NTT DOCOMO, INC. (DOCOMO) is the largest mobile operator in Japan, with over 73 million customers. It is also a world leader in 5G networks and the company is already innovating with mobile services, using technologies such as NFC and IoT. Beyond Now’s digital business platform is currently being used to orchestrate a network of partners. This helps create more valuable solutions and provides a new kind of digital marketplace for small and medium businesses.
DOCOMO identified the potential of the SMB market, but they also identified the opportunity to develop a digital platform business model - one that enabled them provide highly personalized communication solutions that truly satisfy customers.
Furthermore, with the pressure of the pandemic, the development of new technologies shifted towards:
This was a global trend, but nowhere more prominent than in Japan. As a trusted provider with a huge customer base, DOCOMO is ideally placed to deliver the solutions required.
However, despite their appetite for technology, and their readiness to buy through online channels, SMBs continue to face challenges. These challenges include a finite budget, limited IT resources, and uncertainty about which services to choose from the options available.
Helping SMBs to navigate this complexity was one of DOCOMO’s prime objectives. With the support of Beyond Now, they saw they could move to a digital business platform model. And in doing so, they could partner with different technology partners. This provides SMB customers with access to multiple solutions – tailored to their business needs.
The collaboration began in 2019, when NTT Group appointed Beyond Now through its systems subsidiary NTT Comware. By modernizing and simplifying NTT's business support system, Beyond Now improved customer service, operational efficiency, and new revenue generation.
Two years later, the companies worked together to launch a new digital platform that all of NTT Group's Japanese subsidiaries can use. And is also available to external partners. For DOCOMO, this was the enabler of a digital marketplace, focused on offering SMBs the digital services they need at an affordable price.
Beyond Now’s Digital Business Platform offers unique capabilities for ecosystem orchestration and monetization. It makes it simple for DOCOMO’s partners – including NewsPicks + d, Relo Club, and Meet In – to rapidly onboard and sell their solutions through the marketplace. It means that CSP’s SMB customers can take their pick from a range of services such as remote sales, telecommunications, labor management, and subsidy support. All these services can help them improve their efficiency and productivity.
Through the Beyond Now Digital Business Platform, DOCOMO has been able to:
Working with the Beyond Now digital platform, DOCOMO is able to offer an expanding range of services through a growing network of partners; bringing them closer to their customers, helping drive higher efficiency and automation, and delivering revenue growth.
We are proud to continue cementing a strong relationship with a pioneering organization like NTT Group. It began as a shared vision for how NTT needed to transform to support new business models, 5G monetization, B2B2X, and the launch of digital marketplaces. Now, with digitalization and COVID-19 transforming the needs of SMBs, this vision has become a reality. NTT subsidiaries like DOCOMO can configure and monetize their networks and services in ways that weren’t possible before. We commend NTT for recognizing the importance of building partner ecosystems to create real customer value.
Angus Ward, CEO, Beyond Now
Read more about how a digital business platform can enable you to power growth by integrating modern technologies and offering added-value solutions for customers.
