“If the customer perspective is not embedded in every product and service, telcos will not prosper,” the analyst firm says in its latest Telco IT Trends to Watch report
“Telcos need to adapt their organisational structure and business processes to encompass customer needs, viewing quality of service and experience from the customer perspective,” says Peter Dykes, senior analyst for Telco IT and author of the report.
“The telecoms industry is witnessing a long-term shift in spend towards customer-oriented systems and processes to improve customer satisfaction,” says Dykes. “Investment will be geared towards telecoms infrastructure (cloud platforms and BSS/OSS systems to support LTE implementations) and online channels to support the move towards digital lifestyles.”
The report says the telecoms industry is showing signs of recovery due to the positive economic scenario, and will be one of the top industries for IT spending in the next 12 to 18 months. IT budgets are on the rise, with a lot of investment directed at either optimising network assets and infrastructure or improving service quality and the customer experience.
Relevance and content of services, packages, and customer care will be a differentiator.
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The brighter economic forecast and growing demand for high quality content and services on smart devices have renewed the telcos’ interest in the value and the quality of service they provide, from a customer perspective.
Thus, says Ovum, omni-channel engagement will be part of investment in CRM strategies for sales, marketing and operations.
“Relevance and content of services, packages, and customer care will be a differentiator,” the report states.
“Vendors need to step up to the role of collaborative partners,” says Dyjes. “With so much pressure to change and limited budgets to fund this, telcos will look to vendors to help them innovate in ways that do not cost them dearly.
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"Vendors should create long-term partnerships with telcos and key stakeholders, including system integrators and consultants, to create the solutions to future problems.”
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