Amdocs, a leading provider of customer experience systems and services, released a survey yesterday focused on PLM (Product Life-cycle Management) for telecom service offerings.
TelecomsTech spoke with Eitan Elkin from Amdocs to discuss the survey findings and whether telecom operators are positioned to face future challenges and emerging competitors.
Eitan explains the PLM background: “PLM isn’t new; it’s been used for more than 30 years. It began in the automotive industry and has only recently been applied in telecom. The telco market has become much more competitive.”
He added: “Traditional service providers face competition not only from other telcos, but from newcomers—OTT players like Apple, Google, Samsung, Facebook, Twitter. These companies are opening new fronts almost daily.”
The speed of innovation in these services—and their ability to raise customer expectations for service and features—was emphasized. One often-cited example is WhatsApp, a cross-platform messaging app.
WhatsApp and similar apps enable free messaging and media exchange over cellular or Wi‑Fi connections, reducing the use (and potential revenue) of standard SMS for operators.
Eitan notes: “Only differentiated products and services can help operators increase revenue. WhatsApp itself isn’t necessarily a threat in isolation, but it is a form of competition.”
To retain customers and grow a user base, operators must continually introduce new products and improvements; otherwise they risk losing customers to more innovative rivals. Sometimes seizing timely opportunities matters, as Eitan illustrated:
“We had the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 — think about all those people traveling to Rio. If I were a Brazilian operator, I could offer a roaming package with data and voice minutes. For example, 200 minutes plus yesterday’s top five goals delivered in HD to your device.”
“That’s what I call an innovative product,” he added.
Launching such a service often requires partnerships—FIFA, for instance—which aligns with other industry research. Recent Ovum research showed that 64% of service launches are internal and depend on the telecom operator’s core systems.
I asked Eitan whether operators should look beyond their core operations for innovation or if they can achieve it internally.
“Our survey showed that only 48% of viable, innovative products are actually launched,” he said. “That’s an average figure—regional differences exist.”
I posed the broader question: are telco strategies adequate to meet future demands?
His response was candid and detailed: “If you make sure everything works properly, those innovative ideas can be realized. In some places, yes, they are ready for the future.”
He continued: “I’ve spoken with customers and service providers who have very good ideas. But when turning those ideas into real services, internal ‘mist’—bureaucracy and process friction—gets in the way.”
“Sixty percent of CSPs (Communication Service Providers) use a ‘semi-manual’ or fully ‘manual’ approach to PLM. By ‘manual’ I mean someone literally walks around with paper asking departments whether they can support a new service.”
“That creates a lot of bureaucracy and a lack of automation, which prevents good ideas from being realized. So, in answer to your question: no, many are not ready.”
Amdocs’ full survey is titled “Less Than Half of All Viable Product Ideas Are Being Launched.”
What do you think about telecom operators’ strategies for the future?