Verizon Partner Solutions specializes in supporting wholesale carriers, resellers and third-party agents of all sizes take on their customers’ challenges. Telecom Review Americas asked Jennifer Parkhill of Verizon Partner Solutions to give us some insights into their new initiatives. These insights are listed below.
With the growing importance of network security, and VPS playing a key role in this domain, how is your company scaling its VPS services to meet client needs?
Network Security will always be at the core of the networks we build and deliver for our customers. The threat landscape and threat vectors continue to increase each year. For Verizon, our focus continues to be on end-to-end network solutions that protect our customers, their networks and infrastructure from the threats faced.
VPS is constantly working to integrate security with all network services. We want to provide services to segment traffic and mitigate risk while providing network and hardware agnostic options. DDoS, SHyN & VBIS.
Network Security will always be at the core of the networks we build and deliver for our customers.
How is Verizon driving your fiber network to bring AI solutions to your clients?
Whether supporting the connectivity of training or inference models, we see the need for increased bandwidth as being an essential component to deliver AI solutions to clients. The key for us is to continue to not only ensure our fiber networks connect to the data centers, edge computing locations and end user locations, but are configured to support the increased bandwidth demands at these different locations. We are working diligently to meet these demands and prepare for where the bandwidth will be needed in the future.
Verizon leverages its advanced fiber network by focusing on several key aspects such as:
- Offering high speeds and low latency, which are essential for AI applications requiring real-time data processing, such as predictive analytics, machine learning, and IoT-driven automation. The reliability of the network enables seamless AI-powered solutions in industries like healthcare, retail and manufacturing.
- With our fiber network, we support edge computing bringing AI processing closer to the source of data. This reduces lag and enhances the efficiency of AI applications in areas like autonomous vehicles, smart cities and remote monitoring.
- The fiber backbone is critical for enabling Verizon’s 5G network, which supports AI-driven IoT devices.
- Verizon uses AI internally to optimize its fiber network performance, ensuring minimal downtime and efficient data routing.
Verizon recently partnered to bring their network to power security camera monitoring for business. Can you tell us more?
The proliferation of not only security cameras, but sensors, calibration instruments and a multitude of other IOT use cases have been supported by Verizon for over a decade. Providing connectivity to IOT devices and applications continues to be a focus of Verizon with many of our partners and end users. Tactacam, a leader in innovative outdoor surveillance technology, introduced a new cellular-connected camera that provides security and monitoring without the need for Wi-Fi. The Defend camera leverages Verizon’s reliable network for enhanced connectivity.
Tactacam reinforces how Verizon’s network enables innovation. Tactacam’s cellular camera helps address the unique needs of property and equipment owners, construction sites, camping areas – wherever a person needs that visibility when they are away for peace of mind.
For example, a business who has 10 construction sites around Colorado, as an example, he, or she could, set up the cameras, and then they're connected back through the Verizon network, so then they could see at any time what's going on.
The proliferation of not only security cameras, but sensors, calibration instruments and a multitude of other IOT use cases have been supported by Verizon for over a decade.
Tell us what you're doing on upskilling.
This is an area I'm speaking about on the panel. With the Verizon Partner Solutions team, we have the ongoing opportunity to train and upskill/reskill our employee base. Within VPS, we champion skills that benefit skill development, and also incorporate feedback we receive from customers. Based on that, we're finding that we actually have a positive correlation between employee engagement and net promoter score (NPS). For example, we train the team on a topic, they share that knowledge with customers and are highly engaged, and that results in higher satisfaction scores. Customers are telling us that they like the positive interactions they're having with our team members. It's a win- win. If we get this upskilling journey right, you also improve your customer experience, which ultimately is, course, what we want to do.
You are doing work with connected cars. Can you please tell us more?
Verizon has a long history in the connected cars space from our support of Auto OEMs to our Verizon Connect offerings. We continue to stay closely aligned in partnerships with innovators and disruptors in this space to ensure Verizon's connectivity solutions are embedded in their solutions and end users have an opportunity to be on the award-winning Verizon network. From a global perspective since we're at Telecom Review's event in Dubai, VPS has worked for several years now on the interoperability of IOT and Connected Car platforms necessary for International OEMs that are looking for seamless, secure and automated solutions across multiple geographies so the connectivity that receive in one country is the same as in other regions of the world.
Verizon provides various solutions for connected cars, leveraging our network infrastructure and expertise in telematics. We offer services like:
- Vehicle diagnostics and maintenance: Verizon Connect provides fleet management solutions that include vehicle diagnostics, maintenance scheduling, and remote monitoring.
- Safety and driver assistance: Verizon’s telematics solutions can enable features like automatic crash notification, emergency calling, and roadside assistance.
- In-vehicle connectivity and entertainment: Verizon offers embedded and brought-in connectivity solutions for vehicles, enabling Wi-Fi hotspots, streaming services, and other infotainment options.
Can you please tell us what will be new for Verizon Partner Solutions for 2025?
There are three main focus areas that VPS will focus on in 2025:
1. High bandwidth connectivity; with the increase in traffic due to GenAI use cases, this is something we're very focused on to expand high bandwidth options, specifically around the United States and to locations our customers need us to be.
2. Second focus area is digital transformation. We are continuing to invest to develop the capabilities that VPS customers require in tools and systems; for example, we're layering on automation that shares real time milestones with customers in the Exchange portal.
3.) Third area is upskilling and reskilling the VPS team. As I mentioned earlier, we will continue to cultivate and provide opportunities for the team to be ahead of industry trends and capabilities to meet customers’ needs. Powering and empowering how people live, work and play continues to be a foundation for growth in the industry. Being focused on the customer and a world class workforce will be essential to go beyond in 2025.
From a planning perspective, upskilling and gender equity is part of your big three?
Absolutely, back to my comment earlier about why. Customer experience and employee engagement have a direct correlation and a positive dynamic together. We want to make sure that with all the latest technology trends that continue to evolve, everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow and know what it means for their role.
A lot of times mesh networks and rerouting of networks is a big deal. I know you guys had concentrated on that a lot. I don't know how far along you are or not. That is essentially an AI type function that a lot of people don't really follow.
Yes absolutely. You'll hear our network team share that we've been doing this for 20 years because of an example just like that, where traffic was automatically rerouted; in cases where there's a natural disaster or something happens, it’s important to make sure the ultimate traffic is getting where it needs to go.
We want to make sure that with all the latest technology trends that continue to evolve, everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow and know what it means for their role.
