The cloud is a HUGE buzzword for just about everyone.

Are we seeing an opportunity for "cloud" to be unleashed on the DVR?

Recently the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from content providers relating to Cablevision's nDVR platform.  Mike Robuck's analysis takes a look at the "now" issues associated carrier provided DVR equipment with the decision not to hear the appeal.

However, I wonder if this case is going to open a much larger opportunity for 3^rd party providers like Tivo to create "cloud" based DVRs and avoid completely the carrier experience.  This c-DVR could store once and play all over the place ( ie Slingbox, but without the box... ).

Much like other legal/appeal decisions sometimes you need to be careful of what you wish for...

What do you think of the concept of a 3^rd party cloud-based DVR?

Post your comments below or email (John.Myers@BlueBuffaloGroup.com) / twitter (JohnLMyers44) me directly.

While I am perfectly willing to give organizations the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the introduction of products and services, Mike Robuck’s piece about recent Verizon FiOS speed increases makes me wonder….

If a telecom can increase the speed just because the competition raises the bar ( … and i am skeptical since the article comes from a cable publication … ); what answers does that same telecom have when they are sitting in front of a House Select Committee and the congressman from <<insert state here>> asks why rural broadband penetration rates aren’t on a par with other developed nations?

Actually, I pretty sure that I know that answer… :)

Post your comments below or email (John.Myers@BlueBuffaloGroup.com) / twitter (JohnLMyers44) me directly. 

I like to point out that not every KPI makes sense for every organization.  This analysis by Randy Myers points that out very clearly for telecom service providers.

Here’s an example:

In this analysis, Verizon and AT&T are considered some of the worst telecom service providers…. in the areas defined by the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) and Days Working Capital (DWC). However, I would dare say that Verizon and AT&T are significantly better than those metrics indicate.

The better matches than the median would be to compare Verizon and AT&T to each other; and organizations like Frontier and CenturyTel to each other.  This is very comparable to the “rules” for KPIs that I presented in a recent webinar (http://www.grapatel.com/A-GRAPA/07-Library/Townhalls/Best_of_Standards/Meeting6.asp).

What do you think of KPI development rules?

Post your comments below or email (John.Myers@BlueBuffaloGroup.com) / twitter (JohnLMyers44) me directly. 

The winds of regulation and change are blowing… even when the FCC and Congress have better things to do….

Cecilia Kangr looks at how the Senate and the FCC are asking questions about exclusive agreements between handset providers and telecom carriers.  In the wonderful world of wireless handsets, there are lots of people who have issues with the arrangements between carriers and providers.

However, most of people understand the concept of “barriers to entry” and the reasons why AT&T pays a subsidy to Apple for the iPhone…. Then again most people who REALLY want an iPhone either switch to AT&T or drop another chip into an “unlocked” iphone…. :)

What do you think about the renewed interest in exclusive handset agreements?

Post your comments below or email (John.Myers@BlueBuffaloGroup.com) / twitter (JohnLMyers44) me directly. 

Hey guess what….?  Smartphones drain the data network of most wireless providers… Also, just in… Sky is blue…. Water is wet… Baby ducks are cute…

Not to mock Leslie Cauley’s article on how the iphone is draining the capacity of the AT&T network… However, I am not sure why it took the release of the iPhone 3GS to bring this topic up, but I am glad that the capacity problems are starting to gain a brighter light.

It harkens back to the era of AOL when they kicked open the network to everyone at $19.95 unlimited.  iPhone users are clocking in at 400mbs per month.  This represents also double wireless laptop users and 10x over other smartphone users.