The mobile industry is constantly evolving. Each new year brings new trends and developments in services, functionality and market dynamics. 2015 will be no different in this regard. One of the developments that will be trending in 2015 is the increasingly important role of APIs – network, data and service – in mobile networks and service provider networks in general. This is a trend we call the “API-fication” of the service provider network.
Over the last few years, the convergence of mobile and social networks has transformed the way consumers live, work and play. Service provider revenues have come under sustained pressure from over-the-top and nontraditional players that offer innovative applications and services at a fraction of the cost – in some cases, free – to consumers. This has presented a challenge for service providers, as they have struggled to redefine themselves in the face of this stiff competition. APIs that expose the service provider infrastructure to new services and applications, allowing them to modernize, differentiate and monetize their service offerings, will be a lifeline in service providers’ quest to combat business threats from OTT and nontraditional players.
The API-fication of rich communication services will be an early barometer of the adoption of this trend in 2015. The GSMA RCS API Gateway, based on the GSMA OneAPI initiative, will breathe new life into RCS in 2015, making it commercially viable for service providers for the first time. This API enables monetizable third-party IP-based services in RCS that utilize core service capabilities such as messaging, chat, audio/video calls – making it possible for service providers to compete effectively with OTT offerings and drive new revenue streams. Expect operators to embellish these services with billing support, quality of service and roaming support, among others.
WebRTC is another technology that will continue to make extensive use of APIs to offer compelling services to consumers and enterprises in 2015.
The API-fication of RCS and WebRTC in 2015 is the beginning of a broader and more fundamental API-fication of the entire service provider network, where different infrastructure services and enablers of the network will be opened up and made available to third parties through well-defined and managed APIs. In this network-initiated API framework, service providers will support a set of APIs that serve as entry and exit points to the network for third-party applications and services. In this API-fied network, service providers will essentially act as “managers” of these APIs and charge third parties appropriately for their use, again creating new revenue opportunities.
The migration of mobile network functionality to network function virtualization and cloud will further boost the API-fication trend in 2015. NFV will make it easier to expose network infrastructure and enablers, as well as manage their exposure to third parties, through well-defined APIs.
The API-fication trend in mobile networks is likely to get an additional shot in the arm from big data. As the convergence of service providers and social networks accelerates in 2015, the increase in demand for analytics based on big data will further increase the need for APIs to extract the relevant big data from the network, intensifying the API-fication of the service provider network.
The “Internet of Things” and machine-to-machine communication will create an explosion in the number of connected endpoints, and we will see some of this happen in 2015. As mobile operators grapple with this growth in IoT-related endpoints, services and traffic, APIs that expose mobile network resources, data and enablers will be key to making this interconnectivity happen. APIs will need to ensure this exposure is done in a secure and controlled manner.
Conclusion
Today’s consumer expects new and different services from service providers – offerings that help them be more productive, simplify their lives, connect them socially and provide a range of entertainment choices. This “fourth wave” of digital services is estimated by industry experts to present anywhere from a $500 billion to $1 trillion market opportunity. Examples include IP services involving consumer-to-home automation messaging and automobile-to-home automation messaging, etc. The service providers that act quickly to flexibly deliver these innovative services to consumers have an enormous opportunity to capture critical new revenue streams and reclaim market leadership from OTT and social networking service competitors. The time to act is now and the API-fication of the service provider network provides the technology infrastructure they need to be successful.
Aashu Virmani is VP of products and go to market, and Mohan Palat is director of product marketing for Comverse (comverse.com), a leading provider of carrier-grade cloud-based and in-network enablement and monetization solutions for growing enterprises and digital service providers.
Editor’s Note: With 2015 now upon us, RCR Wireless News has gathered predictions from leading industry analysts and executives on what they expect to see in the new year.
