to bring the same cutting-edge services and solutions to businesses across the African continent.”

“MTN Business continues to deliver innovative solutions to ensure the benefits of the digital economy are expanded to more people and entities across Africa. As this growth happens, however, it is imperative to manage risk. MTN Business is excited about the potential this alliance has to offer and is committed to providing solutions that ensure businesses thrive in the digital economy of the future,” says Wanda Matandela, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN.