thank you 

0 C

@Jim - thank you - we will do!

thanks

Thank you everyone again for attending and the great questions, keep them coming as you think about this session and maybe even listen to the replay!  I still have a few to answer and I will get to them over the next couple of days.  I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you all today about BT and our virtualization plans.

BT is helping our customers to digitally transform their businesses with our Cloud of Clouds portfolio strategy underpinned by our Dynamic Network Services group of network developments in the NFV & SDWAN space as I discussed today.  Lastly, feel free to reach out to me direct with any additional queries and/or comments.

@LightRay - Agile CPE = universal CPE = virtual CPE?

Agile CPE will enable our customers to use a standard "box" to deploy many different services, such as acceleration or firewall, therfore preventing the need to deploy many different types of equipment to a site.  Think of it as an x86 server of sorts.

Good day to all :) 

thank you, many thanks

Thanks very much @Jim!

@Mike, yes, and we do appreciate it!

Jim has gone the extra mile. Thanks again Jim and everyone who joined today!

Thanks for the great show, Mike and Jim et al.!

@Dhagar comment - Jim that co-exist capability sounds like a key tool for customers.

Jim Sabey - absolutely, due to customers business needs and the network needing to be up, a rip/replace method is really not an option, so BT's ability to provide a network migration path is really where we can help our customers.

Great comments. Thanks, all, and thanks Jim and Mike.

Joe, that is understandable.  Plus, as newer developing users of technology they also have the advantage of fewer legacy systems to replace, fit in, etc.  So they can directly invest in the best design.  Good insight

@Joe it makes sense. It's rather like a multiplied effect of new startups versus long-established companies with respect to getting the most up-to-date technology.

@Joe I love your qualifier on that.

@DHagar: On that subject, our colleague John Barnes wisely alluded to the fact that entities just building their infrastructure for the first time in developing nations have a much lower cost to entry by going straight to the cloud and virtualization and other digital-transformation technologies--whereas the big boys, around for years with their legacy systems, had a MUCH higher capex per capita when they entered the market and need to pay much more to transition to those newer technologies (and, thereby, maintaining high opex).

Thanks, Joe - I will read.

Jim that co-exist capability sounds like a key tool for customers.

Makes sense, Joe, particularly for more transformative changes.

From user batye - question with virtualization and cloud services what is best option/strategy -  rip and replace or slowly change networks infrastructure ???

Jim Sabey - it really depends here on what is in place and can it still be used.  Typically a migration path is what many customers are looking for so they can try out new technologies as they become more mature.  BT has a unique perspective in that we can enable our Dynamic Network Services of solutions that can coexist with existing infrastructures you may have in place. BT can offer true Network System Integration (NSI), flexible end-to-end service managegment across a multi-sourced, multi-tower environment.  We can combine a range of different solutions on one network.

( @Ariella/@DHagar -- Semi-relevant TT story on the subject of these types of forecasts: http://www.telcotransformation.com/author.asp?section_id=433&doc_id=723368 )

thanks

What role does Jim believe strategic partnerships will play in BT's future?

@Ariella/@DHagar: Well, it makes sense.  All the predictions/forecasts in this sector used to be for 2020.  Then we got a bit closer and started to see some 2021s and 2025s.  Now, for people at places like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC, it seems that it's all about 2030.

That's what I was wondering - thanks!

(Granted, it focuses specifically on the LATAM region in particular.  There are indicators, however, that eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are also well ahead of the game--or, at least, well positioned to be well ahead of the game.)

Thanks, Joe - I will read it!

@Dhagar oh, you're asking for quite  along-range forecast!

Jim briefly addressed BT's plans for the future - where does he see BT and virtualization by 2030?

@DHagar: I wrote a piece for Telco Transformation related to that very topic!

Link: http://www.telcotransformation.com/author.asp?section_id=433&doc_id=727325

So we're past the closing time. Jim, I know you are busy so don't feel as though you need to answer all of the questions. 

Is the United States a leader in virtualization or are there other parts of the world that are leading the way?

Poor Xen.  An also-ran.  ;)

Another question from below, but feel free to pick any you want to answer: What is your comparison between VMWare ESXi vs KVM and VMWare vCloud vs Openstack ? May be you can answer this w/o mentioning vendor names by comparing between open-source vs proprietary concepts. 

Jim Sabey - Yes, we can offer the assurance of applications and also various monitoring tools are available in BT's suite of services.  We have a full portfolio of Application Performance Management solutions too that we can offer to meet customers business drivers and needs. 

@Mike: I've got enough heartburn issues as it is!  ;)  (Not a jalapeno guy, but I do enjoy me some good Italian sausage.)

I go withD

(I haven't eaten lunch yet and now I'm super hungry since I made that pizza analogy...)

Joe, it's all about the sausage and jalepenos

That said, I'll go with "D. Cloud-based services" because cloud tends to lie at the root of all of those other options as an enabler.

Kind of stuck between C. SD-WAN & D. Cloud-based services

yes, interesting to know :) 

Wow, tricky, Mike!  That's almost like asking: "What is the primary ingredient pizza parlors should be offering: dough, sauce, or cheese?"  ;)

Here's the very latest on VerizonxYahoo: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-15/verizon-said-to-explore-lower-price-or-even-exit-from-yahoo-deal

Key passage, citing an anonymous "person familiar with the matter":

A legal team led by Verizon General Counsel Craig Silliman is assessing the damage from the breaches and is working toward either killing the deal or renegotiating the Yahoo purchase at a lower price, the person said. One of the major objectives for Verizon is negotiating a separation from any future legal fallout from the breaches. Verizon is seeking to have Yahoo assume any lasting responsibility for the hack damage, the person said.

While Jim is typing. 

What is the primary service or technology that CSPs should offer their enterprise customers this year?

A.     Virtual firewalls/security

B.     VNFs

C.     SD-WAN

D.     Cloud-based services

E.     WAN optimization

Yes, this was a great session.

@Ariella: The line I heard at a conference earlier this year: "Standards are like opinions.  Everyone has one."

Jim was very well prepped for this. 

Great info

@Michelle: I think VZ, while certainly needing to be mindful about increased liabilities, is far more interested in the tech and the users that Yahoo brings to the table.

I also think that anybody who is a Yahoo mail devotee today is probably not going to be completely giving it up anytime soon.

Very good info

Excellent information and clear vision for BT - kudos for presentation and industry leadership!

Great show this week, Mike. Some good insights and news there from BT on its virtualization plans.

What has BT found is required to make the successful transformations to full agility?

great presentation thanks.

@Joe Indeed, and that's even worse than too many cooks!

@Ariella: On the one hand, it's certainly alarming.  On the other hand: Verizon probably could have guessed what it was getting into with Yahoo.  ;)  /snark

Thanks for the presentation!

I agree, Joe, BT may be instrumental.

Question from below: Are operators such as BT able to source the assurance and monitoring tools needed to track and measure the performance of hybrid physical/virtual networks? Or do they have to develop apps themselves?

Proof of concepts is a great way to gain customers. A lot of people I interview for case studies say that's a big part of what won them over for specific vendors.

(My take: When standardization was *solely* or *primarily* the idea of individual major proprietary vendors brute-forcing their own solutions vs. the open source community, you'd wind up with 18 different "standards"!

@Joe well that it's only prudent. I've seen a number of people saying that they should drop them and that everyone should drop their Yahoo accounts.

@DHagar: I imagine ALL vendors--at least, of major players--*have* to be proactively involved in standardization these days.  Same w/ open source.

@Joe I think they should just cancel the sale. The latest revelation is terrible. 

@Joe I don't know which course it was, as I was only in the class with the friend. It would be an efficient way to knock off a lot of philosophical questions, though. 

Latest news on that as of 11am...Verizon is "exploring" renegotiating the purchase price on Yahoo and/or pulling out altogether.

Poll answer: D

Has BT been involved in setting standards as well for virtualization?

@Ariella: Philosophy course?  ;)

Good one - Ariella - that's the focus

I guess I'll go with A in that case.

E is inviting (or, at least, invitingly worded) but I personally am of the opinion that "lock-in" is a red-herring boogeyman

One of my classmates enjoyed telling the story of a friend of hers who got an A+ for here response to a "Why" question with just two words: "Why not?"

D

I'd like to pick "F," but it then becomes a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario...

Which industries are the leaders in virtualization?

E. Communality from vendors on VNFs

It's great that BT can actually respond to what each customer needs.

Poll Time! What does the telecom industry need to focus on to better enable NFV?

A.     Open APIs

B.     Updated OSS/BSS

C.     Improved assurance/monitoring tools

D.     Better use of analytics/DevOps

E.     Communality from vendors on VNFs

F. Improved end-to-end orchestration

LOL @Joe I'm certain your're right!

@Ariella: I think there are a lot of vendors that view "legacy" as "anything I personally haven't sold you in the past two quarters"!

@Mike I was considering going on BlogTalkRadio on its own just for the audio. I have done that in the past on different sites when I couldn't get the audio to work on the main stie. 

"Agile" depends on context, of course, when you're talking speed...but I guess I always viewed Agile as more about the process (which, if done properly, will incidentally lead to better and faster deliverables) and less about bottom-lining deliverability in and of itself.

Of course, some in this space are talking about the obsolescence of Agile...

I use two, and switch back and forth 

@Joe it's good that he clearly defines his take on the term. I'm sure for some "legacy" might mean only . 5 years old.

@MIke Interesting. but you haven't switched your own browser for it @Mike?

@imorris: There are so many SD-WAN partnerships that are *just* starting to happen right now (AT&T in particular comes to mind)...  I'm interested in what Jim has to say here, but I imagine it won't be for a while.

Thanks Joe. 

Does the evolution of IoT play into BT's virtualization plans?

Seems to be the one we have problems with. I use it as well

I like LightRay's question:  Agile CPE = universal CPE = virtual CPE?

@Ariella: I did an interview with Travis Ewert at Level 3 some time ago that touched on the very notion of "how essential is it really?" to upgrade legacy systems (albeit in the OSS/BSS context), and Travis was very frank that it starts with a clear definition of what "legacy" means (in his case/to his mind: > 10 years old).

Link to the interview: http://www.telcotransformation.com/author.asp?section_id=401&doc_id=725849

Chrome, it's the one I usually use. 

What browser Ariella? 

took a while to get audio workig today. Anyone else have to refresh multiple times?

Welcome, @Cindy!

Where do they see the best opportunity for providers in the future - connectivity, the service delivery packages with wider platform), or the technology itself?

Are you anticipating some consolidation in the SD-WAN market on the vendor side?

@Joe Indded flexibility seems to be what it's primarily about.

QUESTION: With these VNFs pushing functionality to the edge of the network, how do you see the security impact for customers--and how will that fit in w/ BT's "Cyber Roadmap"?

What targets does BT have for the virtualization of network functions?

@Mike: Also, cloud virtualization is all about reducing your CAPEX...so 100% rip-and-replace is pretty counter to that very idea.  The flexibility is vital.

hello all

Thanks for the link, @Mike

Here's a good story by LR's Carol Wilson on why BT is including legacy in its virtualization game plan.

http://www.lightreading.com/white-box/white-box-systems/bt-virtualization-must-include-legacy/d/d-id/728350

So will these combo hardware items essentially be an all-in-one version of Cisco's existing devices w/ a BT flavor?  Or how will that partnership and that development work?

Agile CPE = universal CPE = virtual CPE?

Thanks,  Mike

Have they identified the key components of virtualization that are required for basic and future development of agility?

More on BT's approach to SD-WAN

http://www.telcotransformation.com/author.asp?section_id=396&doc_id=728122

Has BT begun to define the specific added value of NFV and if so, how have you identified and measured?  As you are a leader with terms, etc.

Hi, guys.  Glad to make this one today.

good Q padumitha.... I have heard BT execs talk about this before in quite blunt terms.

What is your comparison between VMWare ESXi vs KVM and VMWare vCloud vs Openstack ? May be you can answer this w/o mentioning vendor names by comparing between open-source vs proprietary concepts. 

Thanks

12degs F

11 degrees celsius, which I think is approximately 50 degrees farenheit

34 here in colorado

Where are you at Deborah?

55 Degrees

Hello all

Good morning - looking forward to this session

Hello all 

Sounds like an interesting guest who'll cover quite an array of topics.

Most welcome! I have a few more that I get posted. 

@Mike thanks for the links

Good morning/afternoon everyone!  Remember to turn up your volume on the computers.  At the top of the hour an audio player will pop up on your screen.  If you don't see it, try to press F5 to refresh your screen. Remember, there's no slides for this it's just a discussion, so be sure to post your questions, comments and thoughts on the message boards and we will join you on the chat after the audio stream. 

This sounds like a great show. 

To learn about BT's investment roadmap, check out these links:

http://www.globalservices.bt.com/us/en/point-of-view/network-innovation-timeline

http://www.globalservices.bt.com/us/en/whybt/dynamic-network-services

Hi Everyone, some really good questions already that will be covered off during the session and I am looking forward to this!  Talk with you all in just about 45 minutes!

great, thank you @Mike :) 

Some good questions already. I'll post a few links before the show for more info on BT. 

interesting question @LightRay I would love to know more...

Are operators such as BT able to source the assurance and monitoring tools needed to track and measure the performance of hybrid physical/virtual networks? Or do they have to develop apps themselves?

my question with virtualization and cloud services what is best option/strategy -  rip and replace or slowly change networks infrastructure ???

Hello to all 

Looking for to it

Hi Everyone, I am excited to this event and to share with all of you what BT is doing in the virtualization and SD-WAN space amongst other topics.

Looking forward to this

Hello to all, cloud is the future...

hi   : )

Interesting, looking forward to hear from Jim. Long years back worked for them on cloud products.

hello team!

hola

Looking forward to the presentation

hello all

Thank you for the info.

Would like to register and attend.

Hello all 

Sounds good - looking forward to participating.

Hope to attend should be interesting show and chat after