By: Tim McElligott
We pay a great deal of attention to trends in this industry. We follow consumer adoption trends. We track trends in utilization. We even glance at what’s trending on Twitter. Mostly we try to
get in front of trends and gain a first-mover advantage. They’ve come in waves: the great digital transformation, broadband, equal access, VoIP, the IP Multimedia Subsystem, and convergence, and
now the cloud, social media, big data, personalization, the Cambrian-like application explosion, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication…
» read this article
By: Scott St. John - Pipeline
Over the years we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the back office: what’s in the network, how it works, connecting points, and delivering service between them. Even more recently, we’ve
heard a lot of buzz about customer experience management, or CEM, for those in the know. But what we haven’t heard much about is the storefront, the place where your customers go to buy your
products — where the rubber meets the road. It’s the physical manifestation of the customer experience. Many companies, from Dell to Starbucks, have attempted to enhance the customer experience
with a unique retail and product experience…
» read this article
By: Tim Young - do not use (default)
December is upon us, which means 2012 is headed swiftly toward the exit, leaving industry commentators with the luxury as well as the duty of looking back across the communications trends that
have shaped the year, with an eye out for potential growth areas in the year to come. This entire issue is filled with reflection and pontification on these developments, and I encourage you to
have a look around. However, I wanted to take a moment to call out some of the overall tendencies that, in my mind, typified 2012, and to examine some of the winners and losers that emerged as
these trends came and went…
» read this article
By: Monica Ricci
CSG International provides software and services to more than 450 telecom service providers and carriers around the world, encompassing every flavor of communications technology and a wide
variety of approaches to revenue generation. While each client is unique, there are common threads in the challenges they all face. Here we outline some that are at the top of our minds for 2013.
Wireless providers: data, real time and continued network upgrades In developed wireless markets in Western Europe and North America, where mobile ubiquity was established years ago, prioritization
of data and content services within the communications service provider (CSP) community continues to accelerate as the likeliest source to replace declining voice revenue…
» read this article
By: Jesse Cryderman
“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.” ―William Jennings Bryan As the world prepares to review and renew resolutions and ring in a new year, it’s time for communications
service providers (CSPs) to adopt a similar approach — to take stock of industry developments in 2012 and prepare for 2013. To craft our destinies we must ask: what did we learn from 2012, and how
can we better position ourselves for the coming year? Buzzy solutions like big data, while worthy of discussion, are quite different from informed strategies that help service providers capitalize
on big opportunity and big incentives…
» read this article
By: Aviram Hinenzon
Most of us think of “big data” as the quantity of data, but it should also be viewed in other terms: how complex is the data, how complex is the analysis of the data and what is the value and
impact of the data on your business. According to Aberdeen Group’s “State of Service Management: Forecast for 2012” report, “Overall, organizations have yet to reap the profitability they desire
from their service businesses.” Customer service is a way for you to differentiate yourself from the competition and generate revenue…
» read this article
By: Tim McElligott
No one still doubts the transformative power of social media. The kiddie apps turned revolution-empowering tools of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and others have changed humanity and the way we
communicate. But technology shouldn’t get all the credit — it’s more accurate to say that humanity changed itself by seizing and utilizing the available social technologies in ways they saw
fit. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise how swiftly customers turned that power on the business community, but it was, and companies have been playing catch-up ever since…
» read this article
By: Ken King
For communications service providers (CSPs), success has always entailed straddling two paths to competitive advantage. One path requires understanding the limitations of your technology and
finding creative ways to mitigate them. The other path requires recognizing when technology has advanced to such a point that previous constraints no longer apply. When this happens, competitive
advantage comes to those who act quickly and decisively to shed the old ways of doing business. Most CSPs are at this technological crossroads today…
» read this article
By: John Brooks (old)
In a highly competitive and crowded telecom industry, the only key to success and differentiation is a focused customer experience management (CEM) program. With the shift in power from
companies to customers becoming more evident, a stronger relationship with existing customers is a must for all telecom operators. Delivering an optimal customer experience can radically bring
down churn rates, increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and reduce operational costs. Heavy Reading senior analyst Caroline Chappell notes in her Service Provider IT Insider report
“Customer Experience Management Still Needs to Bridge the Chasm” (September 2011) that “the ability to capture and understand the events that can affect the customer experience in time to be able
to influence and optimize that experience is a major source of differentiation for telcos…
» read this article
By: Manuel F. Rivelo
Today’s mobile environment is challenging for communications service providers (CSPs). Data usage is skyrocketing as users continue to find access to more content on the internet (video,
multimedia and interactive and social applications) and as mobile devices become an integral part of people’s lives. Mobile broadband connectivity continues to grow as more subscribers sign up for
mobile data services. The introduction of 4G LTE wireless networks means that a high-speed data highway is available to mobile customers at an unprecedented level…
» read this article
By: Becky Bracken
This may have been the year that brought about the realization of true service differentiation. More than ever, communications service providers (CSPs) have seemed to figure out how to go
beyond the connectivity of the oft-referenced “dumb pipe” to create innovative, new services that people can’t imagine living without. The breakneck pace with which these services are being
conceived and rolled out is possible because of the incredible strides made in communications and information technology products…
» read this article
By: Becky Bracken
Whether carriers are facing a crush of Netflix video traffic or just trying to get the most bang for their pipe buck, bandwidth management has evolved into a complicated business proposition.
And because the IT infrastructure has gotten so much more sophisticated, so too have operator expectations for what’s possible. “The market is maturing, both from a vendor and an operator
point of view,” says Jonathon Gordon, director of marketing at Allot Communications. “We are seeing more strategic thinking from operators with regards to their bandwidth management…
» read this article
By: Jesse Cryderman
Cloud report Activity in the cloud continues to heat up, especially in areas that haven’t seen significant development to date. Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions, for instance, are on
track to be the next big thing, according to Gartner Research. Cisco had a busy month, first buying Cloupia to better manage data centers, then scooping up cloud networking firm Meraki for a cool
$1.2 billion. It’s all part of Cisco’s strategy to target mid-market cloud opportunities, which will leverage PaaS…
» read this article
By: Tim Young - do not use (default)
“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” —Bill Vaughn Another year is on the way out, and like any good industry
observer I’m taking this time to look back over 2012 and reflect a little on what we’ve seen transpire and what to expect in the year to come. We’ve seen a communications segment continue to
consolidate, evolve, shift, and change. Fortunately for communications technology professionals, change can be an opportunity for growth; we’re shepherds of growth in the good times and engines of
cost savings in the lean times, and this year has featured both…
» read this article
