Allot lays out its top resolutions for the telecom operators looking to nurture subscriber loyalty, increase profits
Editor’s Note: With 2016 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.
The coming year is poised to be more competitive than ever and service providers need to find new ways to retain customers, monetize network assets and increase overall profitability. So while most of us are thinking about exercising and eating healthier or pinching pennies to get a better handle on our finances, operators are doing similar “gut checks” for the business. From security to network functions virtualization and mobile advertising, here are a few resolutions operators should make in order to keep pace with evolving industry developments and customer needs in 2016.
Create a win-win situation: help consumers get a handle on mobile security
With a number of recent high-profile attacks dominating headlines, security will undeniably be top-of-mind across the industry in 2016. Mobile malware, phishing and other targeted mobile attacks will continue to grow in scale and sophistication, making mobile a vector that cannot be ignored. For example, last year, 6% of mobile subscribers (often unknowingly) visited risky sites, according to Allot data. Shielding children from harmful content and securing personal information tied to business data, social media, banking or e-commerce accounts will no longer be a “nice to have” but critical in today’s threat environment.
Alongside the growing personal and financial risks associate with mobile phone use, users will seek new strategies to protect their identities in today’s 24/7 digitally connected world. Service providers are in the unique position to help subscribers tackle security at the network level. Operators should resolve to deliver new offerings that make solutions such as parental controls and content filtering affordable and easy for subscribers to implement. In particular, operators should deploy security-as-a-service offerings that eliminate the need for subscribers to download software or track device updates.
Maintain control of your assets: grab a piece of the mobile advertising pie
According to figures from EMarketer, the mobile ad market is expected to surpass $100 billion in worldwide spending in 2016. Today, companies like Google and Facebook are dominating the lucrative mobile advertising market, but not for long. Looking ahead, operators have an enormous monetization opportunity in front of them – if they act now and fully harness the potential of their network assets.
Operators should evaluate how they can deploy a comprehensive mobile advertising strategy that capitalizes on the intelligence sourced from their own subscriber data. By tapping mobile user Internet traffic and application activity, operators can analyze subscriber behavior, coordinate with ad networks or exchange platforms and serve ads based on a user’s specific profile type. That means they can deliver relevant content catered to subscriber likes and needs, which strengthens customer loyalty while also allowing the operator to benefit from new ad-based revenue streams.
Stay ahead of the curve: work the kinks out of NFV deployment
NFV is hailed by service providers as the new architecture for service delivery and operation. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a few hiccups along the way. In 2016, operators should resolve to finally tackle the interoperability, service management and system integration challenges that have inhibited seamless adoption to date.
While there have already been a number of lab and proof-of-concept demonstrations showing how service providers can free their networks of physical hardware constraints using NFV, operators should ramp up activity in the coming months in order to better understand the nuanced needs of specific multi-vendor environment. At the same time, operators will need to navigate vendor and standards activity as they get their networks ready for prime time. If operators stick to this resolution though, you can realistically expect to see the first wide-scale real-world NFV-based architecture deployments a soon as later this year or early 2017. The promised cost and efficiency benefits of NFV are on the horizon and soon to follow.
To be successful in 2016, service providers will need to become more entrenched in their roles as digital lifestyle providers than ever before. By tapping the engagement potential of the customer experience and analyzing user interactions with the network, operators can customize and evolve their service offerings to better meet personal and professional needs. Technologies that can enhance network visibility, control and security will be critical to unlocking new monetization opportunities that will drive new revenue sources and win the hearts of customers.
Yaniv Sulkes is a telecommunications professional engaged in designing, developing, productizing and marketing industry leading solutions for over 14 years. Sulkes currently serves as the AVP of marketing for Allot Communications. Prior to Allot, Sulkes managed a large-scale telecom engineering project and served in different software engineering capacities. Sulkes has a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and B.Sc. in industrial engineering and management from Tel-Aviv University.
