Business Support System(BSS) vendor, MDS this week announced the launch of three new services for retail Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) looking to expand their mobile networks and bring better product offerings to their subscribers.
Strategy and product management, customer engagement and analytics, insight and assurance have all been added to the new product portfolio to assist retailers in evolving their mobile offering, said MDS. MDS added that the opportunities for a traditional pre-pay virtual network operator are declining because the traditional VNO is a highly restrictive offering, with little room to design flexible services, and topping up is a constant reminder of the cost of ‘pay to play’.
According to MDS, by outsourcing it to them, retailers benefit from much more than just reduced cloud IT costs. MDS can help retailers to build a branded digital service which supports their business, by contributing to the product development roadmap (fixed broadband, IPTV or even home security etc.) to reduce time-to-market and improve revenues, leaving retailers free to concentrate on their core business by handling complexities like legacy service migrations.
The Fast Mode recently spoke to Gary Bunney on MDS' strategies and the evolution of their service offerings as VNOs continue to expand their business in the mobile market. Read the full article here.
Gary Bunney, MDS’ CEO
We see a tremendous opportunity for European retailers to leverage their brand and improve shopper loyalty to create better revenues. MDS has developed the insight and experience in the European mobile marketplace and can provide today’s retail brands with strategies to take them beyond declining pre-pay services to providing enriched retail experiences by expanding the mobile proposition.
Erick O’Connor, Managing Partner of telecoms consultancy Piran Partners
Retailers have three fundamental challenges to address in order for their mobile offers to be successful. Firstly, they need to be relevant to their shoppers. A simple price lead offer on prepay no longer has appeal in the context of a shrinking prepay market. Secondly, they need to integrate their offering into the weekly shopping relationship that they have with their customers, driving both categories and increasing brand engagement. And thirdly, they need to change their view of mobile as a product line to be sold in store and instead seek to use it to build challenger propositions that drive their whole business.
