Released: Monday, June 1, 2015
For customers of digital services there is no longer fixed or wireless, voice, data or video – only devices and applications. Televisions, tablets, phones, credit cards, meters, watches and vehicles are devices and everything else is an application. Customers expect the applications they want to work on any device at any time. Network connectivity is now as ubiquitous as electricity and transportation in many parts of the world. The challenge then, for digital services providers of any type, is that classifying communications as critical infrastructure points directly toward a regulated utility business model. To escape that trap, service providers require a foundational makeover that alters business attitudes and operational strategies to embrace a retail identity and customer-driven mindset. While the need for service providers to invest in both network and IT infrastructure has not diminished, what has changed is their need to differentiate themselves as profitable retailers of high quality, reliable and secure services that are relentless about customer satisfaction. Without a change in foundational business models and innovative operational strategies, today’s services providers will become tomorrow’s infrastructure suppliers. Consolidation and consistency will be the keys to monetizing the endless opportunities for creating and delivering digital services.
