CV_Spring_2021

Job losses, an evolving business environment and fresh motivation have led to a record-breaking number of Americans setting up a business since the onset of the pandemic. A TOP Data study analyzed data highlighting new business applications across the country, revealing business creation in the United States has reached an all-time high. According to the finding, year-over-year business creation across the U.S has increased by 39.4 percent, with 423,095 new businesses created in February 2021 alone. A full 49 states experienced a YoY increase in business applications in February 2021, and TOP Data’s report reveals that Florida tops the nation in new business creation, with close to 21,000 new businesses formed already in 2021. Constant Companion, which integrates its patented, voice-operated, AI-powered platform into popular smart speakers, introduced Companion 4.0, a purpose-built solution for older adults and their caregivers and caregiver facili- ties to improve communications and monitoring of this growing at-risk population. The highlight of the technology is a smart router that offers users a plug-and-play solution for reliable, predictable connections no matter where they live. Simply plug it in, and within 60 seconds, it locates the cellular tower with the strongest connection from more than 200 networks. Plus, in bad weather or following a network outage, it automatically finds the next best connection, said the company. The smart router has a battery backup that lasts up to 12 hours. Companion 4.0 integrates with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to provide a virtual voice assistant and a patented voice-activated “Call for Help,” which connects a user, in any home emergency, to highly trained, U.S.-based, urgent response agents who will assess the situation and get the help the senior needs. Comcast Business, Versa Add Intelligence to SD-WAN Comcast Business recently unveiled enhancements to its SD-WAN solution that enable distributed workforces to bring new levels of intelligence to the network, said the company. The feature is made possible through Comcast Business’ partnership with Versa Networks and harnesses the power of application-level recognition and applies it to context-driven SD-WAN traffic prioritization. As employers and their IT depart- ments extend office infrastructure to remote locations, they increasingly rely on technologies such as SD-WAN to manage the prioritization, quality of experience and security of application traffic. At the same time, businesses are grappling with how to effectively route the increased traffic on their networks. In the past, IT managers had to manually tag digital content (i.e. videos and emails) to ensure proper prioritization, implementing numerous static rules to direct the right traffic over the right path. The new feature leverages propri- etary artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to dynamically optimize SD-WAN traffic based on appli - cation priority and the real-time status of the network connections. The capability uses a real-time calculation to determine the best performing path per session between a content source and its desti- nation. It looks at all available options and dynamically determines the optimal path for traffic at any point in time for an optimal user experience. According to the companies, custom- ers of the smart SD-WAN solution can better support business-critical appli- cations by increasing the usefulness of backup links with application-level, granular policy control; increasing uptime and creating a smarter network through proactive mitigation strategies; and improving the quality of experience by prioritizing critical applications such as real-time voice and video. Despite COVID-19 Setbacks, Business Startups on the Rise Constant Companion Releases AI-Powered Voice System for Aging Adults EMERGENT Source: ChannelVision Maga Business Applications 2005 - 2021 Source: TOP Data COVID-19 created a surge in business applications far greater than anything in the previous 15 years Source: Viavi Solutions None Up to 10 hours 2018 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2021 More than 10 hours 500k 400k 300k 200k 100k 0k Executives see advanced wireless networks (including 5G and Wi-Fi 6) as foundational to taking advantage of other advanced tehnologies Source: Deloitte Very important Extremely important Importance of advanced wireless to company’s ability to implement each technology 5G connectivity Other Mobile Phone Policy: Com Tablet Policy: Com Mobile Phone Pol Tablet Pol Enterprise 5G Source: Morning Consult; Ve 36% 38% 19% 3% 41% 66% 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Business Applications 2018 2020 Edge computing AI Big data analytics loT Cloud computing 43% 32% 48% 36% 46% 39% 43% 31% 58% 36% 0% 10% Already done/current Planning to do in the 8 CHANNEL V ISION | May 2021