Letter from the Editor
Metamorphosis is nature's innovation engine. It takes something that once was and transforms it into something new.
This month, our annual Innovation issue is focused on the topic of innovation and the changes that are taking place across the industry. Add to that the culmination of Pipeline's Innovation Awards, and there is a lot to talk about. But whether you call it change, innovation, transformation, or evolution, there
is a definitive shift this year.
Over the years, innovation has been messy. A smattering of buzzwords haphazardly applied to fuzzy use cases. Not that the innovation
didn't exist, it was just churning through the cycles of trial and error—as innovation, and evolution, tend to do. Some of you will remember that we had 8-tracks before we had iTunes. And,
what other explanation could possibly exist for the duck-billed platypus?
This year, however, the application of advanced technology to create something new, different and better was abundant. Throughout this issue and the Pipeline Innovation Awards, it is
undeniable. The industry as a whole was emerging from its once gooey pupal state into something new and inspiring.
In this issue of Pipeline, we explore the many facets of innovation. We go behind the scenes of the Pipeline Innovation
Awards and beyond the SD-WAN hype with Oracle. DZS shares insights on the evolution of wired networks and ClickSoftware shows us how AI, combined with actual intelligence, can improve dispatch operations. Guavus
discusses methods for building customer-centric NOC. CloudSmartz gives us the building blocks for telecom innovation. Sigma Systems discusses how to prepare for digital transformation and Radisys defines the market opportunities and challenges
surrounding advanced speech recognition. All this, plus the monthly digest of the latest
industry news.
We hope you enjoy this and every issue of Pipeline,
Scott St. John
Managing Editor
Pipeline
