Transformation or profanity: how to "digitize" telecom operators

    The "digit" goes to telecom, and the telecom goes to "digit". The world is on the verge of the fourth industrial revolution, and the Russian government is conducting a massive digitalization of the country. Telecom is forced to survive in the face of radical changes in the work and interests of customers and partners. There is growing competition from representatives of new technologies. We offer you to look at the vector of digital transformation and pay attention to internal resources for the development of the business of telecom operators.

    IT power



    The telecom industry is under the vigilant control of the state and is constantly regulated, therefore it is difficult to talk about the digital transformation of telecom operators without reference to such trends within the country. The introduction of the “figures” at the state level is one of the priority tasks of the government, starting from transformational work in all areas and ending with the national program “Digital Economy”. The latter is designed for six years and includes:
    • 5G network development;
    • development of a communication network development scheme;
    • certification, classification of data centers and determination of requirements for infrastructure;
    • creating an IoT regulatory system;
    • creation of big data processing standards;
    • commissioning a single cloud platform;
    • enhanced cybersecurity.

    By the end of the program, 100% of medical, educational and military facilities will become broadband subscribers, and Russia will increase its data storage and processing fivefold.

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    At the same time, unmanned vehicles are being tested in Moscow, the Unified Biometric System for banks has been launched, and uniform registers are being developed. Federal agencies are beginning to conduct centralized accounting based on cloud solutions. The Central Bank outlined a strategy for the development of financial technologies through the Open API and the creation of digital platforms.

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    The government tightly embarked on the digital transformation of the country, extending it to transport complexes , entrepreneurship , insurance , medicine and other areas. In 2020 will introduceelectronic driver's license , in 2024 - electronic passports. Russia already has a high level of the e-government development index, and Moscow completely took first place in the ranking in 2018. The global digital transformation of Russia is no longer an empty phrase. I believe that the requirements for modernization and digitalization of enterprises will soon be fixed at the legislative level. This will also affect telecom - both the industry and the business as a whole.

    Global trends



    The state understanding of digital transformation corresponds to what the world community means by this term. Back in 2016, it was predicted that 40% of companies would not survive the digital revolution if they did not accept the new rules of the game. Automation of business processes and electronic document management is only a necessary minimum for competitive struggle. The main components of a digital business transformation, according to users:

    1. Artificial Intelligence;
    2. Cloud services;
    3. Internet of things;
    4. Processing big data;
    5. Using 5G;
    6. Investments in data centers;
    7. Information Security;
    8. Modernization and improvement of infrastructure;
    9. Change in corporate culture and company strategy;
    10. Openness to partnership and creation of joint products or services.


    First of all, digital transformation will affect retail, production, the financial sector and IT. But it will affect all sectors and spheres of business, and this is a chance to benefit from new requirements.

    Telecom Growth Points



    OTT


    The first steps to the fourth industrial revolution are able to solve the sore problems faced by telecom operators. For example, the aggravated struggle with OTT providers capturing the market.

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    Television users increasingly prefer watching movies and TV shows at a convenient time, and on YouTube content is viewed by a third of Internet users . A variety of videos of entertaining, educational, informational nature attracts the audience, bringing more and more profit to OTT players. The growth rate of the pay-TV subscriber base is decreasing every year.

    Technology Depot Growth, 2018/2017:

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    A winning option in such an environment would be the openness of the infrastructure and company to partnership. The conclusion of contracts with OTT providers will allow you to stop being an intermediary and become an active participant in the process. There are many options for agreements - from bonus and discount programs to organizing a higher network bandwidth. Adaptability and optimization of infrastructure play a key role here. It is worth keeping in mind the opinion leaders of a young audience - video bloggers. Collaboration with trendsetters generating video content can be a gold mine.

    Big data



    Telecom operators process huge amounts of data, and it’s a sin not to monetize their experience. In the era of digital transformation, the ability to work with big data determines the quality of interaction with users and partners, helps to personalize offers and increase the conversion of advertising. The collection and analysis of information is important for the B2B segment, and the demand of corporate clients for these services is growing.

    IoT



    Market dynamics has been showing steady growth for five years.

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    M2M communication is a promising development for telecom. The main requirements for cellular communication between devices: minimum traffic delay, special radio technologies and the same open infrastructure for creating an ecosystem with developers and software platforms. Part of the business will have to be rebuilt to the specifics of servicing machines, including the development of new communication modes.

    Data centers



    Digital transformation is carried out not only through customer relationship management and internal automation, but also through the construction of new business models. Such a model for telecom operators could be investing in data centers and providing cloud services to customers.

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    B2B companies constantly process Big Data, and production capacities are not always enough for the smooth operation of servers. Cloud technologies save customers space and money, so more services and software are being developed in this format.

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    Infrastructure and Partnership



    Telecommunications operators will be at the junction of digital innovations and familiar tools. In order to adapt to the new scheme of work, it is necessary to optimize the infrastructure with an emphasis on openness and be prepared to cooperate with representatives of breakthrough technologies. Modernized infrastructure is easier to monetize - the creation of MVNE and partnership with virtual operators can become an additional source of income. And automation of work with resellers will reduce labor costs, increase control and loyalty of partners, which positively affects the base building.

    Small, yes udalenky



    Not all of these growth points are suitable for startups and small players in the telecommunications market. Meanwhile, the “entry” into the industry has ceased to be extremely expensive, including due to cloud services. Leased IT capacities, billing and software will cost several times cheaper, and their own outdated technologies do not drag newcomers to the bottom. Starting is easier, and ideas and ambitions are more than enough. Innovators are ready to "ride" the wave of digital transformation and immediately focus on, for example, the Internet of things, video content or affiliate programs.

    Internal transformation



    The "figure" is being introduced into the internal business processes of the company.
    • Processing your own data sets gives a complete picture of the life and interests of the subscriber, allowing you to customize advertising campaigns with maximum conversion and create offers that will satisfy the specific needs of the user. It is important to organize the scalability of systems to ensure the collection and analysis of big data 24/7 in the context of business development.
    • The introduction of IoT and Artificial Intelligence in the work will eliminate the human factor and replace employees performing routine operations. The number of errors and staff costs will be reduced.
    • Cloud technologies are also useful in their needs to offload servers and save money.
    • According to forecasts , by 2021, 20 zettabytes of data per year will be processed on the world Internet. This amount of information needs to be protected, and cybersecurity comes to the fore in the era of digital transformation. Protection is organized at the legislative level . I advise you not to neglect protection from fraudsters and theft of subscriber data and use software adapted to modern threats.

    “Modern problems require modern solutions”


    Digital transformation will occur in the state, in entrepreneurship, and in thinking. The ability to quickly adapt to changes guarantees the company leadership and maintaining market share. This ability is required by the telecom and the government, developing standards of work and registers of equipment used. Maintaining conservative views and ignoring the approach of Industry 4.0 may threaten the takeover of the company, bankruptcy or an outflow of subscribers.

    Just as banks and fixed-line telecoms have recently joined MVNO, telecom operators now need to go to IT. Telecom can use almost all the innovations of digital transformation to optimize its resources and create new sources of income. The development vector should be aimed at working together with partners, developers and even competitors, as well as at monitoring changes in the interests of customers and the precise satisfaction of their needs.

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