Research

Defining the future telco — and what it means for operators and their partners


Customer Experience: Is it Time for the Mobile CDN?

Customer Experience: Is it Time for the Mobile CDN?

Changing consumer behaviours and the transition to 4G are likely to bring about a fresh surge of video traffic on many networks. Fortunately, mobile content delivery networks (CDNs), which should deliver both better customer experience and lower costs, are now potentially an option for carriers using a combination of technical advances and new strategic approaches to network design. This briefing examines why, how, and what operators should do, and includes lessons from Akamai, Level 3, Amazon, and Google. (May 2013, Executive Briefing Service).
CDN Traffic as Percentage of Backbone May 2013

Software Defined Networking (SDN): A Potential ‘Game Changer’

Software Defined Networking (SDN): A Potential ‘Game Changer’

Software Defined Networking is a technological approach to designing and managing networks that has the potential to increase operator agility, lower costs, and disrupt the vendor landscape. Its initial impact has been within leading-edge data centres, but it also has the potential to spread into many other network areas, including core public telecoms networks. This briefing analyses its potential benefits and use cases, outlines strategic scenarios and key action plans for telcos, summarises key vendor positions, and why it is so important for both the telco and vendor communities to adopt and exploit SDN capabilities now. (May 2013, Executive Briefing Service, Cloud & Enterprise ICT Stream, Future of the Networks Stream).
Potential Telco SDN/NFV Deployment Phases May 2013

Digital Commerce: Time to redefine the Mobile Wallet

Digital Commerce: Time to redefine the Mobile Wallet

The ‘Mobile/Digital Wallet’ needs to evolve to support authentication, search and discovery, as well as payments, vouchers, tickets and loyalty programmes. Moreover, consumers will want to be able to tailor the functionality of this “commerce assistant” or “commerce agent” to fit with their own interests and preferences. Our report and analysis of the Digital Commerce 2.0 Executive Brainstorm, 20 March 2013, part of the New Digital Economics Silicon Valley event. (April 2013, Executive Briefing Service, Dealing with Disruption Stream.)
Who is best placed to win in local commerce April 2013

Digital Economy: who will prosper in ‘The Great Compression’?

Digital Economy: who will prosper in ‘The Great Compression’?

Value is squeezed out of industries as they become increasingly digital – i.e. accessed by mobile and online, driven by data and defined by software. We call the collective economic impact of this pressure ‘The Great Compression’. But which companies will survive and prosper – and how? 90% of the Execs at our Silicon Valley brainstorm identified ‘management mindset’ as a key factor in Telecoms, Media, Finance and Retail. Our analysis and a detailed report of the findings of the Digital Economy session at the NDE Executive Brainstorm, Silicon Valley, held at the InterContinental Hotel, San Francisco on the 19th March 2013. (May 2013, Executive Briefing Service, Transformation Stream).
Scale of Transformation Needed April 2013

The Internet of Things (IoT): What’s Hot, and How?

The Internet of Things (IoT): What’s Hot, and How?

‘The Internet of Things’ (IoT) is one of the big ideas of the moment. But what are the areas in which value is being created now, and what is still technological hype? A summary of the findings of the Digital Things session at the NDE Executive Brainstorm, Silicon Valley, held at the InterContinental Hotel, San Francisco on the 20th March 2013. (April 2013)
Building Blocks Urgently Needed for IoT April 2013

Digital Entertainment: What Gets Measured Gets Money

Digital Entertainment: What Gets Measured Gets Money

For mobile entertainment services to generate revenues commensurate to the attention they receive, the industry needs to improve ‘discovery’ tools, create more effective creative inventory, and deliver proof of its effectiveness. A summary of the Digital Entertainment 2.0 session of the 2013 Silicon Valley Brainstorm, held on the 20th March 2013, Intercontinental Hotel, San Francisco. (April 2013)
Digital Entertainment 2.0: What Gets Measured Gets Money

Digital Commerce: Show me the (Mobile) Money

Digital Commerce: Show me the (Mobile) Money

Many companies are struggling to build a mobile commerce business case that generates significant incremental revenues in the next five years. But some will ultimately use digital wallets to create a valuable platform that bolsters customer loyalty and produces substantial revenues from location-based marketing, advertising and the management of personal data. What are the barriers, how can they be overcome, and what are the key actions for telcos, major internet players, banks and payment networks?

Facebook Home: what is the impact?

Facebook Home: what is the impact?

Facebook has launched ‘Facebook Home’, technically a shell around the Android OS, that in theory creates valuable new advertising inventory on the screens of users’ phones. What will its impact be in practice for Facebook, and on Google, mobile operators, and other device manufacturers? (April 2013, Foundation 2.0, Executive Briefing Service, Dealing with Disruption Stream.)
Facebook Home ‘Coverfeed’ April 2013

The Great Compression: surviving the ‘Digital Hunger Gap’

The Great Compression: surviving the ‘Digital Hunger Gap’

In the next 10 years, many industries face the ‘Great Compression’ in which, in addition to the pressures of ongoing global economic uncertainty, there is also a major digital transformation that is destroying traditional value and moving it ‘disruptively’ to new areas and geographies. For the incumbent industry players we call the near-term results of this disruption ‘The Digital Hunger Gap’ – the widening deficit between past and projected revenues. This is our analysis of the top-level findings of the Silicon Valley Executive Brainstorm. (March 2013, Executive Briefing Service, Transformation Stream.)
10 Year Hunger Gap Mar 2013

Digital Commerce: Silicon Valley Executive Brainstorm 2013, Day Two (Wednesday 20 March)

Closing the Loop between Advertising & Payments. Presentations from the Digital Commerce stream of the New Digital Economics Brainstorm, 20th March 2013, in San Francisco. Including: Where’s the money in SoLoMo? | Advertising & Marketing | Big Data (March 2013, Executive Briefing Service, Dealing with Disruption)
Digital Commerce 2.0 Silicon Valley March 2013

Smartphones: when will Huawei be No.1?

Smartphones: when will Huawei be No.1?

We were surprised to hear Huawei’s objective of becoming the world’s No.1 Smartphone maker at last year’s Mobile World Congress, and somewhat dubious whether it would achieve that goal. However, at this year’s show Huawei demonstrated impressive progress, and we consider it is no longer a question of if, but when it will achieve its goal. In this analysis we explore industry scenarios and their consequences. (March 2013, Executive Briefing Service).
Huawei Ascend Smartphone

Free Mobile: A Prototype for Disruption?

Free Mobile: A Prototype for Disruption?

Free.fr’s entry to the French mobile market has achieved extraordinarily rapid market share gains and resulted in comprehensive disruption. An analysis of its technology, tactics, and business model, and a high-level assessment of the applicability of its approach to other markets. (February 2013, Executive Briefing Service, Dealing with Disruption Stream).
Monthly ARPU in France & EU Markets Feb 2013

Finance: Optimising the Telco 2.0 revenue and cost model

Finance: Optimising the Telco 2.0 revenue and cost model

Structuring finances is key for the success of innovations in general and Telco 2.0 projects in particular. In this detailed extract from our new strategy report ‘A Practical Guide to Implementing Telco 2.0’, we describe the best ways to approach the management of revenues and costs of new business models, and how to get the CFO and finance department onside with the new approaches required (February 2013, Executive Briefing Service, Transformation Stream).

Small table on finances

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