DTWS: Partnering on 5G B2B customer experience
As communication service providers (CSPs) roll out 5G and move operations to the cloud, they are looking to capture new revenue growth from enterprise services that are also undergoing digital transformation. CxOs from Verizon, Axiata, Amazon and Bain & Company explored what this will entail during the last CxO summit of this year’s Digital Transformation World Series (DTWS). This is an anonymized account of their discussion.
20 Oct 2021
DTWS: Partnering on 5G B2B customer experience
As communication service providers (CSPs) roll out 5G and move operations to the cloud, they are looking to capture new revenue growth from enterprises that are also undergoing digital transformation. CxOs from Amazon, Axiata Bain & Company and Verizon explored what this will entail and the impact on B2B customer experience during the last CxO summit of this year’s Digital Transformation World Series (DTWS). This is an anonymized account of their discussion.
Speakers expect the adoption of 5G, cloud technologies and edge computing to create new opportunities with the enterprise market but it is “a super dynamic environment” and “it’s still unclear exactly what precise role everybody wants to play in this,” said one speaker.
However, there is consensus on the need for partnerships to deliver new services and customer experiences – a theme that dominated DTWS.
“When you start thinking about 5G and edge compute, I think everybody is learning and everybody wants to be above and beyond the space that they traditionally play in today,” the speaker said. “There’s a huge opportunity to work together… It's going to take some flexibility, some outside-of-the-box thinking and some partnering to make that happen.”
Nonetheless questions remain about how partners will collaborate to manage an end-to-end customer experience.
“How do you now share and cross pollinate tools, information and performance metrics, so that you can give the best customer service experience?” was one of the questions asked.
It is also important for customers to understand who to contact when they experience a problem within an end-to-end service, said participants.
“Whatever the shape of future partnerships, creating a trusted relationship as an advisor on digital transformation will mean change for actors such as CSPs, including the shift from building products to directly co-creating with the customer,” said one speaker.
Future enterprise service delivery is likely to require vertical sector knowledge.
“A lot of enterprise customers … want a deeper relationship with a service provider that’s coming in to help them, but they also expect that the service provider understands their industry and can bring solutions that are tailored to that industry… It can no longer be a one size fits all or a 'here’s a wireless plan or a slice'.”
CSPs can create training programs and hire new people to acquire the knowledge they need to sell into verticals, said one attendee.
There are “things [enterprises] can use out of the box … to start leveraging 5G” as operators deploy the next-generation mobile technology and edge computing in manufacturing, retail and logistic environments, said one participant.
However, “it’s going to require some kind of customization based on the enterprise's needs when you get into that mid-market where they’re going to expect more out of the box,” said another attendee.
It will also be important to optimize “applications so that they perform elegantly … whether that’s carving up slicing, whether that’s figuring out … how to automate or give access to APIs.”
Participants pointed out that helping other industries use new services to digitally transform will require an ecosystem of developers and partners. When it comes to reinventing the use cases for customers, “the community of developers is just fundamental,” noted one participant.
A speaker stated that developers can be more effective if their developments are made directly available the end customer. "If you actually start with your end customer and enable the dialogue between the two ...to make sure that you're developing what they need ... you'll drive the experience."
Another participant agreed, suggesting success lies in "making sure that it's not just customer experience but partner experience ... [and] developer experience. Getting that right is super important."
Speakers expect the adoption of 5G, cloud technologies and edge computing to create new opportunities with the enterprise market but it is “a super dynamic environment” and “it’s still unclear exactly what precise role everybody wants to play in this,” said one speaker.
However, there is consensus on the need for partnerships to deliver new services and customer experiences – a theme that dominated DTWS.
“When you start thinking about 5G and edge compute, I think everybody is learning and everybody wants to be above and beyond the space that they traditionally play in today,” the speaker said. “There’s a huge opportunity to work together… It's going to take some flexibility, some outside-of-the-box thinking and some partnering to make that happen.”
Nonetheless questions remain about how partners will collaborate to manage an end-to-end customer experience.
“How do you now share and cross pollinate tools, information and performance metrics, so that you can give the best customer service experience?” was one of the questions asked.
It is also important for customers to understand who to contact when they experience a problem within an end-to-end service, said participants.
Working with customers
“Whatever the shape of future partnerships, creating a trusted relationship as an advisor on digital transformation will mean change for actors such as CSPs, including the shift from building products to directly co-creating with the customer,” said one speaker.
Future enterprise service delivery is likely to require vertical sector knowledge.
“A lot of enterprise customers … want a deeper relationship with a service provider that’s coming in to help them, but they also expect that the service provider understands their industry and can bring solutions that are tailored to that industry… It can no longer be a one size fits all or a 'here’s a wireless plan or a slice'.”
CSPs can create training programs and hire new people to acquire the knowledge they need to sell into verticals, said one attendee.
There are “things [enterprises] can use out of the box … to start leveraging 5G” as operators deploy the next-generation mobile technology and edge computing in manufacturing, retail and logistic environments, said one participant.
However, “it’s going to require some kind of customization based on the enterprise's needs when you get into that mid-market where they’re going to expect more out of the box,” said another attendee.
It will also be important to optimize “applications so that they perform elegantly … whether that’s carving up slicing, whether that’s figuring out … how to automate or give access to APIs.”
Developer community
Participants pointed out that helping other industries use new services to digitally transform will require an ecosystem of developers and partners. When it comes to reinventing the use cases for customers, “the community of developers is just fundamental,” noted one participant.
A speaker stated that developers can be more effective if their developments are made directly available the end customer. "If you actually start with your end customer and enable the dialogue between the two ...to make sure that you're developing what they need ... you'll drive the experience."
Another participant agreed, suggesting success lies in "making sure that it's not just customer experience but partner experience ... [and] developer experience. Getting that right is super important."
