It's now all about the experience

Or how customers experiences and expectations of mobile communications have changed over the years and are now driving innovation and evolution in the telecommunications industry.

During the induction to my first job in the Telecommunications industry (well over 20 years ago), one presenter claimed that within a matter of a few years everyone that wanted one would carry a mobile phone. This doesn’t seem very radical now, but back then it seemed a pretty ambitious target and we weren’t all convinced. Remarkably he was correct, by the mid-1990’s mobile phones were pretty much common-place, albeit not the throw away commodity they are now.

Technological advancements in the industry over the last 20 years have been enormous, but what I find almost as interesting is the change in customer expectations.

When mobile phones first became generally available in the UK it was common to not have sufficient signal to make or receive a call. Dropped calls were the norm rather than an exception and connections to other mobile networks expensive and often unreliable. Though often frustrated customers rarely complained, most accepted the situation as the cost of using such new and novel technology. These days phone users expect immediate, reliable connections and in most cases not just to any other phone but also to the internet where they can access email or surf the internet. A quick browse on some of the network forums provides a useful insight in to the expectations and demands of current customers.

This increased expectation of service delivery has been coupled with a decrease in the price customers are willing to pay. After investing billions in the rollout of network infrastructure, mobile phone companies are now watching traffic increase rapidly over their networks but revenues remain static. Customers simply demand and expect more for less. This scenario is mirrored across all countries with established mobile communication industries.

The role of mobile phone companies has also changed. Most have grown from simple network operators, building and managing mobile networks, to providing completely integrated communication services earning their new communication service providers (CSPs) moniker. This change has also blurred the lines between types of service provider, with technologies and consolidation driving a shift to convergent operators providing mobile phones alongside internet, fixed line and even cable services. Providers need to be able to offer customers a seamless service across a wide range of products, competing with increasing demand for services at an ever reducing cost.

My own career has followed this evolution in the industry quite closely. The first role I had was as a manufacturing engineer building switches for a telecoms equipment vendor. I was quickly seduced by computers with the power and flexibility of software applications to provide solutions and enhancements to the basic hardware. 

As mobile networks started to gain traction and coverage expanded to more users, my career shifted towards software products designed to manage these networks - operations support systems (OSS). Initially these were focused on network performance and fault management but with a subsequent migration into overall service assurance solutions. As the business and operations support (B/OSS) functions began to merge so did the solutions I was delivering, until finally the concept of customer experience solutions (CES) and management (CEM) were introduced. 

As their customers demand more for less, CSPs are increasing looking at how they can monitor, manage and control the experience of their customers. Software vendors are likewise striving to meet these requirements  by providing more and more integrated solutions across the whole spectrum of customer, business and operations support.

Industry sources are starting to suggest the next big steps for CSPs will be customer experience transformations (CET). Which is just as well, because I’ve had my sabbatical away from the industry over the last couple of years and I’m keen to jump straight back in where I left off... 

Head in the clouds

A recent experience* has prompted me to write a few comments about the shift in the IT industry to the ‘new’ concept of cloud computing...

It is impossible to pick up a magazine or read an IT online article on without coming across a reference or advert relating to the future of cloud computing. But what exactly is this ‘cloud’ and how does it differ from previous internet-based hosting platforms?

At a basic level the answer is very little. Stripping away the buzz words, fancy marketing and media hype you effectively arrive back at the same place we were a couple of years ago before the whole cloud concept was conceived. In fact if you have used an internet-based email, calendar or other desktop-style application then you have already been taking advantage of the cloud. Microsoft’s HoTMaiL introduced cloud computing to the masses 15 years ago!

Cloud computing effectively provides the ability to use computer applications over the internet. Typically the application(s) in question will be located remotely on servers owned and managed by someone else. This goes hand-in-hand with another ‘new’ phenomenon in the IT industry, Software as a Service (SaaS). Again this is simply a change of business model to allow customers to replace high upfront software licence costs with more manageable charges based on their actual usage of computer resources. Computing power, storage and capacity become a commodity, purchased as and when required by the customer. Fundamentally the underlying computing technology behind the applications remains unchanged; please take note recruiters and HR personnel looking for 'cloud experienced' developers and project managers. Cloud services and SaaS are largely strategic business decisions not technological changes.

Now I realise that I am sounding a little cynical, so with a nod towards reality there are some fundamental differences with implementing a cloud strategy (especially for a large organisation). For a start there is the not insignificant impact on costs already sunk on bespoke, customised software applications currently running in-house on internally supported servers. Using a third party to simply host applications externally is an initial step, but this is unlikely to be much more different for a large organisation than simply handing over control of existing data centres to another company. The core idea behind cloud computing and SaaS is to encourage the use of standardised applications developed, supported and upgraded by third parties focused dedicated to this task, allowing your organisation to concentrate on its own core business.

I have considerable experience in the IT industry selling and delivering software solutions for business transformation projects based on the use of off-the-shelf products. In theory this lends itself well to the ideas behind cloud computing applications and SaaS. However, one of the biggest challenges consistently faced in all my deployments involved additional configuration of products to deliver the exact functionality required. The concept of change to existing business processes was not one easily accepted at any level in the organisations (top to bottom), despite any obvious business benefits. Attempting to sell these organisations a completely standard cloud-based solution is unlikely to be particularly successful without significant investment, even with C-level support.

With this in mind it is probably small businesses (especially start-ups) that stand to gain the most from the shift towards the cloud (at least in the short-term). Rather than invest in an expensive IT support group, associated hardware and suitable premises; it is now possible to outsource the effort and complexity behind many IT functions. There is also a significant time saving; the lead-time behind ordering, delivering and configuring new hardware and software generally runs into weeks or months. With the right partner this time could conceivably be reduced to minutes for the most basic functionality. Another key benefit is the option of increasing (or decreasing) capacity to meet demand; a considerable attraction to businesses that have a fluctuating order book.

As with any new concept there are significant challenges to address with a cloud-based strategy. Security will be a major concern to all, even with a reputable provider many business owners will be reluctant to allow someone else to be guardian of their most important information. There will also be a need to ensure suitable backup and recovery strategies are adopted. Access/availability needs to be appropriate for each organisation. 24x7 access may not always be required, but there would be big problems if an organisation was unable to use its cloud services due to issues such as maintenance windows that are out of its control.

Finally there is one more very important benefit not yet covered here. Mobility. Cloud services by design are intended to be used remotely, this enables additional access opportunities to a mobile workforce potentially using multiple devices. This may yet prove to be the biggest benefit to organisations, increasing flexibility, reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Now selling that standardised application to end users by promising them access from home on their new smartphone or tablet starts to become a whole lot more attractive...

*Unfortunately the 'cloud' has gained popular support over the last couple of years whilst I was distracted by my MBA. The remotely hosted business applications I used to deliver pre-dated the 'cloud' concept, so in theory I lack cloud experience. The fact the same applications now reside in the cloud without any technical change appears lost on most recruiters/HR teams.