Mid-sized and Large enterprises have been traditionally well served by telecom and IT vendors such as Verizon, Orange, IBM, HP, Microsoft and Oracle.
However, when it comes to Small Businesses, the ICT market leaves much to desire. In particular: Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s market offers end-users of all types a plethora of Web-based services, delivered over the top-of any Internet access. As a results of the huge growth of mobile Internet services, along with evolving user behaviour and changing expectations, end-users no longer look to network services providers to fulfill their needs in areas such as communication, collaboration, entertainment, information and productivity. Just consider Skype, Facebook, Shoutcast or Google Docs.
This evolving context has pushed the value away from the networks used to deliver services, to the services themselves, allowing more companies to compete for end customers using a range of business models.
In a world where the growth of traditional services is unlikely for most service providers, and cost reduction is probably not enough to compete over the long term, focusing on developing better, customer-centric value propositions is a key value-creation strategy, offering top and bottom line impact if done right.
The questions then becomes, how do you systematically create market-drive offers that end-customer really want?
Many of our recent posts have dealt with different product and service sectors undergoing changes due to the rapid development of mobile and Web-based services.
While many Web-based companies are chasing new opportunities (ex. communication, collaboration, location-based information, music, print media, etc.) by delivering services over-the-top of any Internet connection, the actual telecom network service providers have been slow to follow for many reasons.
Telecom network services providers that wish to become more relevant to end-users’ broader needs must rethink their service strategy and refocus on developing customer-driven value propositions, satisfying particular problems and issues of specific customer groups, while leveraging their unique assets. Read the rest of this entry »
Ever since I first used a “find the nearest —–” service, nearly 7 years ago, I have thought that location-based mobile services would change the way we function in our daily lives.
Judging by the current state of the industry, it looks like 2010 may be the year that consumer mobile location services finally take-off.
A number of related factors have finally made Read the rest of this entry »
During recent visits to countries including Colombia, Chile and Venezuela, I’ve witnessed and benefited from black-market mobile calls. While my interest was in offsetting relatively high roaming charges, most of the local population is quite price sensitive and simply wants to save money however they can.
This mobile calling black-market is driven by small-time, roaming entrepreneurs looking to make money by exploiting an arbitrage opportunity from Read the rest of this entry »
With 2010 now well underway, during the past few weeks there have been several clear sign that the media industry is arriving at an inflection point.
These developments could lead to new opportunities for content publishers and their service partners, and a more engaging experience for media consumers worldwide. Read the rest of this entry »
In this second part summary of Orange’s ‘La Collection’ 2010, we look at how Orange is trying to make communications richer and more emotive.
These products and services are expected for release in France, UK, Spain and beyond, over the next 6-12 months. Read the rest of this entry »
Last night, I was invited to attend a private showing of Orange’s upcoming services and applications.
This is the first part summary of the services and capabilities that we can expect from Orange in the next 6-12 months, within France and beyond.
With the ever-increasing importance of multimedia and social web services, Orange is striving to offer its customers services that provide more interactivity and sharing, while simplifying the setup and usage processes. Within the home environment, it is positioning the TV as a key rallying point for “more shared entertainment.”
The following products and services demonstrate how it is trying to fulfill this vision: Read the rest of this entry »
I have been a passionate lover and collector of music for nearly 30 years, and a lot has changed since the day that I bought my first portable radio and record player, and today, where illegal music downloading continues menacing the industry’s established commercial model. However, through more effective regulation and the arrival of more attractive music offers (See The Economist: Singing a Different Tune), there are fewer and fewer and incentives to obtain music illegally.
The changes in the music industry have enabled listeners to get quicker enjoyment and a much richer experience in a variety of ways. Based on my own listening history – described in detail below – we can see that music has shifted from an album sales-driven business to one focused on receiving a personalized, listening experience.
This fundamental product-to-service shift is changing the way people consume and enjoy music around the world, Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve sometimes heard people claim that all the new technology and services now available, actually separate us from our family, friends and close contacts, more than before.
The thinking behind this idea is that prior to widespread use of phones and Internet, we would interact with our closest relations face-to-face. However, with all the ICT capabilities that now exist, we may prefer to communicate indirectly and/or at a distance, creating more separation.
I believe that the opposite is true.
As humans, we have an innate need for direct, social contact. This facilitates empathy, allowing us to see how others really feel so we can truly understand them and relate better, and vice versa. This basic human characteristic drives our need to maintain personal, face-to-face contact with our closest family, friends and confidants. This is partly why we have regular family dinners, visits with our grand parents or meet up regularly with our closest friends.
I also believe that modern communication capabilities – including e-mail, texting, IM, video-calls, conferencing, blogs, and social networking services - actually help us enhance relations with our inner circles, as well as with those further out. These tools give us more possibilities and choices for communicating with people in different ways, depending on the context. Read the rest of this entry »
JC Sanchez
