Example use cases

Digital and communications service providers who undergo the appropriate transformation and leverage next-generation support systems will have the ability to flourish in the post-digital age. Here are some examples:

Connecting the next 2 billion data customers: In developing markets, customers are bill shy, data shy and contract shy. They are not served well by the way data is sold. How does a bucket of data translate into a digital experience? The next 2 billion data users are coming online through mobile, and capturing these customers is crucial.

One option, as Comptel demonstrated in Barcelona at this past MWC, is the company’s FWD! mobile client that makes data purchasing as easy as making a phone call and as simple and convenient as  two clicks. This empowers users to shape their own digital experiences in real time, avoiding inconvenience, confusing buckets and big bills. By employing such a mobile client, operators can empower customers to purchase data for networking with friends on Facebook or minutes for streaming a movie as needed. This transparent and effective tool serves to strengthen the customer relationship as well as open up the door for new revenue. Those who reach this level of a buying experience will win the race for the next 2 billion data users. 

From analytics to action: We know from prevailing data that younger music listeners rarely listen to a song the entire way through before moving on to another track. Recommendations, then, are best served earlier in the experience, not at the end (a la YouTube). Social analytics are also compelling, and must be presented at the front end of the decision-making process in order to be most effective.

Recommendations on the move: Operators possess another form of valuable data that OTT players often don’t, and that is geolocation data. This can be combined with subscriber data and real-time recommendations in exciting new ways. For instance, in India, rental car insurance doesn’t automatically extend to all states and territories. A traveler could easily be notified and prompted to upgrade the insurance upon entering a new territory with real-time recommendations and geolocation data. This is a clear service where everyone wins.

Simplification of the digital lifestyle: Digital and communications service providers can aggregate across multiple content domains and reduce subscription fatigue and improve the digital lifestyle in a way that each content enclave (Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc.) cannot.

Bundles of joy: For the transformed operator, exciting new bundles can be offered and constantly updated, limited only by the imagination. A connected car experience integrated with the connected home, communications and food delivery on demand would be pretty awesome. For some adventurous consumers, a one-login, integrated experience that combines Tinder with OpenTable, Uber and AirBNB would be twice as awesome.

Don’t be left behind

As much as my college friends and I can wax poetic on landlines, VHS and blowing on Nintendo cartridges, those days are long past. The customer of today can’t be bothered with carting around crates of content or legacy buying experiences that were created to serve our parents’ generation. Digital natives will up the ante even further, and operators who don’t evolve to embrace these changes will be left behind.

In 2006, Apple launched an ad campaign that lasted four years and established itself as a hip technology company versus a stodgy, out-of-touch competitor. In the process, the company curated an abundant cache of cool that helped it define and dominate the smartphone revolution. As it moves into payments, Apple continues to be identified as a leader in technology and mobile.

Digital and communications service providers have a similar opportunity. They can define, and dominate the next generation, provided they undergo a transformation. Comptel, with Operation Nexterday, has reshaped itself to deliver the type of solutions required to address not only the needs of tomorrow, but also the days after tomorrow. These lessons in transformation are applicable to digital and communications service providers of all types and sizes. The future isn’t waiting around for anyone—go put on some red shoes and shake up your approach!