Member Insights
Stakeholders across the information and communications and technology (ICT) world envision a connected future where zero-touch automation is accessible to manage and control highly integrated services, devices, and networks dynamically. The trend toward zero-touch has advanced in consumer markets throughout the initial wave of digital-first innovation because of a desire to meet connected consumers’ rising expectations for rich customer experiences and deep self-service capabilities. But making what happens on a B2C screen happen in the B2B and the B2B2X world is a much more sophisticated proposition.
Because customer experience (CX) expectations are leaping to B2C levels across business markets, most CSPs admit their existing BSS cannot yet support 25% or more of the 5G services they plan to introduce, according to TM Forum research. And yet, 87% of these CSPs say 5G is important or critical to their revenue growth strategies. CSPs recognize that they must close the gap. Many are scrutinizing their BSS capabilities to find ways to extend and enhance them to support a far more connected experience across multiparty B2B ecosystems.
While trying to shift their customer experiences to zero-touch, many CSPs are also trying to increase the value they provide in specific B2B market segments. It is common to introduce vertical-specific applications, devices, and network solutions in conjunction with partners to deliver complete, specialized solutions. A few use case examples include:
Education: Consider museums using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to expand educational experiences with immersive content that comes alive as learners engage with it, responding to their choices.
Automotive: Connected car solutions help eliminate major expenses, bad publicity, and stock price drops by replacing many maintenance recalls with predictive over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
Transportation: AR has been demonstrated to guide travelers through complex journeys end-to-end, making live suggestions while integrated apps facilitate ID, boarding card, payment and other exchanges digitally.
In order to monetize these and other types of complex, multicomponent, and dynamic services, CSPs need a BSS that supports a variety of sophisticated functions. Not only do zero-touch experiences need support, but CSPs must also ensure, as always, that customers are looked after, partners are compensated, and revenue is collected and assured. Here are five B2B BSS requirements CSPs say are urgent or which they must meet to support B2B customer demand for a more connected customer experience in the near future:
These requirements are just a few of the many classic and new features that BSS will need to drive CSPs’ 5G revenue growth plans and create the connected future their most valuable customers envision. How well any CSP’s BSS can support automation, change, scale, and new business models will determine whether they can sustain the ecosystems necessary to bring this vision to life.