How Telcos and Techcos can create new revenue opportunities

What is happening with Telcos and techcos and what this means

As a result of recent trends and shifts in digital industries, CSPs (telcos) and techcos have begun to experience seismic shifts in their business models. CSPs and techcos spent years operating under their own unique organizational structure with their own business cultures. Yet, as markets develop and evolve, so too must businesses.

As Forbes stated: “Companies must relentlessly innovate so they can keep their competitive edge. Many companies are hesitant to change established products, services, or processes – but if they don’t, there will be plenty of innovators that are more willing to change.”

For large CSPs, rapidly increasing their rates of mergers and acquisitions has provided them with the ability to stay competitive. As the industry becomes more centralized, it is apparent that CSPs are looking to position themselves as businesses which can offer a special all-in-one package. For example, where a small CSP might offer long distance mobile communication services. A larger CSP looking to offer a more complete package might provide traditional communication services, provide internet services, entertainment services and more.

These shifts substantially change the business practices of CSPs, for example, Indosat, the largest telecommunications company in Indonesia, stated that the shift to techco means becoming “agile and having the ability to learn” as well as having a focus on ““innovation and co-creation,” which involves coming up with products that solve real problems and challenges.”

However, smaller and more medium-sized CSPs have to be more creative, they have been put in positions where they must find creative ways to integrate techco practices into their business models. Many CSPs have done this by investing in next-gen software and communication technologies like cloud computing and newer network infrastructures.

Techcos on the other hand, can benefit from integrating more traditional telecommunication practices into their business operations. Techcos have traditionally relied on their ability to fail fast, innovate and find new means of business production. While these business practices have served them well, and seemingly continue to do so, they are also finding it increasingly necessary to learn from CSPs. Such as how to engage with the consumers you are interacting with on a more personal level.

As Peter ford, executive vice president of iconectiv stated: “There are many attributes that a carrier understands about their consumer… if you compare and contrast that with your typical sort of over-the-top techco experience, they often know much less about the consumer they’re interacting with than a carrier knows.”

CSPs have been capable of personalizing their services in a way that techcos haven’t been. For example, CSPs have traditionally responded to customer complaints with human agents rather than bots or artificial response systems. While some of these personalization methods appear dated, learning how to implement these strategies will enable techcos to improve their customer relationships and ultimately position themselves as a special company for consumers.

While both CSPs and techcos are experiencing these shifts, there is a clear move towards CSPs turning themselves into techcos, rather than techcos going back into telcos. Many telecommunication companies have begun to undertake techco style business practices, such as disaggregated decision-making, upgrading their network infrastructure and offering a wider variety of services to consumer markets.

 

How companies are shifting

For evidence of these shifts, there are many companies one can study, various large CSPs have spent recent years performing acquisitions, one company stating that their goal was to: “offer customers a differentiated, high-quality, mobile-first entertainment experience”.

Additionally, large Canadian companies have been making great efforts to move into more digital spaces for years now. Through various acquisitions, Canadian CSPs have shifted to ISP solutions and found wireless ways to connect customers. These corporations have stated that their intention for doing this is to create new 5G solutions and high-speed internet connectivity nationwide.

However, of the companies described above, most if not all are massive conglomerates with resources to spare, meaning that acquisitions and mergers come easier to them than they do for other companies. For a small to medium size company, leveraging the transition from telco to techco is not so simple.

 

How companies can avoid failure, lost revenue and lost market share

Mainly, smaller companies must make major shifts in culture, organization, partner management and business practices. CSPs need to modernize traditional business operations and incorporate more tech-based approaches.

For example, CSPs must decentralize their decision-making processes and allow employees to take more risks. Which will create more autonomy for employees, generate more innovative ideas and business practices, allow them to perform in newer areas and ultimately increase productivity and efficiency on a large scale.

CSPs have historically relied on an aggregated process which makes decision making a long and cumbersome task, whereas techcos have relied on their ability to “fail-fast” which has enabled them to undertake various business practices and make strategic decisions. Some of which pay off and generate new revenues, others which provide valuable lessons that can be utilized for later ideation.

Techcos on the other hand can utilize the resources CSPs have at their disposal and find newer ways to reach various customer bases, create brand value and generate new revenues.

Both tasks require assistance from a partner that knows how to operate in these spaces and has a proven track record of helping others make these necessary changes. An external partner can provide objective expertise and assistance with streamlining operations management.

Additionally, companies must be cognizant of the fact that this growth process and transformation is something that is never “over.” Success is often based in a willingness to adapt and evolve with the times consistently and constantly. As a result of this need for continuous improvement and evaluation, assistance from a partner that is experienced with this process, and itself works in a constant state of transformation, is a vital aspect of the growth of telcos and techcos.

Conclusion

The digital communications industry is experiencing a seismic shift which poses a risk to many companies, but also an opportunity. Larger CSPs are leveraging their size and resources to perform more acquisitions and stay competitive in tech spaces, but smaller CSPs must use the resources available to them to adapt to an evolving industry. Techcos are also finding it necessary to learn from traditional CSP organizations. To make these shifts, companies must use their resources to change their corporate cultures, update their business operations and stay up to date with next-gen hardware and software technologies. Making these changes requires assistance from an experienced partner who can provide objective counsel to expedite complex processes.

Kloudville

Kloudville offers a comprehensive solution portfolio to expedite the evolutionary process that CSPs and techcos must go through to become a sustainable and successful organization in the long term. As an objective third party, Kloudville can assist with various tasks and major developmental issues and simplify a complicated process. This can be done through applications such as: Kloudville Telecom 360, Kloudville Marketplace 360, Kloudville EPC/PLM 360 and Kloudville CPQ 360.

 

Contact us at info@kloudville.com or sales@kloudville.com or call +1-905-405-5632 or 1-844-GO-KLOUD (465-5683) from the U.S. and Canada for a personalized consultation.

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