When cloud computing started being a real thing more than a decade and a half ago, business owners began hearing about how it would soon be possible to invest more capital in their operating costs and less in their capital expenditures. As a result, the idea of OPEX over the CAPEX model started taking over the thinking of financial professionals.
The prospects were exciting in that businesses could now focus their energy, time, and money on actually running their businesses. In addition, they could move more of the infrastructure, or the nuts and bolts, of the operation behind the scenes.
The fully developed 5G network architecture will become a part of the economic landscape in the immediate future. The high-speed capabilities for data transfer and the almost total elimination of latency issues make 5G a natural catapult to entrench the OPEX model. The shift benefits businesses as they can remake what they do and stand for while consumers enjoy an improved user experience.
FASTER DEVELOPMENT & PIVOTING
As businesses put more money into operations instead of equipment, they become lean and agile. As a result, they get to remove the chain around their necks that keeps them bound to the level of technology they purchased last year and can’t afford to upgrade.
Instead of years or decades to pay off computer hardware that becomes outdated relatively quickly, they can enjoy the freedom of putting money into improving and expanding their business. Company budgets no longer have to suffer through long-term payouts that produce minimal benefit after the first few years. Now money is put into getting access to just the infrastructure needed at any given time.
When the technology evolves, the subscription service takes care of the updates behind the scenes. Nothing changes from the user’s perspective except for perhaps an improvement in performance.
INCREASED EFFICIENCIES & LOWERED COSTS
Getting to use the latest hardware tends to speed things up a bit. Speed is today’s economy’s vital ingredient for success. Flexibility lends itself to more innovation and cost-cutting opportunities on almost every front. When a business runs more efficiently, it can pass some of the reduced costs along to customers through lower prices or increased service levels for the same price.
As smaller, more aggressive, and agile companies begin spotting opportunities to disrupt established business models, the advantages gained by embracing the OPEX model as early as possible will start paying off in increased return on investments. Instead of trying to pay off equipment that no longer operates optimally for your business functions, you will always be able to have the best and fastest tools available for no additional capital outlay.
IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE
All these extreme repositioning moves result in more competition across all industry sectors. When newer companies can compete with more established, larger ones, the tendency is for the customers to become the greatest beneficiaries of the trend. The old players can no longer rest on their laurels and let the customers pick up the slack.
Now, new players can come in empowered with new ideas, better platforms, and freed up capital to knock the big guys out of their top spots. That situation always spells a win for consumers as businesses seek to establish new ground rules in a game they invent. Consequently, they want to woo customers away from the large companies. With the combined knockout punches of cloud computing and 5G wireless communication technology, they may be able to do it.
New emerging technologies like 5G wireless will mix and morph with existing systems like cloud computing to form new ways of doing commerce. People will expect developers to keep up with the latest trends to provide them with the speed and services they demand at the price they want to pay.
The Universe abhors a vacuum, and as new technologies knock out the old guard of businesses, new leaner versions, taking full advantage of previously unknown capabilities, shall go forth and conquer.
