Our experts share their thoughts on the latest industry and market dynamics
With the advent of digitalization, the needs of the average CSP customer have evolved beyond just finding one technical product to solve their business issues. Multifaceted outcome-based solutions are the only way that many SMEs and enterprises can meet their various business goals – whether that’s reducing costs or creating smart solutions that leverage solutions like IoT, connectivity, monitoring and AI all at once
While the World Economic Forum (WEF) found SMBs lag in technological adoption, our recent research suggests just the opposite. But why do we hold this stance? And where do our conclusions align with WEF’s? Let’s explore some of the key findings.
Today, agriculture is at a crossroads, needing to balance increasing demand for food production with sustainable practices. In fact, according to forecasts, the world’s population is set to grow by 34% by 2050 and climate change and increased biofuel production represent major risks for long-term food security. This has prompted technological advancements in farming - often referred to as 'precision agriculture', namely the usage of IoT, sensors, location systems, robots and AI - which aim to address these needs. However, a successful integration of this kind faces numerous challenges.
Partner ecosystems and their network effects play a crucial role for IT and technology firms as they transform their business models. Increased importance must be given to innovation. ICT companies must develop products and services that provide greater value to customers. Simultaneously, these innovations should be challenging for competitors to duplicate. Having a partner ecosystem, and the enhanced services that come along with it, will give these companies a competitive edge.
In the B2B sphere, developments in automation have been very swift, especially with post-covid digital transformation and born-digital generation taking priority in the last few years. We’re seeing CSPs pick up the pace with more adopting marketplaces to sell highly repeatable solutions online. From offering self-service, increased choices and reduced prices, CSPs are continuously looking to enhance their customer engagement and benefit from network effects that ultimately increase the value of solutions as more like-minded partners engage in its community.
By strategic intent or by default, Communications Service Providers (CSP) are making a choice between two pathways. The first (also the default option) is to focus purely on connectivity and to prepare for an increased sophistication in connectivity solutions with a move to consumption and outcome (for example including resilience and security) based models. Ultimately, pivoting to network-as-a-service (“NaaS”) wrapping in all infrastructure elements and offering highly configurable virtual functions as services. NaaS brings new competitors including hyperscalers vying for a market where communications and IT are converging.
2023 brought political and economic instability for many, and the telecoms industry was triggered to re-evaluate its business models and shift its focus toward enhancing market value. This was also the year that the potential transformative power of AI started to dominate conversations both in and out of the boardroom, especially on the main stage of numerous industry events. As 2023 comes to a close and we look forward to the dawn of the New Year, below are my predictions of the key trends that will take shape in 2024.