As the threat landscape continues to evolve, mobile network operators are forced to confront how they approach security – particularly if they’re engaging with new technologies.
Earlier this year, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) launched a new collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to move remote eSIM provisioning into the AWS cloud. Rather than running eSIM systems in traditional private data centres, G+D said it would be delivering its eSIM platform on AWS infrastructure to enable faster scaling, simplified global deployment and broaden access via the AWS Marketplace.
G+D CEO of Mobile Security Philipp Schulte shared with Capacity the bigger picture – offering his expertise into the evolving role of mobile security, the importance of eSIM provisioning and how operators are starting to rethink trust and security as networks become more software-driven.
Prioritising changing customer needs
Partnering with AWS in the cloud was an important strategic move for G+D, Schulte explained to us, given that many of its customers are already migrating parts of their infrastructure into a cloud environment. AWS’s leadership in the cloud space enabled G+D to start having those conversations with its customers.
“The things we do for big telcos are critical infrastructure, so I’m happy the partnership has progressed well,” he said. “We’re always striving to benefit our customers to give them the best value and security for their money. What’s absolutely crucial here is scalability.”
The partnership came at a time where eSIM demand is surging and telcos are having to adapt accordingly. eSIMs are becoming more popular because the customer can activate plans and switch carriers remotely, which enables better flexibility for international travel and keeps costs lower as data plans can be more localised.
For Schulte, this means having a scalable cloud environment is important. “This is because you don’t have to build our own capacity for high peak loads; instead, you can enable additional compute power and storage for specific times of the year where demand is higher,” he explained.
Cloud-based eSIM provisioning gives operators easy access to the latest eSIM technology. It offers a platform from the likes of G+D where operators can provision all the digital profiles that go into end-user devices. Schulte suggested it’s faster, greater value for money and more secure.
“Geo-redundancy is critical infrastructure for our customers,” he added. “Data centres can fail, servers can crash, or power can be interrupted. With a cloud environment, you can tap into a much wider global infrastructure, which lets you reroute traffic as needed. It’s easier to integrate, turn on and scale. As your customer base grows, you can also easily upgrade and double capacity.”
However, cloud migration is not without its challenges. Schulte explained that technical issues can occur whenever you challenge critical infrastructure at this scale. From G+D’s perspective, he said the company works under a “strict regime” under GSMA standards.
“Since this is a new operating model, it needed to be certified and luckily we passed with a very good outcome,” he said.
“The other challenge is interoperability,” he added. “You can never just rely on having one platform – in this case, in an AWS cloud – it still needs to be tied into our systems, the customer’s systems and third-party systems. There’s always a technical integration aspect that the cloud alone doesn’t solve.”
Being confident in the cloud
G+D’s cloud-based efforts also come during a time of renewed digital sovereignty discussions, which are taking place as governments want independent control over their digital assets to prioritise national security.
Schulte said his interpretation of digital sovereignty is about the customer having a choice over what platforms and technology stacks they use, rather than being locked into one.
“We always give our customers a choice – if they don’t want their workload in an AWS environment, for example, we have alternatives. We can host it in our own data centres and they’re just as certified and highly secure. Customers can also install it in their own data centres if they have their own infrastructure.”
Some G+D customers actually use a combination of those options, Schulte said, which he argued was truly sovereign because the user is never dependent on just one piece of infrastructure. With this in mind, he believes the industry will see more workloads shifting into cloud environments.
“And not always to the typical big hyperscalers we usually see,” he said. “I recently went to Japan for business, where there’s now heavy investment in a national cloud champion that our customers there are looking into. So, we might see more diversity among the partners out there – some global, some more regional.”
With AWS, G+D is looking into enabling easier access to other technologies that are part of the cloud environment, such as analytics and AI capabilities.
“There’s continuous innovation in cloud infrastructure – no wonder they’re investing billions every month – and you get easier access and can piggyback on that just by being part of the ecosystem,” he said.
Big picture: Rethinking trust and security
As networks become more software-driven, trust and security remain the basis for operators to protect their networks, infrastructure and assets. This is because, as technology continues to advance and more devices become connected, the attack surface increases too.
“It’s a real challenge; trust and security simply have to be secured,” Schulte explained. “I do think operators are increasingly investing in these technologies, partly because regulation requires it.”
At the same time, some operators are looking to define their own technology stack, meaning that they will expect the likes of G+D to have certain vendors or components in place before they work with them.
“The better we can fulfil these demands, the more relevant a partner we are in our customers’ future roadmap,” Schulte added.
With eSIM having become a firm reality moving forward. With some operators having been sceptical in the past, they will have to adapt to customer wants and needs. Schulte said that operators who have embraced eSIM are doing better, as they can offer a better customer experience and customers may be willing to give them more of their business as a result.
“Whenever we’ve introduced a technology that improves the customer experience, it’s always been beneficial for whoever provides it,” he said. “The other thing we don’t talk about as much – beyond consumers like you and me – is IoT devices: things that are, by definition, always connected to the network. eSIM plays a really important role there because it allows remote management of these devices.”
He added: “eSIM gives you that flexibility at the push of a button: you can change how a device connects to a network or change providers entirely.”
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