ROADS to Success: Placing User Experience at the Heart of Innovation
Evolution of Communication
To stay connected, humanity has consistently tried to overcome the limits of time and space. This drive is deeply-rooted in our need to connect on an emotional level.
Technology has been the driving force in changing the way humans communicate. We can see this in typography, photography, sound recording, through to the birth of the telephone, the motion picture, the web, the smartphone, 4K, 3D, and the Internet of Things (IoT). People have continued to experience new and improved ways of keeping in touch with one another.
However, the era of digital is disrupting how we innovate new technologies. Inventions can no longer be created for innovation sake. Instead, they need to be constructed to enrich the user experience.
To better align with future demand, industries must work together to ensure that user-experience is at the heart of innovation,
Identifying the sources of future user demand?
Five areas of user experience have been identified: Real-time, On-demand, All online, DIY, and Social (ROADS). And they will become the driving force for transformation for both end-users and industry.
ROADS must become central to a carrier’s business model when deploying new products and services. This is our vision for the future.
For carriers to deliver ROADS in an increasingly competitive marketplace, they must focus on restructuring their digital architecture and implementing new technologies. At the same time, this must be carried out within the context of complementary partnerships, working with competitors and vertical industries.
A more in-depth look at each ROADS element will help carriers better align with future demand, and maximise user-experience.
Real-time
Users have become accustomed to a zero wait time for mobile services. Real-time, zero-distance and one-click capabilities have allowed users to enjoy a fast order to payment process that previously took much longer.
The ability to receive products and services in real-time has led to increasing customer expectations. For carriers to continue improving customer satisfaction, the deployment of efficient real-time capabilities is essential.
4.5G and 5G will facilitate a much faster real-time service, due to improved download speeds of more than 1 Gbps. This will lead mobile into the Gigabit era for the first time.
On-demand
On-demand capabilities allow users to customize services based on their actual needs. Video will begin to dominate the on-demand landscape this year. Users will expect better quality videos, like HD. This will create bigger data flows, and will open the gap for new technology to support this data increase. There are a number of video services that have not yet been adopted, for example, 2K/4K video, video conferencing, telemedicine, distance education and home monitoring. HDTV and 4K video, in particular, can greatly increase mobile data consumption and increase ARPU.
Operators will need to generate more traffic to satisfy these new demands, and the industry must work together to build an open video ecosystem to support this
All-online
We are beginning to see a preference for online, virtual interactions with younger customers, as opposed to in-person or over-the-phone experiences. Telecommunications must adapt to this new demand by providing digital, “all-online” services, which are available anywhere, and at any time.
The new generation of users requires a service which provides the option for an all-online experience as a given. This allows the user to carry out tasks such as changing subscriptions, filing a complaint, or paying a bill, without the need for visiting a bricks and mortar outlet, or making a regular phone call.
Narrow band IoT (NBIoT) will also help carriers provide improved and deeper indoor coverage, supporting a large number of devices and optimising network architecture. The technology will also improve battery life, providing better coverage to support the large number of connections.
DIY
DIY-capability allows users to participate in service development and optimisation, which accelerates innovation and makes users feel more connected to services. The services offered are flexible and tailored rather than one size fits all.
Social
Social networking platforms allow users to share experiences, insights, and views about online services. These platforms help create customer fan bases, enhance user loyalty, and give customers a sense of community.
Businesses will need to use social channels effectively to respond and act on feedback from end-users, as well as promoting new products and services. Social platforms have become portals for customer service, and telecommunications must be prepared to embrace social experiences to retain existing customers and drive new business opportunities through targeted engagement.
As a way of enhancing these ROADS experiences we have launched five big initiatives at this year’s MWC 2016: video, IT, operations, architecture, and pipe. Focusing on these areas will accelerate digital transformation, which in turn will become the new engine room for the telecom industry to innovate across all verticals.
We predict a potential $100 billion video industry market and a $1 trillion enterprise cloud market. The number of IoT connections is expected to grow 10-fold. This presents a golden opportunity for telecommunications operators, and our big five initiatives are designed to harness these opportunities.
Taking action
For companies to ensure their customer expectations are satisfied in the digital age, industries must work together to provide solutions tailored to the end-user. This includes embracing collaborative forms of digital transformation, pushing the boundaries of ICT and networking capabilities.
The ROADS to success will be built through an open ecosystem in which all businesses have a part to play: from chip manufacturers to device manufacturers, telecommunication carriers, OTT, and vertical industries. All of these industries must cooperate and collaborate to continue to achieve an optimal user experience.
