Tackling The Barrier To Telco Growth

Innovation Tackling The Barrier To Telco Growth Rohit Batra Brand Contributor ServiceNow BRANDVOICE Storytelling and expertise from marketers | Paid Program Nov 7, 2022, 02:42pm EST | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin To deliver the services and experiences customers expect, CSPs need to view network inventory through a process lens. Let’s start with a pop quiz: In the telco world, who is more likely to lead the response—a CEO or CIO? If you chose CEO, you’re right. It’s time for telcos to get their networks worked out, getty In the past, network disruptions would have fallen under the purview of a CIO.

Today, a CEO is more likely to engage to address network issues. Why? Because networks have become the backbone of most enterprises and any network disruption can slow down business or halt it completely. In short, networks are the power source behind today’s digital economies.

This evolution has had wide-reaching effects , but it has been particularly transformative for communications service providers (CSPs). And as networks become more critical—serving as the nervous system for everything from supply chains to emergency services—the world’s expectations for them have grown. This dependency on networks to power digital economies means we need them to perform optimally, 24/7.

They must be reliable, secure, and agile, while delivering rich customer experiences at every step. Ubiquitous and critical Networks are not only foundational to CSPs but also ubiquitous. Historically, customers may have selected a CSP based on their network being available in a specific geography or offering a desired connectivity option, such as broadband.

However, the network itself is a less compelling differentiator today since many CSPs have similar networks. What’s really attracting customers today? Two factors stand out: experiences and services . Customers are more likely to choose a CSP offering streamlined digital and omnichannel experiences that help them get what they need, faster.

But positive experiences are not always enough to motivate customers to stay loyal. Instead, customers—both consumers and enterprises—are gravitating toward emerging services, like 5G and software-defined networking (SDN). Right now, CSPs worldwide are responding to these demands with a multipronged transformation journey that touches all parts of their businesses.

They’re implementing next-generation services, enhancing digital experiences, and deploying virtualized networks—and channeling billions into network build-outs as a result. But there’s a problem. Many CSPs don’t understand their networks well enough to position themselves for next-level growth.

Without this foundational understanding, they risk their investments going to waste and their business goals remaining unmet. To achieve the experience and service they’re aiming for, CSPs must start looking at their networks with a process mindset rather than merely deciphering data. The foundation for innovation Think about the last time your company ordered a connectivity service for your business.

If it was a voice offering, it might have included things like software to enable Voice over IP, some network equipment installed in the building, and desktop phones. But before that order can even be placed, someone needs to determine whether that connectivity service is available at your specific business site. That’s where network inventory comes in.

Network inventory provides the information that helps determine whether a service is available and what resources (e. g. , fiber, phones, etc.

) are necessary to activate it. It has long been the most critical and complex operational system for CSPs. Because when something goes wrong, network inventory is the starting point to understand what broke and determine where it’s located.

So how does network inventory fit into the growth equation in telecom? To differentiate on experience—l aunching new services , connecting new devices, delivering new use cases faster—CSPs need a strong understanding of the network. They must know which services are available and where, what the demand is, how customers are using services, and more. This lack of visibility across all network assets in the value chain—from design to end of life—makes it nearly impossible for CSPs to launch new services and provide top-quality experiences to customers.

Yet network inventory data is often static, making it unreliable and disconnected from critical service lifecycle processes. This lack of visibility across all network assets in the value chain—from design to end of life—makes it nearly impossible for CSPs to launch new services and provide top-quality experiences to customers, let alone do them quickly. Even those CSPs that do have visibility often don’t know if they can trust the data they have.

It’s a frustrating cycle that slows decision-making across the enterprise and ultimately stifles growth. Igniting growth through automation Growth requires change. If CSPs expect different results, then they must start looking at network inventory through a process lens.

And we see this shift happening. CSPs are starting to adopt an automated, process-centric approach to inventory management, with network visibility the first priority. Through automation, CSPs are seeing the power of uniting data across multiple inventory systems and managing their ever-growing network inventory dynamically.

What’s more, this shift allows them to link inventory to every step of the service lifecycle—from design to launch to delivery—giving CSPs the ability to streamline processes while delivering a more intentional, proactive service experience to customers. What’s the takeaway? CSPs must start to think of network inventory as a foundation for process automation across the enterprise. From there, they can then connect their entire ecosystem—from the network to the workforce to partners—to deliver new digital services and experiences customers expect.

When this happens, customers are happier, employees feel empowered to make informed decisions, and CSPs can confidently deliver a better return and get back to growth. Rohit Batra Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.