There is no doubt about it, the last few months have forced our society into a complete reset. It has transformed the way we live, work and interact with the world in general. This will leave an indelible mark on each of our businesses. With telecom operators and carriers being the cornerstone of the digital lifestyle, it is vital that they adapt quickly as the new reality sets in. There is no way around it, as the “New normal” will be to continually getting used to “New Normals”!
What the last few months have shown us is that resilience, agility and flexibility are not only “nice to have” anymore, but rather they are “must have” capabilities. Customers expect their communication tools to enable them to continue to thrive in chaos. Change is upon us and we must be ready for it. The uses of digital technology are evolving in step with the daily lives of individuals in both B2C and in B2B. This means the telecom solutions of today and tomorrow must embrace fluidity and be able to evolve on a daily or even hourly basis. It also means that customers are increasingly looking to control their own experience in real-time, so that their communication tools reflect their rapidly changing needs. It is clear that we now live in a world that is increasingly volatile, where customer control is key to their experience.
With significant volatility comes added pressure on revenue and cost across the board. Telecoms, like many industries, have been impacted of course, and many operators are already streamlining their organisations and looking for ways to rapidly increase efficiency and restore profitability, this through automation, virtualisation and digitalisation. Organisations are also seeking to evolve their business models to enhance fluidity, simplicity and enable efficient end-to-end partnerships throughout the new telecom ecosystem.
We now live in a world that is increasingly virtual. Working from home is now the norm and this new reality is probably here to stay. Going forward, large corporations are planning to move much of their workforce to home-based type work, at least a few days a week. This is having a significant impact on enterprises’ requirements in enabling their employees to communicate, not only amongst themselves, but more importantly with their suppliers, customers and partners. Digital technology complements human interaction to make this more fluid, so a growing amount of communication takes place online through app-based solutions. The challenge here is to achieve this while keeping the quality, reliability and security that enterprises require at all times, giving employees a comparable work experience, both at home or at the office. Connectivity at all times and everywhere has become more important than ever. Also, digital solutions such as blockchain for example, will be critical to enable optimal efficiency. This ensures reliability of transactions, creates transparency between actors and speeds up the process, all of which are vital to ensuring smooth virtual cooperation between the different stakeholders.
The 360-degree virtualisation of our world not only impacts how we communicate and work, but also how we grow our businesses. Digital enables fast management and 24/7 availability, freeing us from time zone issues and, as it will be a while before we jump on a plane to visit new or existing customers at the drop of a hat, business development has to take advantage of it and will probably never be the same again. Companies in all sectors are looking for virtual solutions that will enable them to address new markets or segments from the comfort of their own office or homes. And this may be the greatest challenge of all.
