Audiobook - Connectivity 4.0: the new business imperative

Emerging from the disruption of the pandemic, organisations have been lashed with a perfect storm of challenges — including rising costs, redistribution of workforce, labour shortages, increased cyber risks, global geo-political instability, climate change, and increasing customer expectations. In our report Connectivity 4.0: the new business imperative, we look at how the digital transformation have embarked upon, is driving the need for ubiquitous connectivity. It explores how this new era of connectivity – Connectivity 4.0 – is helping solve some of today’s most pressing issues such as security and mission-critical services, attracting and retaining the best talent, and achieving environmental, social, and governance objectives.  ​

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello and welcome to the audio version of Vocus's report
on connectivity 4.0, your roadmap to building tomorrow's networks and
connected technologies to support mission critical infrastructure and services and
enable sustainable growth.
Foreword by Andrew Wildblood, chief executive enterprise and government at Vocus.

(00:28):
As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are
doubling down on the new strategies they put in place
to ensure they not only survive the disruption, but ultimately thrive.
Yet with each year comes new challenges. A redistribution of
the workforce has challenged employers to maintain service levels amid
today's chronic skills shortfalls. Just as cyber criminals declared cyber

(00:50):
war on the world's business community, when it was at
its most vulnerable, renewed conflict on the battlefields of Ukraine
has escalated risk for every business, even in Australia. This
is the peril of increased connectivity.
Yet even as organisations face these challenges head-on, an increasingly
challenging economic climate is further distorting the situation.

(01:13):
The era of cheap money is behind us, forcing a
complete return to the fundamentals of business. In this environment,
you must be brutally clear about where your business makes money,
how it makes money, and what kind of people and
culture will enable it to succeed.
The sharpening of the macroeconomic climate means that companies best
poised to succeed will be those that not only understand

(01:35):
their business and their market, but also appreciate the strategic
value of new technologies and understand that connectivity is the
glue that holds it all together.
Far removed from the point to point connectivity of yesteryear,
today's connected business environments are vast interconnected webs of data
and services. Connections are being created and changing continuously as

(01:59):
businesses embrace new technologies for supporting remote teams, integrating closely
with partners, servicing customers, extending control to industrial environments, and
linking new sensors.
These are just some of the many things that keep
today's businesses moving, and they all depend on having fast, pervasive,

(02:20):
ultra resilient future-proof networks. At Vocus, we have long been
working with many of Australia's most important government and enterprise
organisations to tap this promise, and it is only getting
more significant as time goes on.
This report explores the challenges of the current era and
how next generation connectivity solutions can resolve them. I trust

(02:44):
you'll find it illuminating and challenging in equal measures, and
I look forward to hearing how you leverage it to
build competitive advantage for your business and your customers.
Executive summary.
Emerging from the disruption of the pandemic, businesses and governments
have been lashed with a perfect storm of challenges, rising costs,

(03:06):
redistribution of workforce, labour shortages, increased cyber risks, global geopolitical instability,
climate change, and increasing customer expectations. As a result, many
organisations have doubled down on the digital transformations they began
or accelerated during the pandemic.
They are transitioning to new operating models based entirely on

(03:29):
digital tools and services.
These operating models are based not on implementing one or
two applications, but instead revolve around a complete rebalancing of
the business by reviewing existing technology debt and implementing a
whole of business technology transformation that will take the organisation
to the next level.

(03:51):
It's a complete return to the fundamentals of the business,
challenging established connectivity paradigms in the same way that the
industry 4.0 concept has driven manufacturers to reinvent the way
they develop and distribute their products.
Applying similar concepts across the business spectrum introduces the need

(04:12):
to address a range of issues in three key areas,
mission critical operations, employee experience, and environmental, social, and governance,
or ESG considerations.
Within these areas are a range of business concerns from
risk management and skills retention to delivering a a desirable

(04:33):
employee experience to ensuring sustainable business growth. There are also
technological issues such as the optimal architecture for hybrid cloud environments,
the best way to securely integrate operational technology or OT,
information technology, IT, and Internet of things, IoT solutions.

(04:54):
And delivering enough of the right quality of bandwidth to
support these new and expanding digital ecosystems.
At the core of this reinvention is connectivity 4.0, a
new era in which network technologies and business needs have
evolved and come together to make ubiquitous connectivity a reality.

(05:16):
This paper is about the bold new world of connectivity 4.0,
what it consists of, how it works, and why you
need to embrace its changes to give your digital business
staying power in a rapidly changing future.
We explain why runaway digital transformation has created a mandate
to review corporate connectivity strategies, what elements it entails, and

(05:40):
how it raises considerations such as information security and competition
for relevant skills in the era of the great resignation.
Indeed, as we look past the great resignation, connectivity 4.0
is a fundamental part of what we might call the
great reconfiguration.
And it's going to affect you, whether you're ready for
it or not.

(06:01):
Read on to find out how your business can take
control of this change and ensure that it stays ahead
of the wave of business transformation.
What is connectivity 4.0?
Just as the transition to industry 4.0 is revolutionising business
by integrating digital services and processes into every aspect of operations,

(06:22):
Connectivity 4.0 can revolutionise the way those services connect with
each other and the world around them. Connectivity technologies have
evolved through several eras, from the original public switch telephone
network to early computer networks, the internet, and beyond.
And as businesses have become more connected, they've adopted an

(06:43):
increasing range of technologies. However, choosing those technologies has traditionally
involved balancing performance with flexibility and availability.
Connectivity 4.0 is a new era in which these technologies
have evolved to the extent that organisations no longer need
to compromise. Together, these technologies can provide ubiquitous connectivity across

(07:07):
terrestrial and subsea fibre, regional 4G and 5G mobile services,
satellite coverage, and private LTE campus networks.
What's more, you can choose a mix of technologies that
provides both fiber-like performance and unprecedented resilience along with the
network flexibility and availability that your business needs.

(07:31):
Connectivity 4.0 is paving the way towards high speed, low
latency applications like autonomous vehicles and widespread sensor networks, but
it's also driven by the need for ubiquitous connectivity for
core business needs right now, including building mission critical services,
enhancing the employee experience and achieving ESG objectives.

(07:54):
It does this by unlocking a new level of pervasive connectivity,
enabling organisations to reimagine what's possible like never before.
The transformation imperative.
The forces driving digital transformation were in place well before
the COVID-19 pandemic redefined the world as we know it.

(08:17):
organisations that were focused on steadily achieving growth and efficiencies
have had to accelerate their digitalization plans or rapidly change
strategies over the past two years.
They've had their resilience tested by pandemic disrupted supply chains,
climate change, natural disasters, the Ukraine conflict, and other geopolitical instability.

(08:39):
To top it all off, inflation is rising in Australia
and abroad for the first time in decades. organisations have
had to change their approach to managing talent as workers
have reassessed their expectations and considered other opportunities.
Amidst a resurgent global economy, staff and skills shortages have
affected production, exacerbating the gap between supply and demand more

(09:03):
than at any time in recent memory.
Daniel McCormack, head of thought leadership research within Macquarie Asset Management,
part of Macquarie Group, has watched the perfect storm of
disruptive forces take its toll as businesses scramble to deal
with new economic workforce, cybersecurity, supply chain, and other kinds

(09:24):
of risks.
The world has changed in some very fundamental ways, he explains.
COVID-19 wasn't the cause as such, but it accelerated the change,
he said.
Accelerating change and digitalization.
Early in the pandemic, digital transformation was recognised as a

(09:45):
critical way of meeting new challenges. One Gartner survey conducted
in mid 2020 found that 69% of boards of directors
had accelerated their digital business initiatives as a result of
the pandemic's disruption.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella famously noted that the company had
seen 2 years' worth of digital transformation in just 2 months.

(10:09):
That was an experience shared across the business world as
companies sped up years-long transformation plans that suddenly had to
be fast tracked in a matter of weeks.
This increased overall spending on IT solutions and services dramatically.
Gartner projected last year that Australian IT spending would increase

(10:30):
from $96.8 billion in 2020 to $109.1 billion in 2022
as businesses invest heavily in new technologies to transform their operations.
Much of this IT spending was needed for pandemic related purposes.
To support remote employees, deliver goods and services to housebound customers,

(10:52):
gain more visibility of supply change, and to take advantage
of market opportunities to reduce costs.
Networking and other connectivity technologies became even more vital as
enablers of this change. There was a general structural demand
for connectivity going on already, McCormack said.

(11:13):
For many organisations, this meant embracing cloud-based technologies that deliver
the scale and ease of access to support new ways
of working and operating. For others, it meant overhauling business
processes to take advantage of data analytics and advanced technologies
such as artificial intelligence, IoT devices, and process automation.

(11:34):
Faster, richer and more robust connectivity has created new business opportunities,
but it has also raised the stakes around data and
infrastructure security. That has become more important than ever, as
increasingly digital businesses find themselves exposed to cyber criminals seeking
to disrupt or destroy the business processes that these systems enable.

(11:59):
Entering a challenging new phase.
Even as the world opens up again, it's clear that
the business operating environment has changed forever. Remote working has
evolved into hybrid working, which is now a business imperative
in the battle for talent. The digitalized services that were
born out of need have become an ever increasing customer expectation.

(12:22):
Meanwhile, economic conditions remain volatile and are likely to stay
that way for some time as the world's business community
feels its way back towards normal operations.
McCormack says the global economy bounced back robustly from the
pandemic and demand came back because of the aggressive easing
of monetary and fiscal policy, but supply didn't come back,

(12:45):
both because of disruptions to supply chains and because the
supply of labour just hasn't come back as forcefully as
some people would have expected.
Exacerbated by the pause in migration, the labour shortage has
hit hard as organisations struggle to find and retain the
staff they need.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded 480,100 job vacancies in

(13:10):
May 2022, up 13.8% from the previous quarter, and 29.7%
year on year. One in four businesses reported having at
least one vacant position, more than twice the number at
the beginning of the pandemic.
After decades of low inflation and interest rates, the explosion

(13:32):
in demand and limited supply of resources and staff have
pushed businesses into a fundamentally different operating environment. It has
sent them scrambling to find ways to maintain the continuity
of their operations in the face of all of this change.
In this environment, digital transformation is more important than ever

(13:53):
if organisations are to survive and thrive. It's a new
world full of both challenges and possibilities, and the organisations
that most effectively transform to take advantage of these possibilities
will be best positioned for future success.
Whole of business transformation is the only way forward.

(14:15):
The challenging new business environment will put further pressure on productivity,
which has been stagnant for the best part of two decades,
according to Australia's Productivity Commission.
McCormack says companies need to invest more in the digital
space to boost productivity, and they'll be incentivized to do
so because labour is becoming more expensive and the economic

(14:36):
world is going to be a bit more volatile. Those
risks can be managed, but they've got to invest in
the resources and know-how in doing so.
McCormack identifies AI and automation as key technologies for improving
productivity and freeing up workers to focus on activities that
add more value.
By 2025, Gartner has predicted 70% of organisations will have

(15:02):
implemented the structured infrastructure automation that will help them significantly
improve their flexibility and efficiency. That's up from just 20%
of organisations that were doing so last year, highlighting the
game-changing nature of automation technologies.
Similarly, forward-looking organisations are fast tracking the transition to industry 4.0.

(15:27):
A conceptual successor to the third industrial age of mass production,
Industry 4.0 refers to the wave of transformation in which
organisations use connectivity and digital technologies to greatly improve their
agility to drive efficiencies through automation. For example, mining companies
have invested heavily in automating vehicles that enable 24/7 mining

(15:51):
operations at their remote sites.
Government bodies are streamlining citizen services by using workflow engines
and extensive integration to bring together a range of backend
data sources, and utility companies are using IoT technologies to
proactively and efficiently maintain equipment.

(16:12):
However, these and other digital solutions can't be viewed in isolation.
They are highly dependent on supporting IT infrastructure and often
on each other. Digitalization initiatives have resulted in enterprises building
up huge quantities of data across widely distributed networks of
applications and systems, both in the cloud and on premises.

(16:37):
At the same time, many enterprises have adopted new platforms
and modernised their application architecture to become more agile and
accelerate their digitalization initiatives. These apps, systems and platforms need
to be connected and their data integrated to unlock the
full potential of analytics and AI delivering the insights and

(16:59):
productivity enhancements that organisations need.
Extracting full value from these new IT paradigms, however, requires
a top to bottom review of technologies and operations as
companies work to address core challenges such as building increasingly
mission critical services and enhancing the employee experience to attract

(17:19):
the best talent. Businesses are also under pressure to drive
sustainable business growth by aligning their efforts with corporate ESG objectives.
Considering these challenges is a crucial part of any comprehensive
business strategy, and this report will explore each of them
to explain how the precepts of Connectivity 4.0 support these goals.

(17:42):
Enterprises must look beyond simply becoming digital. They must focus
on how they can leverage extensive connectivity to drive whole
of business technology transformations.
The three core challenges facing today's organisations. Number 1, building
mission critical services. In a world where digital transformation has

(18:03):
made cloud first deployment table stakes, services must be designed
with the speed, robustness and resiliency necessary to support continuous operation. #2,
enhancing the employee experience.
There's no point digitally transforming businesses if employees don't know
how to make the best use of a new environment.

(18:24):
A focus on employee experience ensures next generation business platforms
are designed in a way that makes them usable and
effective from day one.
Number 3, driving sustainable business growth by aligning efforts with
corporate ESG objectives. Success for today's businesses means not only
delivering products and services, but also operating in a way

(18:47):
that meets the expectations of customers and investors that want
to make sure they're buying from and supporting environmentally and
socially responsible suppliers. To meet this expectation, businesses must boost
transparency by mapping their key initiatives back to ESG goals.
Connectivity is the lifeblood of transformation.

(19:09):
Given the increasing importance of data integration and dependency on
digital connectivity, robust connectivity infrastructure is vital to the success
of whole of business technology transformations.
McCormack says there's a very strong underlying structural growth in
connectivity infrastructure. It's a game of leapfrog, with strong demand

(19:31):
absorbing bandwidth, followed by investment in expanding bandwidth, incentivizing new
use cases, and then demands expand again.
However, just as organisations have radically changed their approaches to
IT over the past few years, transformation architects are readjusting
their thinking to meet the connectivity challenges of today and tomorrow.

(19:54):
They're looking beyond bandwidth to embrace connectivity 4.0, a holistic, flexible,
and scalable approach to reliably connecting the many apps, systems
and platforms that organisations depend on in the digital age.
Whereas once business systems were built around slow, fixed wide
area networks or WA applications,

(20:17):
Contemporary connectivity models abstract communications traffic onto Internet Protocol or IPWANs.
These networks can run over several technologies, including high-speed fibre
optic cables, point to point microwave connections, and local wireless
and satellite services. With this speed comes flexibility. Businesses no

(20:38):
longer have to schedule backups for off-peak hours, so they
don't congest office network connections, for example.
New, highly responsive, low latency network technologies allow organisations to
support increasingly decentralised applications that run in the cloud and
integrate components from all manner of systems. These days there

(21:00):
are so many communications options that businesses no longer have
to worry that a lack of connectivity will prevent them
from their communicating from one side of their operations to
the other.
The technology underpinning connectivity 4.0.
Underpinning connectivity 4.0 are fast, ultra resilient, future-proof networks and

(21:22):
connected technologies. At its core is fibre, which has the
ability to provide extremely high capacity and low latency networks
for linking offices, networks, and hybrid cloud environments.
fibre services can link major business precincts across the CBD
or across the country to provide highly reliable connectivity that

(21:44):
is also highly scalable.
An ever increasing array of sub C fibre cables is
also extending the performance and reliability of fibre to provide
global reach for new connectivity paradigms.
Augmenting fibre, a wireless technology such as microwave, a high-speed,
point to point service for extending fixed connectivity across an area.

(22:07):
Satellite was previously constrained by limited bandwidth, but with the
launch of high-speed low Earth orbit, or LEO services is
now capable of delivering fast speeds at much lower latency
anywhere in Australia or around the world.
Another key connectivity 4.0 technology is private LTE, privately operated

(22:30):
mobile networks that are installed in specific locations, such as
at a mine, industrial site or a factory to provide
continuous connectivity at latency low enough that it can support
real-time control of autonomous vehicles or industrial processes.
Communications technologies have progressed enough that they no longer impose

(22:52):
the speed or reliability trade-offs of legacy technologies. The availability
of LEO satellite services has resolved the coverage dilemma, allowing
satellites to work together with other elements of Connectivity 4.0
to give businesses reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity, no matter
where or how they operate.

(23:14):
All these technologies are fast, providing local area network-like speeds
for both upload and download streams. They also offer much
better latency profiles than in the past. They can ensure
that organisations keep digital business processes running as smoothly as possible.
Connectivity 4.0 technologies are also highly flexible since they can

(23:38):
be reconfigured and scaled on the fly to match changing
business requirements.
In fact, Connectivity 4.0 is enabling businesses to think about
the way their people and systems communicate in completely new ways.
Networks no longer need to be viewed and managed in isolation.

(23:58):
By tapping fast, ultra resilient future-proof networks, businesses can engage
connectivity 4.0 service providers capable of linking a broad range
of networks and devices into a coherent, manageable whole.
In this context, the focus is less on thinking about
connectivity as a point to point communication service, and more

(24:20):
about thinking of it as a way of coordinating the
many components involved in keeping digital business solutions operating efficiently.
Phil Martel, head of strategic network deployments at Vocus, explains.
You have to change the people you're talking to.
You're not talking to the IT community about delivering X

(24:42):
megabits a bit faster anymore, you're talking about an integrated
solution to a wider range of problems.
You have to think about what it is that you're
trying to create, work backwards to look at what the
infrastructure needs to support, and then come up with a
proposal based on a mix of infrastructure and services.

(25:04):
This service-based approach is particularly important in the era of
hybrid cloud infrastructure, which relies on connectivity coordinate hundreds or
thousands of application components and services that may be located
anywhere in the world.
The faster those services operate and the lower their latency,
the more seamless the digital business services they can deliver,

(25:28):
enabling organisations to drive the whole of business digital transformation
that today's challenging environment requires.
In this context, increasingly connected data centres become key drivers
of business change. The increasing array of connected technologies is
steadily reshaping the business infrastructure and opening up new possibilities

(25:51):
for businesses that are truly beginning to benefit from the
redesigning of contemporary business processes. In this way, Connectivity 4.0
has emerged as a critical enabler for change.
And a core element of the digital business of the future.
Why connectivity is the backbone of digital transformation.

(26:15):
Digital transformation has been the defining business trend of the
past few years, and telecommunications providers are acknowledged as being
a core part of this transformation.
Recent Vocus research found that 44% of telecommunications decision makers
agreed that their provider plays a major or integral part
in the success of their digital strategy. This suggests that

(26:38):
transforming companies are looking to telecommunications providers to support their
whole of business transformations within technical solutions that are tailored
to their needs.
56% of telco decision makers expect to increase their spend
on telecommunications and ICT products and services over the next

(26:58):
three years.
What are the most important traits of your telecommunications provider? 1,
having a strong network that is highly reliable and available. 2,
having products and services with customised solutions that can scale
with the business.
And 3, network reach and coverage, particularly to rural and

(27:20):
remote areas.
What factors are most likely to prevent you from choosing
a certain telecommunications provider, a lack of coverage in rural
and remote areas, the inability to meet capacity, latency and
uptime requirements.
And an inability to comply with network security requirements.

(27:41):
modernising and securing mission critical services.
In a time of rapid operational change, the importance of
ensuring the resilience of mission critical services cannot be overstated.
Disruptors might be weather events, cybersecurity attacks, or political instability,
and today's enterprises must find the right balance of enabling

(28:03):
technologies to ensure that they operate continuously and reliably, no
matter what external events or forces threaten to compromise them.
That means automating routine processes wherever possible, embracing geographically diverse
infrastructure to avoid single point of failure weaknesses, and adopting

(28:24):
redundant connectivity to ensure that the connected digital ecosystems of
tomorrow can continue functioning.
Increasingly, connectivity solutions are enabling not only IT solutions, but
also integrating OT such as supervisory control and data acquisition
and other industrial control system platforms that manage manufacturing, mining,

(28:49):
and other industrial processes.
IT networks have typically evolved separately from OT environments, but
in today's service focused environment, the two are converging more
than ever before.
They also typically integrate IoT equipment such as temperature and
water level sensors, valve controllers, monitoring cameras equipped with AI

(29:12):
based object detection, and more.
Connectivity 4.0 enables this convergence, supporting scalable and resilient converged
networks capable of carrying all manner of traffic according to
the performance requirements of the application in question.
Delivering connectivity 4.0 at the bottom of the ocean.

(29:36):
The mining and natural resources sector provides myriad opportunities for
connectivity innovation, with Vocus helping to develop innovative solutions to
ensure connectivity across mission critical settings such as offshore gas
drilling rigs.
Here the forces of nature and physical challenges of industrial
environments require innovative connectivity solutions. For example, how do you

(30:00):
extend robust connectivity to a massive floating platform, many kilometres
offshore and regularly lashed by violent storms and waves?
Vocus achieved this by working with a submarine cable specialist
to create a multi-million dollar terminal box that was secured
to the ocean floor, hundreds of metres below the gas

(30:23):
rig's planned location.
The connection was pre-cabled with a fibre optic cable run
from the mainland to the terminal box long before the
rig's installation.
Then, once the massive rig had been moved into place,
unmanned aquatic vehicles ran another cable down from the rig
to the terminal box. The vehicles plugged in a high-speed,

(30:47):
reliable connectivity service that supports the rig's business systems, Ska,
and other industrial controls, as well as delivering services to
the residential quarters.
Developing such solutions is about much more than simply connecting
a fibre service. A rig's massive steel platforms are a

(31:08):
challenging environment for deploying conventional wireless connectivity. Extensive site surveys
are needed to identify potential coverage blockers.
Phil Martel says we've done a lot of work to
create solutions for customers that are using IT type features
of the networks, but in fact, solve operational problems as well.

(31:29):
There's a lot of service and operational thinking required to
make all of that work, and we've tried to create
an infrastructure capability rather than just delivering a single service.
Having that infrastructure capability means the connectivity provider can operate
and configure a gas rig's network completely remotely. That includes

(31:51):
turning ports on and off as the new services are required,
monitoring traffic for security anomalies, adjusting bandwidth flow and management,
and disabling ports based on access control restrictions.
LEO satellites and ubiquitous connectivity closes the digital divide.

(32:13):
While innovative fibre solutions provide connectivity to remote locations, rapid
innovations in wireless technologies such as satellite are adding alternatives
to increase network reach and resilience.
Although geostationary satellite data services have been available for many years,
their utility in mission-critical networks has been limited by their

(32:35):
relatively slow speeds, high cost, and the high latency created
by their position more than 36,000 kilometres above the Earth.
All of this limited their use to very low speed
applications where performance was not an issue, or to where
there was no other way to provide connectivity, such as

(32:56):
remote locations.
Modern fleets of LEO satellites, however, have changed all that
by flying smaller satellites at an altitude of around 500
to 2000 kilometres, close enough to Earth that they can
deliver fast, high-powered data communication services with very low latency.

(33:18):
Leo constellations require complex integration of hardware and software systems.
Unlike geostationary satellites, which appear stationary when viewed from Earth,
Leo satellites must orbit the Earth extremely quickly to maintain
their altitude, requiring specialist tracking antennas to maintain connection.

(33:39):
Operators like SpaceX, with its Starlink service are addressing this
by building global mesh networks comprised of thousands of satellites,
launched dozens at a time by low-cost, reusable SpaceX launch services.
Starlink's performance is advertised as being between 100 and 500

(34:01):
megabits per second, with latency as low as 20 milliseconds
when accessed from almost any place on the planet. This
enables organisations to build high-speed networks anywhere they might be operating,
whether on land or at sea.
Leo has created something that didn't exist in the satellite

(34:22):
industry before, which was low-cost services and high performance, says
Ashley Neal, the development manager of Space and satellite at Vocus,
who works with space and satellite operators to help Connectivity
4.0 solutions tap into the capabilities of their networks.

(34:43):
When you've got a truly ubiquitous, low cost and high
performance network, you can connect proper metro grade broadband anywhere
in the world, Ashley says, noting that the ability to
bridge the long-standing digital divide is allowing businesses to extend
connectivity anywhere in Australia or around the world without rethinking

(35:03):
their network architecture.
Leo services also provide new options for improving the resilience
of connectivity 4.0 services safe from unpredictable weather and other
continuity threats. On a gas rig, for example, the LEO
data service could be used as a backup to undersea
fibre cabling. This maintains critical connectivity, even in the event

(35:28):
the fibre is accidentally broken by a wave action, physical
wear and tear, or an explosion or other accident.
Private LTE brings connectivity 4.0 where you need it.
Another transformative wireless technology is private LTE, which is conceptually

(35:48):
a successor to Wi Fi networks but uses longer range
mobile communications protocols to deliver high-speed coverage to specific areas,
for example, at a mine, solar farm, or large industrial complex.
Private LTE networks are built using similar components to commercial
mobile networks with base stations mounted on towers scattered across

(36:11):
the coverage area.
Two large base stations can provide blanket coverage across a
12 kilometre radius, with smaller mini base stations added in
areas of high usage, such as where there are a
lot of workers or an array of connected equipment.
Private LTE gives you the ability to take standard telco

(36:32):
infrastructure and customise it to make those solutions work in
the most remote areas, says Phil Martel, who notes the
ability of such networks to connect operational technology in ways
that has never been possible before.
Private LTE is transformative for businesses that have previously been
forced to rely on whatever commercial 4G or 5G mobile

(36:54):
signals manage to reach their site location. With the right
site survey and engineering work, it's possible to build private
LTE networks that provide high-speed connectivity to every part of
a commercial environment or industrial operation, even deep underground.
The implications of this degree of connectivity are significant with

(37:16):
the potential to link every piece of equipment within the
coverage area, including workers' smartphones.
In addition, the technology's extremely low latency offers new capabilities
to connect devices such as autonomous vehicles, which must be
able to react instantly to commands or changes in their environment.

(37:37):
Containeris private LTE networks are also being used to rapidly
provide connectivity in areas that suffer interruptions to normal coverage.
For example, when bushfires destroy commercial base station towers or
floods inundate a region.
The potential to rapidly restore communications in such areas makes

(37:58):
private LTE as important to emergency services operators as it
is to businesses seeking to extend connectivity to industrial sites.
In such industrial environments, private LTE has already filled another
crucial part of the Connectivity 4.0 platform, providing flexible, robust
terrestrial communications backed by service characteristics and control that legacy

(38:23):
wireless infrastructure cannot supply.
By connecting a private LTE network to Leo's satellite backhaul,
it's possible to combine the respective and complementary strengths of
both technologies to build robust, connected campuses anywhere on Earth.
Simon Parker, the head of strategic projects at Vocus says,

(38:44):
we think private LTE will be really critical in terms
of the way companies manage their infrastructure assets and operational
requirements in order to deliver productivity dividends. The technology suits
any organisation that has a range of requirements around workplace
activities like autonomous vehicles and active predictive maintenance.

(39:05):
It creates opportunities for precision monitoring and control, even at
facilities that don't have people in them, but are operated remotely.
Cloud architectures have long been fundamental to whole of business transformations.
Vocus research found that 3 in 4 companies are using
strictly cloud architectures or hybrid cloud environments. The research showed

(39:29):
that almost 30% of companies are interested in investing in
mobile solutions closely followed by cloud-based collaboration and hybrid cloud
solutions in the coming few years.
Meeting the critical infrastructure risk. With Connectivity 4.0's flexibility and
ability to integrate new technologies to meet operational business requirements,

(39:52):
it's going to be increasingly important in helping businesses adapt
to the infrastructure, security, and other risks created by ever-changing
global circumstances.
It will also play an increasing role in helping organisations
address the Australian government's growing expectations of them to protect
the integrity of critical infrastructure.

(40:13):
This has been the subject of extensive consultation and reform
in recent years as new threats accumulate.
A raft of recent amendments by the Australian government to
the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act have imposed significant obligations
on operators of critical infrastructure. These include new requirements around
ensuring the security and resilience of the systems they administer.

(40:38):
To meet their security obligations under the SOI Act, operators
must undertake a range of improvements to security risk management,
including more quickly responding to and reporting cybersecurity incidents.
They must also participate in a central register of critical
infrastructure assets managed by the cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre.

(41:03):
Anita Sheridan Roddick, the APAC Group sales manager with managed
security service provider SeOM Global says that increased reliance on
connected and online systems really makes businesses more vulnerable to attack.
She notes that companies have had to be more strategic,
diligent and vigilant when it comes to maintaining security.

(41:26):
Ever more resourceful cyber criminals have taken advantage of the
disruption of the past few years.
Escalating attacks such as ransomware and distributed denial of service
or DDOS to become major threats to business continuity and
the real world tests of corporate resilience.
Reports of ransomware attacks alone increased by 15% during the

(41:49):
2020 to 21 financial year, the Australian Cyber Security centre
observed in its latest cyber threat report. The report also
warned about increasing risks from targeting of supply chains, rapid
exploitation of security vulnerabilities, exploitation of the pandemic environment.
And business email compromise attacks which cost businesses over $50,000

(42:14):
per incident on average.
recognising the intensifying attack climate during the pandemic and as
a result of growing geopolitical uncertainty in Ukraine, Taiwan, and elsewhere,
the ACSC has joined similar organisations around the world in
entreating businesses to improve their security practises.

(42:35):
A sound connectivity strategy is an important element of these efforts,
according to Sheridan Roddick.
These include infrastructure level innovations such as SDWAN services, network
segmentation to create private data networks, secure access service edge
architectures to protect edge computing devices, er trust authentication services,

(42:59):
and automated detection and incident response to strengthen organisations resistance
to security attacks.
She says we're having a lot of conversations with customers
around asset and vulnerability management, and while the risks are
the same as before, they're just amplified.
There is no doubt that the risk of state-based attacks

(43:22):
has increased, but also the risks from your general run
of the mill cyber criminals.
They're running companies now, she says. Rather than just being
one person sitting in the dark launching attacks, it's organised
crime and the risks to our national security and national
infrastructure are very real.

(43:43):
With around 1 in 4 of the cyber incidents reported
to the ACSC now related to critical infrastructure or essential services,
businesses operating in many of these sectors are on notice
about the risks posed in the new environment. Because many
rely on extensive OT environments as well as conventional IT,

(44:04):
they will need to invest heavily in supporting infrastructure capable
of extending socky compliant controls from one side of their
business to the other.
And even out to supply chain partners.
Macquarie's McCormack says, we're going to have more volatility in
terms of GDP and asset prices, and at the same time,

(44:25):
cyber and disruption risks continue to increase. For businesses, being
flexible is absolutely key. You need to be able to
respond to those pressures and opportunities very quickly, and Connectivity
4.0 embodies that flexibility to support businesses going forward.
The next steps for building mission-critical services. One, build for redundancy.

(44:51):
Ensure you have the right combination of terrestrial and satellite
options to ensure continuous connectivity to all of your sites.
Then look for opportunities to support new low latency applications
by adding local wireless and private LTE services.
2, design to manage risk. In today's volatile geopolitical and

(45:13):
economic climate, business success requires careful attention to cybersecurity, operational continuity,
supply chain, and other kinds of risk. So make sure
you've considered how your partners can work together to use
Connectivity 4.0 to minimise this exposure.
3, reimagine your future.

(45:34):
Embracing connectivity 4.0 will open up new opportunities to tap
the benefits of automation, AI, and other technologies. Keep your
mind on the future and never stop thinking about how
new capabilities will enhance your business for the future.
Transforming the employee experience. Although a significant part of Connectivity

(45:57):
4.0 relates to the technologies that comprise it, including fibre,
private LTE satellite, mobile, and point to point microwave, the
transformation it enables is not just about connecting things. Indeed,
one of the most significant benefits of Connectivity 4.0 mindset
is its ability to solve the challenges around remote workforces

(46:19):
that were thrown up by the pandemic's massive disruption.
Gartner has predicted that around 47% of Australian knowledge workers
will be working from home at least one day per
week by 2025, with 19% saying they would like to
work from home full-time. The implications of this fundamental disruption

(46:39):
to the workplace are still being evaluated by employers who
had to wing it during the pandemic as employees were
sent home en masse.
Large scale remote working was a learning experience for employers
and employees alike. Both groups had to navigate the challenges
of transferring their job responsibilities online while dealing with reduced

(47:00):
physical contact with co-workers and their familiar office environment.
According to Amber Christoph, chief people officer at Vocus, for
people to have a productive work environment or to work
effectively and efficiently in any sort of work environment, the
technology needs to be reliable, simple for everyone to use

(47:21):
and problem free.
Vocus was able to transition 90% of its more than
1300 Australian employees to remote work by leaning on online
collaboration tools. The company shifted meetings online and organised social
catch-ups and wellness initiatives to ensure that the technology-enabled work

(47:45):
didn't become too isolating for staff. The company's human resources
team reached out regularly to support employee wellbeing.
Using surveys and check-ins to see how people were handling
the new work arrangements.
A cross-functional management group supported input from every part of
the business, ensuring that diverse voices had the chance to

(48:06):
be heard as the working culture remained in a state
of flux for the better part of two years.
For many team members, the shift to remote work was
illuminating because the remote collaboration software proved to be a
great leveller.
Amber Christo said that with a greater emphasis on setting

(48:27):
aside time to build connections, many team members connected more
often than pre-COVID, and in fact, had never done that
much team connectivity with interstate colleagues before.
They were building relationships with people they had never sat
on a team call with, and they felt more connected
just because we had simple to use technology that meant

(48:49):
they got to know people personally. They now have very
different relationships than they did before.
In this sense, connectivity was as much about people reaching
out to each other as it was about the core
business of moving data. And despite the assumption of many
managers that employees needed to return to the office full-time

(49:11):
to regain past productivity, survey after survey shows that the
demonstrated benefits of increased connectivity mean employees can now expect flexible,
remote work to be a permanent part of their working lives.
As well as enabling collaboration between workmates, enhanced connectivity is

(49:31):
also proving to be a critical way of supporting employee
well-being and retention.
Just as it supports connectivity across industrial environments, better connectivity
is also fundamental to supporting human-centric outcomes such as occupational
health and safety, mental health support, and general well-being by
providing connectivity to family and friends.

(49:56):
Keeping employees engaged.
Over time, broad adoption of connectivity 4.0 will normalise this
level of seamless collaboration, allowing employees to build everyday communities
across home and business spheres without having to think about
the technology underlying it. Whether in the office or in
the field, businesses will be able to design next generation

(50:20):
employee experiences around the ubiquitous, reliable connectivity that makes collaboration possible.
That ensures video conferencing calls are simple and reliable, and
online collaboration is seamless and quick. But Connectivity 4.0 is
also likely to increase the use of automation to assist
employees in performing many of their most routine tasks.

(50:44):
Yet the benefits of improved connectivity extend much further than
simply making workers happier or more efficient.
Surveys suggest that the great resignations aftershocks will continue to
shape hiring policies for some time.
One recent Robert Half survey found that 44% of employees
are planning to look for a new job in the

(51:05):
second half of 2022 alone, although 48% said they are
leaving for salary reasons. Others cited lack of career progression opportunities, 37%,
unhappiness with the content of their job, 30%, a lack
of flexibility, 25%.
And a high workload 23%.

(51:27):
Similarly, the main reasons people stay in their current jobs
are flexibility, according to 53%, their relationship with managers and
co-workers for 42%, the content of their job at 35%,
and company culture at 35%.
Only around 1 in 3 employees is staying for the salary,

(51:49):
an instructive point for employers seeking to reconstitute their workforces
in an era of distributed and remote work enabled by
enhanced connectivity.
There is much more to employee retention than just higher salaries,
it seems. Employees want to be engaged in new challenges.
Employers can support this with investment in modern, scalable connectivity

(52:11):
technologies that make their workplaces more attractive to potential recruits
and to give them the skills they need to function
in the digitally transformed future.
Enabling the present to automate the future. Automation's come a
long way in recent years, aided by increasingly intelligent technology

(52:32):
and service-based cloud infrastructure. For example, the latter generally provides
developers with application programming interface hooks or APIs that let
their applications communicate with core systems without human intervention.
This ease of access is driving a surge in robotic
process automation or RPA which to date has been mostly

(52:55):
installed within specific business workflows for repetitive tasks such as
document handling and processing.
Business spending on RPA tools will increase by 19.5% this year,
Gartner predicts, as organisations increasingly dive into the technology and
push towards the broader idea of hyper automation.

(53:17):
This involves combining application environments with RPA capabilities to produce
more sophisticated and capable automation platforms.
AI capabilities will underpin many process agnostic software capabilities such
as process mining, task mining, decision modelling, integration platforms as

(53:37):
a service, and computer vision to extend the reach of
automation platforms. This means businesses can build automation processes that
take in data from all manner of sources and interact
with the world around them in completely new ways.
Integrating AI driven computer vision into a manufacturing facility will,
for example, allow the rapid evaluation of manufactured products or

(54:02):
packaging for defects.
Integration with the OT systems on that line will enable
those platforms to work in step with automation platform, for example,
by slowing down a conveyor belt to provide enough time
for a robotic arm to remove a defective item.
The potential applications are endless, and they're fundamentally enabled by

(54:23):
the ubiquitous integration that Connectivity 4.0 brings.
By delivering a consistent operating platform that is available to
employees and business processes anywhere a company needs them to be,
the new paradigm enhances employee experience. It opens the door
to a world where technology not only brings people together,

(54:45):
but also enables intelligent processing that saves workers time that
they used to spend doing repetitive tasks.
In the long-term, Christo says, using automation to support employees
will be crucial for employers to maintain employee satisfaction and
keep valuable workers from walking out the door. This is
particularly important when staff shortages are commonplace and those at

(55:08):
work feel increasing pressure to compensate.
Doing gap analysis to work to identify technical and leadership
development needs and desires will help us make sure we've
got the people in our teams today who can be
here for those future roles, she explains.
The next steps for transforming the employee experience, number one,

(55:30):
support a flexible future. Years of labour market disruption have
changed the dynamic between employer and employee. Embracing connectivity 4.0
will support your employees' desire for more flexible working arrangements
by enabling them to work in whatever way makes the
most sense for them. Number 2, help your employees stay connected.

(55:51):
New hybrid cloud architectures allow services, devices, and people to
be connected in completely new ways. Explore this new paradigm
to not only improve your existing business, but also to
find new ways that it can improve the employee experience overall.
Number 3, use automation to support your workers.

(56:11):
Better connectivity makes automation more viable than ever, so use
it not to replace your employees but to offload routine
work and free them to add value in new ways.
Achieving sustainable growth. Supporting employees may be a crucial part
of the digital reinvention of businesses, but it's only one

(56:31):
part of a larger realignment of corporate philosophy. That realignment
includes recognising rising employee and customer expectations for embracing environmental,
social and governance goals at a systemic level. Reflecting a
more fundamental change than earlier models of corporate social responsibility.
ESG paradigms have become intrinsic to the way companies position

(56:55):
themselves as socially and economically responsible entities.
In the United States, McKinsey and Co. has noted that
more than 90% of S&P 500 companies now publish ESG reports.
True ESG, McKinsey concludes, is consistent with the company's well-considered
strategy and advances its business model to ensure that their

(57:18):
business endures with societal support in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way.
Australian companies are leading the world when it comes to
acknowledging climate risk as a financial business risk. One recent
KPMG analysis noted that 78% of Australian companies now acknowledge

(57:38):
climate risk as a financial business risk, well above the 56%
average across the global 250 largest companies.
The principal driver behind the shift in how climate change
is viewed was the global investment community, which has long
recognised the value at risk from the changing climate and
the decarbonisation of economies.

(58:00):
Indeed, in 2015, the Financial Stability Board established the taskforce
on Climate-related Financial disclosures, which in 2017 designed recommendations to
help companies provide better information to support informed capital allocation.
And while in 2018, just 16% of Australian companies were

(58:20):
following these guidelines, that proportion has increased to more than 60%
in the intervening years.
Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures or TCFD really is
raising the bar on the response of business to climate
change by enabling very consistent disclosure against key themes of
interest to investors, including governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets,

(58:46):
says Andrew Tipping, the general manager of clients and business
development with climate risks and energy transition consultancy Energetics.
A typical business climate change strategy has 4 pillars, he says,
including 1, purchasing and investing in clean energy, 2, pursuing
net zero emissions reduction targets.

(59:10):
3, investing in data analytics to support decision-making disclosures, and 4,
building resilience as the climate destabilises.
Together, these pillars bolster a significant programme of change that
will lean heavily on ubiquitous, robust connectivity to build the
new energy efficient, clean energy powered and highly resilient operational architectures,

(59:35):
enabling Connectivity 4.0.
Tipping says climate change is with us and we need
to prepare for a changed environment with a different risk profile. Accordingly,
the pace of the business and governmental response is accelerating
in terms of mitigation and adaptation measures.
The speed of decarbonisation is seeing renewable energy mandates increasingly

(01:00:00):
built into commercial contracts as corporate customers lean on their
supplies to help them meet their own ESG mandates. And
core suppliers look up and down the value chain to
manage their carbon footprints.
Tipping says some sectors of the economy have very limited
emissions reductions options available to them because the renewable and

(01:00:21):
low emissions technologies aren't there yet. But the telecommunication space
is a relatively easy sector to decarbonize because it's emissions
profile is dominated by electricity use and you can decarbonize
this dramatically by using or buying renewable energy.
With the extraordinary wind and solar resources available across Australia,

(01:00:43):
you're supporting a nation-building opportunity.
Putting ESG at the heart of business.
Having evolved from conventional notions around community engagement and charitable giving,
ESG initiatives are continuing to mature as they integrate parallel
concerns around climate change, sustainable development and operations, net zero emissions,

(01:01:08):
socially responsible growth, employee well-being, and diversity and inclusion.
Amidst a global readjustment of the workforce as the great
resignation and subsequent labour market trends continue to wreak havoc,
corporate commitment to objectives such as diversity and inclusion and
employee engagement and well-being are fundamental to reducing attrition and

(01:01:31):
ensuring that businesses can retain the skills they need to
progress their transformations.
As the myriad threads of ESG are factored into the
new business environment, companies will benefit from ESG frameworks that
recognise not only the importance of employees, but also the
importance of providing and advocating for a workplace that helps

(01:01:53):
them achieve their individual best, whatever that involves.
Louisa Harris Baxter, the head of ESG with Vocus, explains,
to serve our customers best, our people need to be
at the centre of every decision we make. ESG has
gone from being a nice to have to being a
must-have very quickly, and the employee value proposition is an

(01:02:17):
important reason why. They are the conduits to our customers
and the people working with them day in and day out.
Under Louisa Harris Baxter's lead, Vocus has been expanding an
ESG framework that includes the company's approach to topics like
diversity and inclusion, modern slavery, climate change, and community investment.

(01:02:41):
In a power intensive industry like telecommunications, net zero emissions
has become a particular focus and a guiding force for
strategic investment.
It is also a subtext to everyday work with customers
who are increasingly looking to the expertise of companies like
Vocus to help consolidate their infrastructure as a way of

(01:03:01):
achieving their own net zero targets.
As this change continues to reshape the way telecommunications and
data infrastructure operates, connectivity will become more important than ever.
Power generation and consumption will be intrinsically linked to self-monitoring,
self-managing networks of IOT smart sensors that tap AI capabilities

(01:03:26):
to monitor usage and manage increasingly automated assets.
Tipping says, as we move from a highly centralised energy
generation and distribution system to a decentralised system with millions
of connected devices, it's a data-rich environment.
There's a lot of opportunity to create value from collecting

(01:03:48):
and analysing the data and information that's available and using
the insights to build resilience. We're going to see a
huge transformation in that space.
Already a hot dry continent prone to the extremes of weather,
Australia faces both known challenges and as the climate destabilises, uncertainty.

(01:04:10):
We need to adapt and build resilience across communities and
all parts of the economy.
At the heart of this response is communications infrastructure that
enables everything from disaster and emergency services, resilient transport, water
and energy systems, as well as a plethora of industrial

(01:04:31):
scale data processors.
In a digitally transformed world where investments in hybrid cloud
computing are allowing businesses to shift their energy efficiency obligations
to cloud service providers, the surge in net zero activity
is proof positive that Connectivity 4.0 will be fundamentally transformative

(01:04:52):
for the modern workplace.
By leaning heavily on hybrid cloud platforms, this transformation will
support the shift to a cleaner and more energy efficient
operating mode than ever before.
In this vein, Vocus has been working since 2019 to
improve the energy efficiency of its data centres and is

(01:05:13):
committing to a business-wide net zero target that will drive
its environmental investments in coming years.
We are setting our ESG ambitions, particularly in relation to
net zero, with a very clear mind to the part
we can play in helping our customers to meet their
ESG objectives, explains Louisa Harris Baxter, noting that Vocus has

(01:05:36):
worked closely with major suppliers and customers to ensure that
its targets are aligned with customer expectations.
We are all working towards a common goal with respect
to climate change, she says.
And there's a lot we can learn from each other
to help us get there.
The next steps for achieving sustainable growth, number one, better

(01:05:59):
connectivity means lower consumption. As you look for ways to
improve your sustainability credentials, better connectivity will enable you to
collect and aggregate real-time performance data from across the business,
enabling you to run smarter and consume less.
2, address diversity. Better connectivity helps turn business ESG goals

(01:06:22):
into achievable change. So work to tap new data sources
to improve your organisational diversity and inclusion. Your workers will
be happier, more efficient and more likely to stay.
Number 3, track progress against objectives. Make sure that your
transition to connectivity 4.0 includes appropriate methods to measure and

(01:06:45):
track your progress. In today's market, such information is useful
not only for operating your business but also in strengthening
its brand and reputation.
Transform your connectivity for the future. Change is an ever
present part of business, but in recent years, the amount
of change that organisations and workers need to deal with, human, technological, industrial, political,

(01:07:12):
and more, has been truly transformative.
Remote work has fundamentally rewritten the employee experience. The shift
to online interactions has escalated the importance of customer engagement,
driving businesses and governments to expedite their digital transformations. Natural
disasters and interrupted supply chains have forced companies to be

(01:07:35):
more agile and more resilient than ever.
And staff shortages have pushed companies to deepen their commitment
to hyper automation as they look for new ways to
do more with less.
Underlying all these changes is a need for ubiquitous, fast,
resilient connectivity that not only provides and links the technologies involved,

(01:07:57):
but also enables the process change that businesses need to
remain relevant. By transitioning to Connectivity 4.0, you can help
elevate your organisation so that it can focus on addressing
business challenges rather than technological issues. Here's how Connectivity 4.0
can help address four of those challenges.

(01:08:19):
More business is mission critical. Today's enterprises have often grown
organically over many years, and their infrastructure has too, often
creating challenges in sustaining mission critical business requirements.
Much more than simply replacing old technology with new technology,
Connectivity 4.0 fixes this by providing the opportunity to re-architect

(01:08:41):
the business in a hybrid cloud world, where ubiquitous access
to high speed, low latency and highly reliable connectivity lets
you reimagine the business not in terms of what it
used to be, but in terms of what it can be.
Achieving sustainable growth. ESG initiatives that focus on one or
two business silos are destined to fail. Success requires engaging

(01:09:06):
every part of the business, not just the executive team
or an isolated sustainability team to drive the employee experience
and cultural change that transformation requires.
Louisa Harris Baxter says companies that have a mature ESG
practise often find that it helps to drive innovation and
strengthen governance across the board. But it's not possible to

(01:09:30):
achieve true sustainability integration unless everybody feels like it's their
job to drive the agenda forward.
Find a way to measure your change and its outcomes.
It's not enough anymore for applications and systems to just work.
To optimise your business and employee experience, clarify your key

(01:09:51):
performance indicators and develop monitoring tools that allow you to
meaningfully track the progress of your reinvention. This includes partnering
with infrastructure providers capable of providing clear, real-time visibility into
operations and automation.
To help ensure mission critical services are never running at
less than their optimal performance.

(01:10:14):
Enable your people to be their best. Buffeted by the
winds of the pandemic and trends like the great resignation,
the workplace is unlikely to ever be the same as
it was in the past.
Employees are demanding greater engagement, involvement with more meaningful transformation projects,
and support for whatever work-life balance suits them.

(01:10:38):
Failing to meet those objectives could see invaluable skills walk
out the door, so make sure your infrastructure has the
flexibility to accommodate their expectations.
No matter where your organisation is on its digital journey,
Connectivity 4.0 will unlock a new level of pervasive connectivity,
enabling you to reimagine what's possible like never before and

(01:11:01):
help better prepare your organisation for the future.
Thanks for listening to Vocus's Connectivity 4.0 report. A few acknowledgements,
we'd like to thank the industry experts and Vocus experts
for their contributions to this report. Daniel McCormack, head of
thought leadership and research at Macquarie Asset Management.

(01:11:24):
Andrew Tiping, general manager of clients and business development at Energetics.
Anita Sheridan Roddick, APAC Group sales manager at SeO Global.
Andrew Wildblood, chief executive enterprise and government at Vocus.
Phil Martel, head of strategic network development, enterprise and government

(01:11:45):
at Vocus. Simon Parker, head of strategic projects, enterprise and
government at Vocus.
Amber Christo, chief people officer at Focus.
Louisa Harris Baxter, head of environment, social and governance at Vocus.
And Ashley Neal, development manager, satellite and infrastructure at Vocus.