It’s good news for communications service providers (CSPs): research shows that 83% of large enterprises plan to increase spending on at least one communications or technology service within the next two years.
So how can CSPs capitalize on this trend and expand their enterprise services and solutions business?
A new survey conducted by Vanson Bourne for CSP CRM specialist Pegasystems sheds light on enterprise integrated communications and technology (ICT) spending and on CRM best practices for serving large customers. Between May and June this year, 280 IT decision-makers—responsible for a combined $13 billion in ICT budgets—across industries such as financial services, healthcare, and transport and logistics were surveyed. The results reveal clear opportunities and areas needing improvement.
The overall picture is a reality check for how CSPs manage enterprise relationships and monetize services. One striking finding: 70% of organizations cite “too much complexity” as a problem with their current communications service. Additionally, 58% report at least some issues with insufficient quality of service. These results highlight a core challenge for CSPs: they must deliver customized service bundles tailored to each customer while also meeting basic expectations for reliability and performance.
Mobile spending is rising, and communication services such as VPN, broadband, and dedicated internet access are becoming increasingly important. Despite attention around bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, only 26% of respondents expect BYOD to have a major impact on IT and communication spending in the coming year. Nearly half of the organizations surveyed identified greater demand for secure services and higher bandwidth speeds as key priorities going forward.
Self-service portals are growing in appeal because they can offer 24/7 access and fast information retrieval, yet survey results indicate many CSPs still fall short in delivering satisfactory self-service experiences. Customers who interact with an account representative report high levels of satisfaction with both frequency and quality of communication—more than one-third are extremely satisfied on both counts. By contrast, satisfaction with self-service is much lower: only 24% are extremely satisfied with the frequency of self-service interactions, and a little over 20% say they are “not very satisfied” with self-service quality.
These findings point to a significant opportunity for CSPs to improve self-service capabilities without driving up costs. Addressing complexity, improving service quality, and investing in secure, high-bandwidth offerings will help CSPs better meet enterprise needs. Equally important is enhancing self-service portals—making them more reliable, intuitive, and responsive—so enterprises can access the information and tools they need around the clock while preserving the high-touch relationships that many customers value.
By focusing on streamlined, customer-centric solutions and optimized CRM practices, CSPs can transform the expressed willingness of enterprises to increase ICT spending into measurable growth of enterprise services and solutions revenue.