Cloud & 5G LIVE: Round up of key highlights from day one
Wow, what a first day.
Cloud & 5G LIVE returned on 11 October with 10 engaging sessions with inspiring industry leaders discussing all things cloud computing and future of 5G. Day two kicks off at 10am BST today.
Speakers taking to the virtual stage were Tobias Kederer, EMEA Practice Leader – AM3 & Sustainability, AWS Professional Services at AWS, Paul Graham, Technical Consulting Manager at Oracle Consulting, Syed Shabih Abbas, Global Director Cloud Managed Services at DXC Technology and Richard Simon, Chief Technology Officer at T-Systems in the morning, with Simon joining André Vieira, Operations Intelligence Lead at Celfocus, Samer Geissah, Director of Technology Strategy at TELUS, Ceren Clulow, Programme Director of Connecting Cambridgeshire at Cambridgeshire County Council, Mark Bunn, Senior Vice President, SaaS Business Operations at Nokia, Ravi Kumar Palepu, SVP and Head of Network Services & 5G at Prodapt, Jason Carolan, Chief Innovation Officer at Flexential, Susanna Kass, Co-Founder of InfraPrime and Brian Marrs, Senior Director, Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft featuring in the afternoon slots.
Audiences can tune in for day two of Cloud & 5G LIVE from 10am BST via Brella or by clicking here.
Highlights from day one of Cloud & 5G LIVE
Accelerating Sustainability & Debarbonization through the AWS Cloud with Tobias Kederer, EMEA Practice Leader – AM3 & Sustainability, AWS Professional Services at AWS
Opening Cloud & 5G LIVE 2023, Kederer highlighted how the climate crisis is a data challenge, offering his own tips and tricks that others can adopt to forge their own green journey. “With scale comes responsibility,” he stressed in his keynote, following it up with the fact that the pressure that comes with that responsibility is a privilege.
5G Private Networks with Paul Graham, Technical Consulting Manager at Oracle Consulting
“No innovation without connectivity” is Graham’s overwhelming message from his keynote. Using real-life examples, such as packed-out football stadiums or mass gatherings for events such as King Charles’ coronation, he highlighted with heat maps why the likes of private networks are — and should more widely be considered — an essential service, with thousands more being put out because of necessity. With the benefits of the development of 5G private networks and the plethora of benefits they are expected to bring widely discussed, he also shone a light on a number of challenges that need to be overcome.
Cloud Conversations: Navigating the Future of Computing with Syed Shabih Abbas, Global Director Cloud Managed Services at DXC Technology
In his fireside chat with host Neil Perry, Abbas packed plenty into his half-hour session, where he went on a whistle-stop deep dive into key trends, challenges, and success stories that shape the industry.
A key valuable insight from Abbas, among many, includes how to look into the past must be acknowledged and understood, and how demand for cloud services provides both challenges and ample opportunity, as well as the importance of data security as dependency on the cloud grows.
Cloud State of Play with Richard Simon, Chief Technology Officer at T-Systems
Focusing on key trends in cloud, AI & 5G — and convergence of these entities — Simon guided the audience through what is happening with AI and what has caused its explosion with the likes of ChatGPT happening now when the technology has existed for a number of years.
Simon stressed that a multicloud model is the way forward, but highlighted how cloud itself poses enormous challenges. “Strategy is here to stay,” he said, “but that comes at a cost.”
As well as this, he showcased how 5G has enormous potential but there is still a long way in its — and its future successors’ — success. To harness 5G and beyond, Simon advocates for the combinatory approach to technology, acknowledging that they each support and enhance each other.
The Cloud Leaders Forum with Richard Simon, Chief Technology Officer at T-Systems, André Vieira, Operations Intelligence Lead at Celfocus and Samer Geissah, Director of Technology Strategy at TELUS
The trio of cloud leaders came together for The Cloud Leaders Forum, with questions fielded to them by host Neil Perry. Covering a range of subjects applicable to those in executive cloud roles, the panel discussed the principles and strategies of effective cloud leadership, covering governance, security, scalability, and fostering a cloud-centric culture.
One key question posed delved into how to drive digital transformation in business and the importance of a cloud leader in facilitating this. Vieira said: “It’s about the way we communicate. We need to communicate the benefits and not sell cloud as a technology, whether internally for the operational benefits of a company but also for new business opportunities and services for clients.” He added the issue is with translating the technical language to the benefits, which was echoed by Simon, who summed up his point by saying advocating change and ensuring C-level executives are on board will allow for innovation and experimentation with new technologies which can then be translated as a business advantage. Geissah concluded that his team focuses on emerging technologies in this respect, giving capabilities opportunities to manage and fix real customer issues and exercising the benefits of getting something from a prototype to a solution quickly to drive digital transformation both internally and with customers.
5G and the Transformative Role of Local Bodies with Ceren Clulow, Programme Director of Connecting Cambridgeshire at Cambridgeshire County Council
Working for communities businesses in improving infrastructure, including digital connectivity, Clulow brought a different perspective to Cloud & 5G LIVE to how local authorities play a key role in facilitating the deployment of digital infrastructure and therefore enable digital transformation. With populations needing access to connectivity — whether rural, urban or on the move — Clulow highlighted the digital inequality that was exasperated by the pandemic. “We have the opportunity to make an impact,” she declared, stating that local authorities are part of the solution.
“5G can make a difference,” she said, and plays a specific role, but she fears many are isolated from or unaware of its benefits due to technical jargon affecting translation to general populations. Clulow said that digital transformation propelled by 5G creates new opportunities, and the technical capabilities to maximise community benefits need to be explored. This can be mitigated, she said, by focusing on outcomes — a key theme of Cloud & 5G LIVE 2023 — educating and giving intelligence to decision makers to make them digital champions which will propel 5G’s benefits and digital transformation to different platforms.
The Power of SaaS Transformation: Embracing the Cloud and 5G Revolution with Mark Bunn, Senior Vice President, SaaS Business Operations at Nokia
Exploring the potential of SaaS transformation in the fast-evolving era of Cloud and 5G, Bunn unveils how businesses can propel their operations to new heights, optimise efficiency and seamlessly adapt to emerging technologies. Highlighting that a revolution requires not a complete overhaul but incremental changes by adopting a hybrid model, one piece of advice Bunn gave to the audience is that transformation cannot be undertaken alone. “We all have to be more agile,” he said. The journey to the future network, Bunn stressed, requires a handful of ingredients, including networks that sense, think and act, as well as dynamic deployment models and autonomous elastic connectivity.
The 5G Leaders Forum with Ravi Kumar Palepu, SVP and Head of Network Services & 5G at Prodapt, Jason Carolan, Chief Innovation Officer at Flexential
Joined by Cloud & 5G host Neil Perry, Palepu and Carolan joined forces to delve into the realm of 5G leadership, exploring the strategies and considerations necessary for organisations to effectively leverage the potential of 5G technology. Highlighting the key theme of the day, translating the technical language around technology into information that can result in actionable change, the duo lent in on focusing on both individual and collective achievement aims, awareness of unique personal circumstances both of clients and the companies themselves, and working to implement 5G technology that works effectively and is secure.
Future of Data Centers Innovation and Impact: Sustainability and AI with Susanna Kass, Co-Founder of InfraPrime
Highlighting the impact of the industry on climate change and pressing global challenges — whether that be rising fuel costs, resource scarcity, AI — data centre and sustainability champion Kass highlights how new technologies have risen to attention in our world. She gives insights into how AI can be harnessed to accelerate the delivery of climate positive impact results for a carbon free economy. With Kass, the audience had an eye-opening experience in learning how upcoming and cutting-edge data centre facilities of the future can create more sustainable technological advancements.
“AI is absolutely an important technology,” she said as she closed her keynote. “We need to use it, we need to respect it. It is an amazing powerful technology that can accelerate and disrupt.” She called for the audience to join her on the onward journey, acknowledging that a sustainable future is something that can only be achieved collectively together.
Cloud and Clean Energy Tech Innovation and Sustainability Impact for the Future of Data Centre with Susanna Kass, Co-Founder of InfraPrime and Brian Marrs, Senior Director, Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft
Guest hosted by Kass, Marrs joined Cloud & 5G LIVE for the closing session to discuss Microsoft's data centre energy and carbon negative strategies, achievements in carbon removal, and the future of data centre sustainability design.
“I’m really excited about carbon removal,” he stressed, highlighting how this, he anticipates, the next generation approach to sustainability, calling it the “missing piece” in the run up to net zero - or in Microsoft’s eyes, going above that. Microsoft is the biggest company worldwide undertaking carbon removal, he said.
Marrs also looked across the entire supply chain when it comes to reductions in a bid to reach net zero, calling for Microsoft’s lengths of suppliers to pull together to solve what he summarised as a “collective action problem”.
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