Communications Technology Vision 2019
September 26, 2019
RESEARCH REPORT
In brief
In brief
- As a society we are nearing a turning point in digital enterprise, where more businesses will have completed their digital transformations than not.
- The emergence of a post-digital world has given communications companies the potential for exceptional capabilities.
- The 2019 Communications Technology Vision highlights five emerging trends that will shape businesses over the next three to five years.
- Each trend shows how digital saturation is raising expectations, abilities, and risks and how communications leaders need to set themselves apart.
Digital-era technology, which began as a differentiating advantage years ago, is now expected from every business, but its impact is still changing the relationship between businesses and society, and the expectations of individual people. Spearheaded by communications companies, businesses are taking their first steps in a new world where products, services, and even people’s surroundings are customized, and where businesses cater to the individual in every aspect of their lives, shaping the very realities they live and work in.
What is enabling—and driving—this reality-shaping shift? The emergence of a post-digital world.
The digital saturation of services has given communications companies the potential for exceptional capabilities. They can understand their customers with a new depth of granularity. They have more channels than ever to reach those consumers. And with companies in every industry heavily investing in digital technologies, there are more digital ecosystems and more potential partners to help companies create holistic experiences. But these capabilities and advantages are now available to every organization. As they look towards the post-digital era, communications leaders need to ask how they will set themselves apart.
94%
of communications executives surveyed report that the pace of innovation in their organizations has accelerated over the past three years due to emerging technologies.
The longevity of most Communication Service Providers (CSPs) is both an opportunity, thanks to long-standing trust developed with customers, and a risk owing to technical debt in legacy systems and operating models. To progress, they need to accelerate completing their digital transformations to extract the greatest value from their investment, while simultaneously turning a strategic eye toward what’s next.
By shifting the company’s focus to opportunities (or opportunity targets), finding a place among the ecosystems of the post-digital era, and mastering digital investments with a view toward the post-digital future, leaders position their organizations for success for years to come.
CSPs are looking to become Multi-Sided Platform Providers or Connected Industry Orchestrators, business models that enable and monetize new B2B and B2C opportunities. To achieve that ambition, CSPs need to pivot their technology strategy and capabilities:
Platforms
CSPs need to build open and decoupled platforms while embedding delivery methodologies—and exploit cloud-native software engineering.
Intelligent omniscient enterprise
The entire organization needs to become data-driven to enable a modern product and service fabric for CSPs.
Smart machines
New products need to come from a digital factory, with skills to support an intelligent workforce that can deliver engineering & technology dominance.
Rich ecosystem
CSPs must cultivate a rich ecosystem that can integrate into their own workflow, collaborating with others to move towards a platform-based business.
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Five technology trends for CSPs
This year’s Communications Technology Vision highlights five emerging trends, revealing how digital saturation is raising expectations and risks, and how CSPs are differentiating themselves in new ways as we move toward the post-digital era.
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