Digging into the 2025 digital operator: Transforming for success
Susan Welsh de Grimaldo
07 May 2019
Digging into the 2025 digital operator: Transforming for success
Becoming a digital operator is not all about 5G, nor about beating out the competition. Becoming a successful digital operator is all about the customer, the partners, and the employees. The technology — along with processes and business implementation and strategies — are tools to be utilized to build a profitable, growing business. And like 5G, digital transformation is iterative, not a once-and-done solution. Operators are facing lots of change between now and 2025—and that’s just the beginning
One of the biggest changes that we are hearing a lot about this year is the beginning of the transition to 5G, which has the potential to shift how we all as consumers, enterprises and industrials use networks and devices in our lives. Couple 5G with machine learning/artificial intelligence (ML/AI) and innovation is primed for changes in how we architect, deploy and run networks and services as well as what we do with them.
5G really starts to take off by 2025, with global 5G connections excluding industrial IoT more than doubling from nearly 600 million in 2023 to nearly 1.4 billion in 2025. As the chart shows, global 5G subscriptions will rapidly surpass the one billion mark during 2025 as more affordable devices come to market and networks are further deployed. While 5G subscriptions will be only about 15% of total subscriptions globally by the end of 2025, the 2023-25 timeframe is one of rapid change and opportunity and service providers need to be prepared.
What is needed to build into a successful digital operator in 2025?
The changing landscape of demand and competition, spurred in part by 5G, require new ways of doing business and smart decisions on technology and processes. Fortunately advancements in a wide range of technologies and solutions will support transformation, but it is still a challenging process with many decisions to be made and skills to be learned.
First and foremost, operators and their technology partners are learning that a mindset change from one of expecting to achieve an end goal to a mindset embracing an ongoing process of change, improvement and learning is essential to keep in step (or slightly ahead) of customer demands, competitive pressures and business opportunities from technology advancements. With this mindset change, static answers to questions become a series of ‘living’ answers that evolve and fine tune to changing circumstances and environment, and learning how to monitor progress is important.
Digital transformation is journey of mindset, process change and new technologies; it is crucial to keep learning as you build successes and hone in on opportunities.
One of my favorite aspects of my job is exploring questions, because asking good questions is as critical as finding answers. Good answers in turn evolve and iterate as you learn through exploring how others are approaching the challenges and feedback learnings from your own experience along the implementation journey. As we head toward 2025, there are many important questions to dig into, and while the answers will vary based on each operator’s circumstances, collectively examining issues and potential ways forward among industry peers is extremely helpful.
What are the steps in the journey from today to 2025?
Deciding where and how to play – should CSPs be taking a vertical or platform approach?
What will CSPs core competencies be in 2025?
What new capabilities are needed in the areas of business assurance, trust, ecosystem management and monetization?
What are the key technologies that will support and drive digital transformation?
How do you build a digital ecosystem that attracts digital partners and creates new value?
Join us for the panel, and of course please introduce yourself to me at DTW as I would love to hear your thoughts and learnings on how to become a successful 2025 Digital Operator.
