At the risk of revealing my true age, I can remember how cool I thought it would be to have a camera on the first mobile phone I purchased 10-plus (give or take) years ago. My cell phone service back then was just the basics – no bells or whistles – just straight voice and text services that resembled nothing like the smartphones of today.
How amazing it has been to witness the journey of mobility and the beginning of the evolution of communications service providers into digital service providers. As we’ve gone from 3G to 4G/LTE in such a short period of time, advanced mobile networks have served as a “digital disruptor,” transforming what was that basic cellphone service to a more data-centric, seamless experience that has radically changed the way we work, play, communicate and interact.
And in so many ways, the DSPs transformation journey is just beginning. Consumers have begun replacing traditional telecom services using “free” Internet-based over-the-top applications – from Facebook for messaging to Skype and Lync to WhatsApp and everything in between. Even traditional telecom services will be a thing of the past when the rollout and adoption of voice-over-LTE makes calling over the Internet as ubiquitous as text messaging. And for the times when the Internet isn’t as ubiquitous (like in my basement, which is apparently part of the Bermuda Triangle), we will seamlessly transition to a Wi-Fi network to pick up the slack.
With all this change, of course, comes the realization for many CSPs that their transformation to becoming DSPs is critical to remaining a viable and integral part of this rapidly evolving communications value chain.
To complete this transformation, CSPs will need to master four key areas that are “must-haves” to become a successful DSP.
Don’t limit content to one platform
Using the same content across devices is part of everyday life – think of starting a movie at home on your Xbox and then finishing it on the treadmill at the gym on your smartphone – if you limit content to one platform, you’ve already lost the consumer.
Pairing your portable content with the important attributes of each consumer, such as security profiles and credentials, preferences, entitlements, devices and preferred ways to pay, creates a smooth and easy experience that isn’t just cool, it will keep consumers coming back over time.
Do you feel the need … the need for speed?
Many aspiring DSPs want to deliver a more compelling experience, but not at the risk of disrupting existing business with large-scale systems transformations, or spending months delivering the products and services consumers are demanding right now.
Agility is the key must-have factor here – one of the characteristics of a “true” DSP is the ability to quickly bring numerous offers to market and then either enhance them to maintain their success or let them die away quickly. The more agile the organization, the better it can experiment to find that success. If you think about it, agility is really the new buzzword for the cloud. Operating in the cloud enables quick changes and rapid time to market for new offerings – a unified approach from concept, to launch, to quote, to cash, which can drive efficiencies, innovation and growth without investment in new infrastructure.
Reduce risk
Being a DSP is a risky business. The pace of change is increasing all the time, and an organization needs to do all it can to reduce the risk while maintaining that all-important agility.
One way to reduce uncertainly is to minimize the amount of technology change and transformation that an organization undertakes. This might sound a little counter-intuitive, given the massive change inherent for many businesses in becoming a DSP, but it can be possible. Leave the existing technology in place and overlay the must-have systems and platforms that are needed to enable change. Operating these new business models in the cloud allows existing teams to focus on what they do best, while you can leverage shared infrastructure and resources to do the heavy lifting.
It’s all about profitability
No matter how much an organization wants to become a DSP, the reality is that they still need to make money. Regardless of how a consumer pays – via credit card, on a bill, from their e-wallet, using coupons or gift cards – or whether the digital service is subsidized in some way (by advertising for example), the business model has to stack up.
Yet, payment isn’t the only important facet of monetization. Creating a repeatable experience that consumers want to come back to is a critical piece of the monetization picture. Creating loyalty programs, digital lockers in which consumers can access their content from anywhere and on any of their devices, and personalized communication based on preferences helps differentiate the experience and keep consumers engaged. And, let’s not forget the thousands of customers who may already be using your service. Creating ties for DSP services intertwined with your base business is a great way to make your existing customers feel like they still matter. Did your customer rent five movies this month? Why not give them a free or discounted movie to load into their locker? Odds are many of your customers may not even know about the new digital services you are offering, so enticing them with some freebies may help get them on board.
There is immeasurable opportunity on the path to becoming a digital service provider. With so much change over the past few years, the possibilities for what is coming next are endless. By using technology as the enabler, aspiring DSPs can leverage their imagination, innovation and inspiration, to best meet the needs of the always-on consumer – regardless of what incredible real-time services await us.
Editor’s Note: In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this Reader Forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but we maintain some editorial control to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: [email protected].
