Transforming Network Infrastructure Week in Review: IDC, Guerrilla RF, Tower Cloud

We depend on the network in one way or another most every day in work and play alike. Thus the infrastructure going into that network is of great importance, and its transformation is carefully watched. Several big developments arrived this week, and with the weekend now at hand, we have a chance to take a step back and consider the wider impact these events will have. So settle in, because we're going to run down the biggest events of the week with our Week in Review coverage!

First, a new report from IDC suggested that the enterprise storage technology market saw 2.1 percent growth in the second quarter of 2015 as compared to the same time the previous year. The market is now worth fully $8.8 billion, and several segments within the wider market are likewise up. Not only is total capacity up on the year—rising to 30.3 exabytes total—but hyperscale datacenters are seeing big gains as well. Server-based storage is also up, and the field is clearly making gains.

Next, Guerrilla RF hit the CTIA Super Mobility event to show off several new items. It showed off a linear amplifier that not only offered low noise, but also low loss bypass systems to make it worth considering for several businesses. It also showed off new members of the high linearity gain block family, systems with a variety of uses from cellular infrastructure all the way up to military applications.

ItsOn came out with the next bit of news, as its CEO Greg Raleigh was set to speak at the GSMA Chief Strategy Officer Workshop on Friday, September 11. Raleigh presented a case study titled “Making Software Defined Networks pay—leveraging virtualization to accelerate innovation in areas spanning from service provisioning through to marketing.” Raleigh also discussed how ItsOn's own experience in this field went, as he described how ItsOn worked to virtualize both policy and billing operations.

Then, Citrix came in with plans to buy back a hefty slug of its own stock. Citrix planned to repurchase another $500 million of Citrix common stock, though it would do so seemingly on a gradual scale. The company planned to buy shares back on the open market, from time to time, as market conditions warranted with the top point being the aforementioned $500 million.

Finally, we had a look at Tower Cloud, which is set to provide 1,300 miles of dark fiber to several wireless towers in Florida, giving the cellular provider behind those towers a substantial 6,800 route miles of fiber reach. With 16 markets to its credit, made up of a combined 1,600 on-net locations and 40,000 near-net locations, the company's expansion in the Florida market is clearly paying off and in a very big way.

So that was the week that was when it comes to transforming network infrastructure, and there was plenty going on in the field. With companies expanding and calling in stock, it's clear that change is the only real constant in this field. Except, of course, for the work of our global online community, which can always be counted on to deliver the best in news in the field. So be sure to join us back here next week for all the latest in the sector, and every weekend as well for our Week in Review coverage!