Almost every enterprise (95 per cent) is strategically planning how they will take advantage of 5G wireless connectivity to power core business initiatives from new services, to Internet of Things (IoT) and smart ecosystems, a new study finds.
Furthermore, four fifths of companies expect to deploy basic connectivity solutions by 2021 as they look towards the “tremendous” positive impact 5G technology can have on their ability to serve customers and the bottom line.
Oracle Communications report, 5G Smart Ecosystems Are Transforming the Enterprise: Are You Ready? surveyed 265 enterprise IT and business decision makers at medium- and large enterprises globally to discover how businesses are thinking about 5G today as well as its potential significance moving forward.
Three quarters of respondents (73 per cent) agree the IoT will be revolutionised by 5G networks and more than two thirds (68 per cent) feel it will be transformative to their customers while in terms of experiences and efficiencies a further 84 per cent reckon that 5G networks will have a lasting impact on the way their companies do business.
According to Oracle, “born in the cloud” 5G will have the ability to enable enterprises to provision or “slice” core pieces of their networks to power mission-critical new offerings and smart ecosystems.
Those business leaders who are not yet alert to the potential of 5G in terms of improved productivity, reduced costs and increased agility, are running out of time if they want to steal a march on their rivals
This can range from anything to providing the highest speed connections for life-saving first responder services, to enabling autonomous vehicles to communicate with one other quickly; and ensuring IoT devices in smart factories are providing real-time information on the health of machines and assets.
“Enterprises clearly want to capitalise on the promise of 5G, however, to be successful, IT and business leaders must avoid thinking of 5G as just another ‘G’, and should instead consider it as an enabler to the smart ecosystem we have long talked about,” said Doug Suriano, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications.
“This means asking the right questions at the outset, and considering how 5G can help enable upcoming solutions, what timeframe should be considered and how will they will procure and use 5G capabilities as part of their business evolution.”
Outside specific initiatives, respondents believe 5G will have a wide-spread impact across their business, including increasing employee productivity (86 per cent), reducing costs (84 per cent), enhancing customer experience (83 per cent), and improving agility (83 per cent).
Business decision-makers are most focused on quality of experience the technology will bring, while IT is concerned with network speed and resiliency.
Commenting on the findings, Richard Chiumento, director of Rialto Consultancy, cautioned that business leaders who have yet to recognise the potential business opportunities of 5G should see the survey findings as a wake-up call.
“I was pleased to see Oracle’s Doug Suriano address ‘business leaders’ as well as IT leaders in his call to action,” he said. “And the survey findings prove that those business leaders who are not yet alert to the potential of 5G in terms of improved productivity, reduced costs and increased agility, are running out of time if they want to steal a march on their rivals.”
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