The increasing demand for embedding new digital technologies in services has already transformed many industries, including media and entertainment, financial services, retail, healthcare, and utilities. Management teams have identified that digital technologies lower OPEX and improve customer experience, leading to rapid growth.
In contrast, the industry that provides the backbone to this process is slow to respond to the new ways of working in the digital era. However, it's predicted that by 2025, there will be a big jump in numbers, with 6.5 billion Internet users, 8 billion smart phones, and more than 100 billion connections. A total of 80 percent of users will access the Internet via their mobile phones. Notably, Internet users are increasingly using smartphones to access content, socialize, buy things, and work, putting operators in a very enviable position.
From CSP to DSP
In this new era, CSPs are striving to take the front seat in industry digitization, but the ecosystem is being disrupted by third party OTT players. They are bypassing the traditional CSP model and becoming hugely popular with subscribers. This in turn has heaped pressure on the business models of CSPs, pushing them to become bit-pipe players rather than digital enablers. It is now more important than ever for CSPs to reinvent themselves as DSPs and offer better and improved experiences for customers.
To achieve this, carriers must focus on the following:
Digital services: Innovation is the key. DSPs must offer fast and diverse digital services such as data, video, and enterprise services.
Building digital ecosystem: The larger the scale, the better. DSPs should build a value chain alliance to enable all players to succeed.
Enabling digital operations: Keep it simple yet effective, and use big data solutions to enable digital businesses, and transform traditional support systems.
User experience improvement: Provide a smart experience for users – a Real-time, On-demand, and All-online service experience.
To successfully transform, CSPs will need to focus on three key areas: platforms, partners and processes.
Digital inCloud: Powering CSP transformation
Huawei, with its long history of partnerships with CSPs, has rolled out an innovative E2E ICT solution that aims to help CSPs build and monetize their digital ecosystem by exposing the core digital assets to be used in a multi-sided business model.
Huawei Digital inCloud provides a unified open digital platform, aggregates and distributes the ready-to-go digital services and the content of various domains (individual, home, enterprise, and industry) from global players, and implements agile business operations to improve efficiency and reduce OPEX. This solution works by enabling a multi-sided brokerage service that seamlessly connects CSPs on one end and service providers and content partners on the other. It helps both ends enhance their footprint globally – CSPs can serve their subscribers with global content and services, and CP/SPs can attract a wider global subscriber base for their services.
Puzzling out the Ps
Platform: Digital inCloud platform is an on-demand open digital services platform that enables capability opening and service innovation. It allows developers, service partners, and individuals to quickly define, develop, and deploy a range of digital services using service templates and a comprehensive range of E2E business processes. Simplified service creation in this way accelerates time to market (TTM) and enhances the ability of both operators and their partners to innovate and manage a broad range of digital services. With these features, resources, and tools aggregated in one place, partners and developers can quickly assimilate new ideas and technologies.
Partners: Huawei's Digital inTouch partnership program builds partnership pools locally, regionally, and globally. Currently, the project focuses on seven key areas – TV and video, traffic monetization, mobile games, open API, enterprise, industry, and digital music. The program's goal is to help CSPs build Service Mall to activate their distribution channels.
Processes: Huawei Digital Transformation service helps CSPs reduce OPEX and improve customer experience with smarter operations and by improving the integrated processes involved. The operations service framework is cyclical in nature, and comprises the following elements: partner acquisition, product design, promotion plan, operation analysis, customer care, and maintenance. It's based on standard processes that undergo continuous improvement as a result of project experience acquired globally, helping to shorten TTM and reduce OPEX.
Digital inCloud: Teaming up for more value
Global telecom capabilities: accesses and connects to CSPs' network and billing capabilities through open APIs, enabling CPs/SPs to seamlessly integrate their services for easy delivery and monetization.
Global distribution channels: global hosting centers enable the distribution framework of services and content, helping CSPs establish their service malls.
Global market insight: Digital inCloud provides market insights to profile subscribers through big data analysis for precision marketing and campaign management for new and existing CP/SPs, greatly boosting their revenue earning capabilities.
Global payment: Huawei takes care of global multi-currency payments and settlements on behalf of CPs/SPs and CSPs to smooth out and quicken the process. It removes a major bottleneck in the entire operation process.
Global cloud service: Digital inCloud is offered through eight global Hosting Centers strategically located across the globe, eliminating CAPEX requirements for CPs/SPs and making their operations leaner and more efficient.
In 2015, Huawei inTouch aggregated more than 2,100 partners. It offers more than 200,000 services and units of content that reach more than 6 million API transactions per day. By 2019, these numbers will increase to 10,000 partners, and more than 1 million services and units of content will be offered.
In summary, the Huawei Digital inCloud solution at the global level offers carrier billing exposure, service distribution channels, big data services for profiling users and prospective subscribers, and the opening of telecom capabilities through simple APIs and cloud services. At the local and national levels, it offers local market insights, service planning, process optimization, and assistance for business operations.
Digital inCloud helps rapidly increase the value chain, boost business efficiency, accelerate TTM for services, and quickly improve the overall business performance of digital services.
