We discuss the following topics in this blog:
- Basic benefits of digital enterprise marketplaces
- What Should CSPs Consider While Choosing the Right Marketplace Provider?
- An Ecosystem Playbook for the Digital Enterprise Marketplace
- Digital Marketplace Opportunities in the APAC Region
In addition to these topics, we shall also be answering the following FAQs:
- What is WiFi?
- What is 5G NR?
Overview
Contents
Digital enterprise marketplaces are like a virtual mall housing an array of products and service offerings. For enterprises, it is like a single platform where communication service providers (CSPs) can buy what they need. The platform will offer a bundle of services, and provide seamless integration between partners and suppliers, besides cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. Industry report findings indicate that over 40% of the top 30 global brands are now platform businesses.
With help of marketplaces, CSPs can get to manage cloud subscriptions and services across multiple vendors or cloud providers, extending to retail customers, and for enterprise customers who want to make the most from it, extending its scope from a tech major company, distributor, and large SaaS provider is joining the digital marketplace game. Few examples like Starbucks, Adidas, Allianz, Home Depot, have reinvented their business models with the cloud and gained greater shareholder value.
Digital marketplaces are built on the platform model, wherein convergence of products and services take place and complement each other. Telcos, with their already large subscriber base and strong relationship with the various ecosystems, can easily adopt and get onto the marketplace model. The enterprise segment is slated to grow multi-fold and varied use cases like smart grid, autonomous transportation, Wi-Fi 6.0, Industry 4.0, augmented reality, virtual reality, Telcos have a great opportunity to participate by way of partners who want to provide such services.
Broadly the enterprise segment is divided into large enterprises – network as a service is required, and SMEs will require enterprise software as a service. All these complex enterprise services are made available in the marketplace.
The basic benefits of digital enterprise marketplaces are:
- Accelerates IT & business transformation of CSPs,
- Reduce risk and cost of transitioning to open architecture
- Supports compliance with Open Digital Architecture (ODA[ ), Open API standards
- Provides a platform for accessing required software, reducing the need to build from scratch
With major open-source activity happening all around, digital marketplaces are riding on open source, and many service providers are combining talents to build better apps. With collaborative partnerships, there is a great opportunity for businesses that want to leverage the services of one service provider, at the same time trying out offerings of similar providers.
What Should CSPs Consider While Choosing the Right Marketplace Provider?
- Integrate with existing systems seamlessly.
- Flexible billing models exclusive for digital marketplaces like subscription-based, pay-per-use models, and the ability.
- Applications catalogue to choose from varied applications that can be sold out of the box besides should be able to onboard new applications.
- Provides a long clear product roadmap that will adopt and bring innovation with changing times.
- Offers tools, which can be controlled manually and automatically for things such as orders, income, vendors, marketplace design, and pay-outs.
Today CSPs are in a transition or at the cusp and are at pace with the ongoing digital revolution and look forward to participating in the digital marketplace. CSPs are beginning to realize that to make this happen, they need to look beyond just technology transformation, but it must take place in the form of business and operational agility for them to grow. The success strength of the CSP is determined by the number of partners, and customers they can get onto their platform. SMEs, large corporates will be the big takers to adopt the cloud model. A research report by ACG research highlights that for CSPs to make a business jump from 10% to 20%, ACG uses the term ‘10xNetwork’ measured in four areas in agility, speed, cost, and scale.
An Ecosystem Playbook for the Digital Enterprise Marketplace
Product managers and business architects at CSPs always are exploring new business models and seek for newer partnerships outside the ecosystem, which in turn create newer opportunities, this enables them to address market demands. Why is this required? It is because customer requirements are broader and CSPs are unable to serve. By widening the ecosystem CSPs have an opportunity to offer market-ready solutions. As for now, only the biggies are jumpstarting, while the smaller CSPs need guidance in terms of understanding the ecosystem and required capabilities and assessing their own participation.
Key Takeaways:
- The purpose of an ecosystem is to uncover available opportunities, and this can be done with participants interacting with each other.
- Evaluate opportunities based on the relationships of the participants in the ecosystem
- Business capabilities need to be identified in terms of people, process, and technology
What are the Digital Marketplace Opportunities in the APAC Region?
In the APAC region, marketplace opportunities exist widely. Japan’s Softbank Corp. has been leading CSPs in optimizing their network operations. Most of the CSPs in the APAC region bank on capturing the real value of embarking on the digital marketplace journey. This means starting as a simple connectivity provider, becoming a fully-fledged digital B2B player, and eventually orchestrating entire connected industries. In the APAC region alone, CSPs have an opportunity to pivot away from low growth; fast commoditizing pure connectivity services and find new roles at the centre of the connected industrial ecosystems of the future.
Conclusion
In order to participate in the marketplace, and be successful, CSPs need to rope in a number of partners, customers they are able to get onto their platform. SMEs, large corporates will be the big takers to adopt With help of marketplaces, CSPs can get to manage cloud subscriptions and services across multiple vendors or cloud providers, extending to retail customers, and for enterprise customers who want to make the most from it, extending its scope from a tech major company, distributor, and large SaaS providers are beginning to realize to make this happen, they need to look beyond just technology transformation, but it has to take place in form of business and operational agility for them to grow.[
STL’s enterprise for Telcos, powered by STL Enterprise Marketplace, is the right platform to choose. The platform serves to act as a bridge between CSP’s, customers, and partners, echoing the path for collaboration and shared value. The scope of the platform draws vendors, partners, and customers to serve several ranges of innovative use cases of the enterprise customers. This will offer many CSPs to exploit XaaS business models and a chance to have newer business models and increase their revenues.
Read our blog on how we can help in digitization through the power of the platform.
FAQs
What is WiFi?
Put simply, WiFi is a technology that uses radio waves to create a wireless network through which devices like mobile phones, computers, printers, etc., connect to the internet. A wireless router is needed to establish a WiFi hotspot that people in its vicinity may use to access internet services. You’re sure to have encountered such a WiFi hotspot in houses, offices, restaurants, etc.
To get a little more technical, WiFi works by enabling a Wireless Local Area Network or WLAN that allows devices connected to it to exchange signals with the internet via a router. The frequencies of these signals are either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bandwidths. These frequencies are much higher than those transmitted to or by radios, mobile phones, and televisions since WiFi signals need to carry significantly higher amounts of data. The networking standards are variants of 802.11, of which there are several (802.11a, 802.11b, 801.11g, etc.).
What is 5G NR?
5G typically refers to the fifth generation of wireless technology. NR, commonly known as New Radio, is a standard developed by the 3GPP Group (Release 15 being the first version introduced back in 2018) outlining the technology required to harness the newly-available millimeter-wave frequencies. The two frequency bands in which 5GNR operates are Frequency Range 1, i.e., Sub 6GHz band (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), and Frequency Range 2, i.e., millimeter-wave (24.25 to 52.6 GHz). Over 4G LTE, 5G NR provides better spectrum utilization, faster data rates, hardware efficiency, and improved signal processing.
From a deployment standpoint, we have Non-Standalone Mode(NSA), Dynamic Spectrum Sharing(DSS), and Standalone Mode (SA). The initial deployments of 5G NR are based on NSA standards, meaning the existing 4G LTE network will operate on the control plane, and 5G NR will be introduced to the user plane. This particular standard was introduced by 3GPP, keeping in mind the industry’s push to faster 5G services rollout while utilizing the existing 4G LTE infrastructure currently in place. On the other hand, operators are also implementing Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) to accelerate the deployment cycle, reducing costs and improving spectrum utilization. In this standard, the same spectrum is shared between the 5G NR and 4G LTE, multiplexing over time per user demands. Lastly, we have the Standalone Mode (SA), which moves towards a complete 5G based network where both signaling and the information transfer are driven by a 5G cell.
In the future, 5G will enable new services, connect new industries and devices, empower new experiences, and much more, providing mission-critical services, enhanced mobile broadband, and various other things.
a) Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) Applications: High device connectivity, High mobile data rates, and Mobile AR & VR applications
b) Ultra-reliable, low-latency communications (uRLLC)Applications: Autonomous vehicles, Drones, Data monitoring, Smart mfg.
c) Massive machine-type communications (mMTC)Applications: Healthcare, Industry 4.0, Logistics, Environmental monitoring, Smart farming, Smart grids