Change is the New Norm: Real-Time is at the Core of Digital Transformation

Change has been constant for communication service providers (CSPs), particularly in the last two decades since deregulation of the North American market, and then more recently in other geographic sectors. However, the level of change continues to increase, and the rate of change keeps on accelerating. Perhaps this is concerning to some; but opportunities abound in a changing world, particularly to those companies willing to step up and help CSPs succeed.

For suppliers of Operations, Orchestration, Data Analytics & Monetization (ODAM)[1] solutions, change is driving innovation and growth. But growth only comes to those companies, big and small, which can show that their innovations satisfy the evolving needs of the global CSP marketplace.

Today’s business reality is that all CSPs are going through some level of transformation in order to better support the new business needs of consumers, large business and even enterprise customers. But, transformation for one CSP will be different from that for another. Why?  Market focus and customer satisfaction. The needs of consumers are vastly different from the needs of larger organizations. Regional needs also trump global conformance.

For the consumer market, transformation means moving from a few service offerings to address the needs of many, to hundreds of offerings to meet the needs of a few or even one. This means new business models and new ways to address customer expectations. At the center of such digital services are core customer needs tied to choice, self-service, mobility, personal control, accurate account balances, and sharing. Some solutions in the CSP marketplace are addressing these needs head on, while others only fulfill a portion.

The Stratecast 10 to Watch Report looks for market-fulfilling solutions that are innovative and address critical customer pain points. Some of the attributes of 10 to Watch companies include market focus, awareness of what lies beyond the horizon, and a culture of innovation. This is where several companies are succeeding in different ways and in different ODAM functionality areas. Within the real-time charging space, MATRIXX Software is one such company.

Consumer-focused business models such as time-based mobile data access, what MATRIXX calls Digital Dim Sum, is a primary example of how thinking beyond current needs and innovating for an improved customer experience is the gateway to long-term opportunity for both the CSPs involved and the solution suppliers addressing each opportunity. What comes next for our industry can be anyone’s guess as technology advances and data volumes continue to increase. But, a sure bet is on meeting real-time business and operational needs where is counts the most; in the revenue stream.