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Beyond connectivity: Strategic plays to help APAC providers capture new B2B growth

A collection of industry and societal trends, fueled and accelerated by digital transformation, are offering a potentially vital pivot opportunity to CSPs.

19 Oct 2018

Beyond connectivity: Strategic plays to help APAC providers capture new B2B growth

This is a critical time for communications services providers (CSPs) all around the world. And in Asia Pacific (APAC) in particular, challenges abound on all sides. CSPs’ traditionally profitable consumer markets for voice and data services are rapidly commoditizing, creating huge pressures to maintain revenues while reducing costs. Moreover, digitization is reducing or eliminating the barriers to entry for their industry across the board.


Digital disruptors and OTT providers – Amazon, Apple, Google, WhatsApp, Skype, and the rest – are moving in and capturing the new opportunities created by the digital revolution. Meanwhile, consumer expectations and options just keep rising, breaking down longstanding loyalties between brand and customer.


In such a challenging environment, enterprise markets matter more than ever. However, with the majority of APAC CSPs principally focused on retail domains in the recent past, many companies are starting from a low base when it comes to B2B. As a result, some still have a modest sales proposition for their enterprise customers, or a poor understanding of vertical segments in target industries. Others have been slow to recognize that rising expectations are not limited to retail segments, and that enterprise customers now expect the same standards in their business transactions that they’ve become used to in their consumer experiences.


With the digital disruptors ready to move into the B2B domain with force, APAC CSPs face a potentially existential risk. If they fail to inject enough urgency into their operations and cannot adjust to these disruptive headwinds with enough speed and agility, they will likely end up as pure connectivity providers in commodity markets – for enterprise customers as well as consumers. And that, ultimately, means a race to the bottom on price, with only the very leanest operators emerging victorious.


However, all is not lost. A collection of industry and societal trends, fueled and accelerated by digital transformation, are offering a potentially vital pivot opportunity to CSPs. These trends open up a series of strategic plays that can help navigate to new growth in enterprise and B2B markets. Tough choices will be required, of course. Today’s business models, capabilities, and workforce competencies will have to be radically upgraded. But if APAC CSPs can look beyond pure connectivity, take their digital transformations to the next level, and start extending their reach into customer ecosystems and value chains, they have the chance to enable a true step change in productivity and growth.


These topics and more will be presented and discussed in depth at TM Forum's upcoming Digital Transformation Asia in Kuala Lumpur – see you there!