| BSS Innovation of the Year: CSG International |
Ian Watterson, CSG International's VP and MD for Asia Pacific, looks at the industry's main growth drivers
While ARPU is on the decline, traffic on communications service provider (CSP) networks continues to increase, most often due to consumers purchasing and viewing content. Telecom operators are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing content market. Third-party players are crowding the space, but CSPs are starting to realize that they are in a position of power and need to offer revenue generating services like premium video content and other digital products.
This shift to a consumer-centric approach is critical as customers are, and will continue to be, content-focused consumers and looking to access content anytime, anywhere seamlessly across all types of devices. Understanding how to start making money from content and capitalizing on the demand for a personalized customer experience has driven many customers to our door.
What do you see as your biggest challenges?
CSPs have a long history of dealing with direct-to-consumer models, and with this they need to understand the consumer's need for support and how consumers use services - across a broad range of communications offerings - and content. Educating CSPs that they are best positioned to understand who the consumer of today is, measured by their actual behavior, will be a major area of focus for us.
What are operators' main pain points?
Many are predicting that 2012 will become the year of the customer. Telcos understand better than anyone that customer retention, preference and engagement can drive bottom-line growth. This is especially relevant given revenues from traditional voice and data services are being challenged by new entrants from across the telco ecosystem like the OTTs.
Instead of controlling expenses, operators are shifting to focus on new innovations that can stimulate subscribers to accelerate spend. Every customer counts as emerging usage behavior, competing new business models and new market entrants narrow margins. The pressure is on to roll out new services and the need to do so at a much faster pace than before.
In the year ahead, service providers will look to use best-in-class solutions that can help them navigate such a dynamic market and accelerate their ability to leverage on new growth opportunities. From managing increasing data volume to effectively monetizing scare network resources, telcos need the strategic tools to turn this market transformation into opportunity.