DoCoMo to “cut cord” with Japanese handset vendors
DoCoMo, Japan’s top mobile carrier, has been struggling. They are losing out in new subscriber add against KDDI and Softbank and there is no sign of reversing the trend, given that DoCoMo is currently the only major carrier who does not provide iPhone. People have been speculating the reasons why DoCoMo does not sell iPhone, and one major factor is thought to be their long standing relationships with Japanese handset vendors. If DoCoMo wants to sell iPhone, Apple would push a tough quota, thus there will be no room for already weak...
read moreAWS S3 behind Netflix success
“Big Data and Cloud Storage” series Vol. 5: Event and Company #3 AWS S3 behind Netflix success ◆ Netflix as the big data tycoon Netflix is known as one of the most sophisticated user player in big data community. They appear regularly in big data conferences like Strata and discuss how they utilize the data analytics in their business, and what their infrastructure is like. My theory why Netflix is successful while many others are not, is that their sophisticated big data power enables them to deliver better service and wider...
read moreCloud Expo Europe and Citrix
“Big Data and Cloud Storage” Vol. 4 Event and Company #2 Cloud Expo Europe and Citrix In London, “Cloud Expo Europe” took place on January 29th and 30th, 2013. Cloudian exhibited at the Expo, so I asked Giorgio Propersi, General Manager, Americas and EMEA at Cloudian, how the Expo and the cloud industry look like in London. ◆ “Cloud” as an international phenomenon I attended another “Cloud Expo” in Santa Clara last fall. In that conference, I felt that the main focus was on OpenStack – an open source software for IaaS...
read moreWhy DoCoMo wants to sell radish
Why DoCoMo wants to sell radish NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile carrier in Japan, recorded the net loss in subscriber number in November, negative 40800, first time since August 2007 and the largest loss in its history. Many explanations have been made. The easiest to understand is that they don’t have iPhone in their line up while their competitors do, and some also suspect that the string of large network troubles in recent months disappointed customers who believed that DoCoMo provides the best service despite their higher...
read moreMemory of the cloud brain – what is cloud storage?
“Big Data and Cloud Storage” Trend 2: “Big Data and Cloud” Vol. 3 What is Cloud Storage? ◆ Memory of the cloud brain In my previous article, I wrote that “cloud” is becoming the “brain” of the Internet world and its “thinking” activities correspond to “big data”. This time, I will talk about another brain function “memory”, which is “cloud storage”. The word “STaaS (Storage as a Service)” is used interchangeably. Dropbox is an easy-to-understand example. To be precise, Dropbox is an end user...
read moreRegarding Japan’s “Kamikaze election”
Regarding Japan’s “Kamikaze election” Japan’s prime minister Noda declared to dissolve the parliament. It is almost certain that his DPJ will lose, Japanese media say, but he handed the decision to the opposition party LDP leader Abe in exchange to agree with Noda’s main agenda: to reduce the number of parliament seats. This means a higher chance of losing his/her job for existing representatives, so nobody has done it before, but he is doing it because he asked Japanese people to endure the consumption tax...
read morePanasonic to ALMOST get out from mobile handset business
Panasonic to ALMOST get out from mobile handset business. So the Japanese press reports today. Wait.. were they still making one, anyways? In Japanese domestic market, Panasonic kept No. 2 (after Sharp) till 2009, but as the market shifts to smartphone, now it is ranked 4th, after Fujitsu, Apple and Sharp. They just announced that they will shrink their mobile handset business drastically, discontinue Eluga product line they just introduced in Europe, already slashed several hundred headcounts in the domestic product facility. But...
read moreNo.2 carrier KDDI is increasing grip on cableTV, and it makes a whole lot more sense
No.2 carrier KDDI is increasing grip on cableTV, and it makes a whole lot more sense While No. 3 Softbank is buying up SprintNextel in the U.S., KDDI is increasing its control on Japanese domestic cableTV industry. Currently, KDDI has 30.7% of No. 1 JCOM (with 39% market share) and 95.6% of No. 2 JCN (11% share). JCOM’s lead investor is Sumitomo Corp., who fought with K when K tried to buy control of JCOM in 2010, ending up buying more shares than K and currently holds 40%. Nikkei reports that this time KDDI and Sumitomo will jointly...
read moreWhy Softbank is buying Sprint NOW
Why Softbank is buying Sprint NOW Japan’s Softbank is buying 70% of SprintNextel. “Why” from Sprint side is pretty obvious – they need money. A lot of it, for LTE deployment, and to kill 4th and under competitors. But from Softbank side, the gain is not very clear. Today’s Softbank press release talks about their synergy in building “next generation mobile internet company” and they can provide know-how of turn around. You, as an industry person, know these are just the templates. It really...
read moreFrom box to cloud – Random thoughts at Hosting and Cloud Conference
“Big Data and Cloud Storage” Vol. 2: Event and Company #2 From box to cloud – Random thoughts at Hosting and Cloud Conference ◆ Die-hard Local Businesses as “Cloud” infrastructure It was my first time to attend “Hosting and Cloud Transformation Summit2012” held in Las Vegas on September 19th and 20th. I enjoy feeling various beat of each industry when I attend conferences. This time, the impression of this conference was quite different from equivalent Silicon Valley ones. I am accustomed to see Asians, Europeans, men and...
read moreAbout Me
Contact: Michi Kaifu
Email: info@enotechconsulting.com
Follw me at @michikaifu
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