The pandemic created dramatic changes to how we live, consume services and work. It also brought the increased need to innovate. As our new normal takes shape, CSPs will become more nimble, focused and broadened in their service offerings to increase value and accommodate the changing needs of consumers and enterprises.
In telecommunications, some trends gaining momentum pre-pandemic, such as BSS transformations, will fall by the wayside, while others like diversification of offerings and support of work from home (WFH) have been magnified. As a result, the need for expanded capabilities, scalability, operational efficiencies, rapid adoption of new technologies and automation have intensified. While much unknown still lies ahead of us, we can observe the trends, impacts and likely long-term changes to the telecommunications industry.
#1: The days of full transformations are gone
Over the years, CSPs have invested in building and expanding their BSS capabilities. They added new modules to support and enhance functionalities and customizations to tailor them to their specific needs. Mergers and acquisitions increased architecture complexities, adding layers to harmonize ecosystems with existing technologies.
As a result, CSPs ended up with a difficult to manage architecture. Adding new capabilities to stay competitive and innovative became a challenge. So, in the last decade, CSPs began initiating full BSS transformations to replace their stacks. The hope was agility and ease, but the price was a cumbersome and painful process.
John Giere,
President
& CEO,
Optiva
Now, fast forward to the pandemic, and we saw a trend that started before 2020 begin to accelerate. A growing number of planned transformation projects were suspended due to increased uncertainty, cost pressures and pandemic unknowns. Also, because transformations are lengthy - between 2-4 years from scope definition to production system availability - CSPs realized that their requirements could change dramatically during that time.
Instead, CSPs are and will continue to adopt alternative, more flexible approaches to full BSS transformation projects. Many are evaluating their specific needs and pursuing a more focused, tactical approach to introducing new products and services for specific use cases such as digital brands, IoT and 5G services. The approach will enable greater competitiveness, faster time to market, cost savings and the circumvention of full BSS transformation risk. As we are witnessing fewer full transformation projects being initiated and increased emphasis on specific, per-need solutions, the new approach is proving successful for CSPs globally.
#2: 5G to accelerate diversification
The pandemic drove even the least tech-savvy audiences to adopt digital services, including online shopping, digital education, content streaming, Zoom cooking workshops and virtual company happy hours. While some of these activities will disappear post-pandemic, others are here to stay. Therefore, these digital demands and conditions present an opportunity for operators to better serve their increasingly digitized customers across all segments.
On top of it, 5G will amplify the trajectory of cloud-scale connectivity. Attributes like low latency will enable new services, such as multi-player gaming and streaming video on demand, and will translate into new business models, service offerings and revenue streams. Being digital will become about transcending consumers and enterprises ordering and paying for services digitally. The rollout of 5G will serve to make operators a “payment broker” to connect people and payments in unique ways.
Operators will want to enhance their offerings with non-telco services, such as over-the-top (OTTs), and faster time to market capability. The best implementation approach will be to build a true ecosystem with a variety of services that are attractive to their customers. The ecosystems should easily support the full lifecycle management of potential partners while ensuring an excellent and seamless customer experience. Factors will include:
- Easy onboarding of the OTT partner through standard APIs and partner gateway, allowing enhancement of the offering for the end-user without need for long and costly setup investments.
- Flexible monetization configuration capabilities that support bundling of services.
- Enhanced payment and subscription capabilities with new subscription and billing functionalities to ensure monetization needs are met.
- Innovative charging capabilities such as billing on behalf, revenue sharing between operator and partner, real-time control of partner buckets and subscriptions, real-time decision and action for sponsored services (e.g., in-flight actions), etc.
- Open data access between operator and partner, enabling easy access of customer information in real-time to drive further service personalization and improved customer experience and satisfaction.
- Automated revenue settlement between operators and partners for easy financial management, including reporting, reconciliation, etc.
#3: Working from home - scalability and quality augmented
Operators have been impacted by the work-from-home (WFH) revolution in two primary ways. First, they need to ensure a positive WFH experience for their customers, who are demanding greater scalability and higher-quality services to align with their connected work activities. A “water cooler chat” now requires a mobile or broadband connection, and from online board meetings to trade shows, the demand is continuing to escalate.
Second, as operators WFH themselves, they need to ensure 100% business continuity. They are relying on their systems for high availability, security, reliability, agility and resilience at heightened levels. Their WFH teams require enhanced interfaces to respond remotely and rapidly. Therefore, increased operational efficiency with access to the most up to date tools is paramount. In some cases, it also involves the evolution and expansion of employees’ skill sets.
Further, demand for scalability and higher quality will increase even more as 5G rollouts and the adoption of new 5G use cases take place. Cloud technology, offering managed software and automation tools, will be the best solution to meet these requirements. To balance demand and the need to control costs, especially with ongoing unknown pandemic variables, operators will accelerate their transitions to the cloud - private, public and hybrid.
New roadmaps to navigate the new normal
Operators are assessing how post-pandemic challenges, opportunities and solutions will change the industry and consumer and enterprise behavior long-term. A new normal is evolving as a result of pandemic-induced pressures and technological revolutions. The many lessons operators are learning will holistically change their approach - from investments and offerings to operational practices, staffing and adoption of new technologies. Adaptation will mean survival, and it will prepare and position operators to be competitive, responsive and ready for future unknowns.
