Prioritize Big Data and Analytics – drive growth in Telecom
As we talk of innovations in technology and growth in business, this one term is taking the world by storm – Social Mobile Analytics Cloud – and right at the center of this transformational catalyst sits our topic for today – Analytics. How much can companies in the telecommunications industry benefit from “big data and analytics”? That’s a critical question. But what is certain is the power and role of SMAC in driving business innovation and transformation. In this paper, we will explore the changing face of telecom and mobility and how can Big Data and Analytics be leveraged to attain desirable results.Opportunities are aplenty. Choose what is in it for you.
Big data and its prowess to bring along exponential transformation has been on everybody’s mind ever since the trend caught up a few years ago. But how much of it can I use and benefit from, without spends going through the roof has been a niggling thought for a lot of corner office decision makers. This is particularly true in the telecom sector. Most operators use certain analytics programs that enable them to use their internal data to boost the efficiency of their networks, segment customers, and drive profitability with some success. But the potential of big data poses a different challenge: how to combine much larger amounts of information to increase revenues and profits across the entire telecom value chain, from building and maintaining networks to service offering to sales and customer service.
Wait, take a step back to get to know Big Data and its capabilities when combined with analytics
A quick search on the internet throws up results as ginormous as the Big Data concept itself. But looking at it in its most basic form, it can be defined as large volumes of data generated at unprecedented speeds in a variety of formats across inconsistent, seasonal variations and coming from complex systems and business processes. Imagine having all of those gems of insights about your business hurtling down on you and flowing away like an unchecked data stream. That is what Big Data is and that is where Analytics needs to be combined to use all that raw power to generate growth focused intelligence. Now that we know this, isn’t it easier to conceptualize an integration with our current processes to drive innovative growth – you bet it is. So we start with an inside-out approach, beginning with all the available internal and external data, and look for out-of- the-box opportunities to emerge. Big-data experiments demand speed, agility, and an iterative approach if they are to achieve really effective and exponential results.
Getting back to what this powerhouse duo – Big Data and Analytics can offer to telecom
Big data and Analytics combined has the potential to impact the Telecom scenario across the length and breadth of its value chain. Every component of a telecom value chain can be touched, enhanced and elevated by using Big Data enablers.
- Telecom Networks Infrastructure – Literally starting from the backbone, we know that everything in telecom begins and ends at the network. Imagine a hold on all that network generated data in real time and the analytic projections it can go through to show up unprecedented insights. Using Big Data on live network traffic to optimize and improve quality of service/network performance seems to be the most logical step towards business transformation for telecommunication service providers and network owners.
- Telecom Service – Viewing those Call data records and patterns takes on a whole new dimension with Big Data and Analytics coming into the forefront. Now it is all about constant monitoring and analysis of a customer’s usage pattern on your network for augmenting and enhancing service quality, experience and in turn the revenues. This is now a better informed and intelligent way to customize value added services, tariffs, offer up- sells and cross-sells – in short, lead to enhanced customer satisfaction.
- Innovative revenue streams for the business – Big Data and Analytics churns out this wealth of information that can be put to numerous other uses in service innovations that are purely insight based and have the most chance to be as close to reality as it can get, thus resulting in a better shot at driving growth and winning.
The time is now, let’s start experimenting with Big Data
Big data offers telecom operators a real opportunity to gain a much more complete picture of their operations and their customers, to further their innovation efforts. Its potential can be realized only when it is embraced. Thinking about unique and unconventional sources of data about the company, their customers and the environment they operate in and then applying analytics leads to development of differentiated offerings. Avoid pitfalls of upfront investments and commitments, augment your legacy, do not discard it.
The time is now – Dive in!