We predict that the telecom business model will undergo dramatic transformation in 2015: a minority of telecoms will manage to reinvent their business model and will enter new market segments and get stronger. Meanwhile a majority of telcos will be bought or go out of business, thus driving consolidation.
At the same time, for business leaders, having access to quality network infrastructure represents a vital underpinning for their digital business and their long-term competitive advantage. We predict that by 2015 and beyond:
 
  • The telco business model will shift from sustaining to enabling critical infrastructure. Traditionally, the telco business model focused on sustaining operational efficiency of network infrastructure. In the years ahead, we predict a shift toward enabling solutions that support telco clients to engage with their customers more effectively. This mirrors not only the CIO’s shift from IT towards business technology but will also be the overarching theme during the transformation of the telco business model.
  • Mobile broadband opens telcos a role in customer engagement and workspace services. In the medium-term, we expect mobile broadband to offer telcos an opportunity to raise their profile. Mobile broadband will give telcos a stake in developing interactive and collaborative customer engagement and flexible workspace solutions. Winning telcos will offer business-process focused device and app management and become important partners for CIOs.

We are also making calls on what to expect regarding the network's role in business intelligence, the perception that customers have of telcos, the evolution of software-defined networks, the speed of product innovation cycles, the portfolio convergence, international roaming, wholesale of embedded connectivity, the role of connectivity for the Internet of Things, as well as the convergence of telco with financial services business models.

If you want to know more about these trends, you can either download the full report or contact us. Do you disagree with the above statements? In your opinion, what will happen in 2015 and beyond?