DTW 2022: Follow-up by Nexign

Modernization and simplification to increase business efficiency

One of the most relevant concerns influencing telecom companies is restoring order in diverse systems and business areas. Modern operators strive to consolidate systems at all levels, including BSS and OSS, and use “umbrella” solutions to simplify outdated processes and remove existing restrictions. The trend for simplification covers all aspects of CSPs’ activities: business processes, product portfolio and offerings, customer journey, and IT architecture. At the same time, operators try to minimize the impact of internal transformations on clients and maintain business continuity. 

The key driver for streamlining and optimizing CSPs’ activities is the demand for increasing business efficiency. Currently, all companies, including telecom operators, focus on minimizing costs, enhancing energy efficiency, and strengthening return on investment. Therefore, the topic of convergence still remains relevant, and providers need to adopt a unified platform supporting the launch of any services based on any calculation models, networks, and technologies. It enables CSPs to optimize processes and create a unified approach to revenue management. 

For Nexign, helping clients increase business efficiency is a strategic priority. We have recently launched Nexign Revenue Management in response to market needs. Our new solution lets CSPs harmonize all revenue streams on a single convergent platform and gives unlimited flexibility to monetize any services from traditional mobile and fixed communications to digital offerings.

Business flexibility and agility in relation to new conditions and roles

CSPs also continued discussing the value of business flexibility and agility. System and network optimization, convergence, and the modernization of architecture result in both savings and new opportunities for development and revenue growth. 

Most operators understand the benefits of B2B development. Some of them focus on a large enterprise, while others prefer working with the SMB segment. However, in both cases, CSPs strive to provide a wide range of services and products and suggest a platform for their B2B customers who are also going through digital transformation. The operator's portfolio needs to include not only traditional communications but also other ICT services, such as cloud infrastructure, security, and professional IT services. 

We see that CSPs are ready to provide IoT solutions, financial products, marketing and communications solutions, and more. Besides, telecom companies are exploring the possibility of launching vertical solutions focusing on specific industries, including manufacturing, retail, and healthcare.

CSPs should understand that there is no single direction to achieve revenue growth and it is necessary to work with multiple business directions and services to ensure an integral effect. Telecom providers and their competitors among IT companies should continue experimenting, testing new services, and exploring new business areas to find working approaches. Operators can achieve this goal by acting as quickly and flexibly as possible and broadening their horizons to consider the possibility of adopting new business models at the ecosystem level. 

Business-driven IT

Another one of the primary issues influencing CSPs is the use of technological innovations to improve the company’s business performance. Operators should go beyond the traditional understanding of technological concepts and consider their impact on business. From this viewpoint, even APIs are perceived not only as technological interfaces responsible for system integration and interaction but also as business functions with specific business values important for the operator’s ecosystem.

Last year, Nexign launched a platform to accelerate CSPs’ in-house innovations by implementing a microservices approach based on an automated CI/CD process. Nexign Microservices Framework represents a “digital layer” in the operator’s landscape. It helps rapidly create new systems based on microservices and standardized APIs and can be quickly integrated in the partner’s environment. On the one hand, the solution can be presented only as a technological platform. However, on the other hand, its economic benefits become evident during the realization of specific cases. For instance, Nexign Microservices Framework allowed MegaFon to launch the MegaFon Plus multi-subscription that rapidly gained popularity and helped expand the operator’s customer base. 

Everything is about data

During DTW 2022, a lot of attention was also given to the significance of data. The complexity of the telecom business continues to increase, and the development of 5G and IoT results in the growing number of connected devices and the amount of information. Therefore, Big Data analysis becomes essential for the optimization of operations and correct decision-making. CSPs store enormous volumes of data that should be used for business growth and development. Customer information should serve as the basis for the new product portfolio, hypotheses testing, and innovative offers and should trigger the change in business processes to improve customer experience. Data analysis also allows the development of a personalized approach to building effective communications with clients based on their unique needs. Additionally, working with data contributes to optimizing the network and the operator’s internal systems. For example, end-to-end system monitoring based on machine learning with predictive analytics lets detect anomalies early and prevent accidents. 

CSPs have already recognized the need for efficient ways to process a large amount of information on a real-time basis and developed a request for solutions in the field of data analytics. Operators are looking not just for technological platforms but for products capable of solving specific cases from their practice. 

Cloud deployment

Indeed, one of the key events in the telecom industry could not pass without discussing cloud computing. For several years, the telecom area has been shifting towards adopting clouds to reduce CAPEX and increase flexibility and agility. Currently, it becomes clear that this approach cannot resolve all CSPs’ problems and should be used responsibly. For example, cloud deployment reduces the operator’s reliance on the equipment supplier but increases the dependence on the cloud vendor, including the loss of data ownership and functions. Therefore, a proper balance in using clouds should be found to reduce risks. Operators need to decide what exactly should be moved to clouds, what economic benefits could be gained, and what strategy should be utilized to manage this complex structure, especially in a multi-cloud deployment. 

Digital way of working and new organizational culture

Finally, the telecom industry’s experts paid their attention to transforming corporate culture. Operators can achieve success in the market by transiting from telco to techco, and digital organizational culture remains the cornerstone of this transformation. However, CSPs need to alter their way of thinking to implement new corporate culture in their companies and achieve significant changes in business. The primary conditions for organizational transformation include efficient internal communication and transparency. Companies should adopt corporate values that align with their strategic vision and communicate them to employees. Furthermore, operators should attract specialists with the necessary skills and reduce employee turnover. Achieving these goals requires shaping an image of an advanced innovative telecom-company that helps its employees realize their potential, provides comfortable working conditions, gives interesting tasks, and engages the staff to participate in the decision-making process.

Nexign supports the development of digital organizational culture and offers Neon Intranet Platform, a unified platform to create a modern digital ecosystem with a centralized information hub. It allows employees to interact with each other and actively participate in the company’s life. Besides, Neon digitizes HR processes and helps strengthen the transparency of internal communications and employee motivation.