Can telecom companies create next-gen enterprise services with AI??

How can communication service providers use Artificial Intelligence to deliver the business outcomes that B2B customers crave – and are they on the right path yet? ?

Featured in Omdia’s recent presentations on the future of AI in telecoms and media, Camille Mendler, Chief Analyst – Service Provider Enterprise, Omdia, described the role of AI and service providers in delivering new experiential B2B services. Network X Series explores Camille Mendler ’s key findings during the presentation. ?

Are the jobs AI will kill, jobs to mourn? ?

Omdia analyst Camille Mendler offered a human-centric vision of Industry 5.0, where AI works for rather than against human employment needs. Technology tends to replace roles that are the least satisfying for humans to perform, she said. The leech collectors and gong farmers of the past have their AI-related equivalents in the 21st century. Consequently, Mendler asked – should we really mourn the loss of these jobs???

But as much as AI can eliminate jobs, it can also deliver us from the chronic distractions and inefficiencies of work life. Jobs can evolve with AI, not necessarily just be destroyed. With each email, Teams chat and tweet, digitalisation of work has resulted in a shorter attention span – of five minutes or less – for the typical employee. AI could take away many low-value tasks that we don’t want to do.?

Mendler cited Ikea’s customer service department as an example of improved human efficiency using AI. While 47% of call centre interactions are now handled by Billy, the chatbot, human roles have evolved (and not become obsolete), with human staff retrained to advise customers on topics such as interior design. ?

AI won’t fly on its own ?

Mendler asked: do you ever spare a thought for the computer mouse in your hand? If AI succeeds, it will have achieved banal invisibility in our daily life, as all good technologies do, she argued. But truly disruptive change will happen when AI is used in conjunction with other technologies.??

The combination of AI with 5G is a case in point: Mendler shared research on these technologies’ combined impact on the human workforce. This will be negligible in most sedentary occupations, but 5G will positively enhance 635 million people’s jobs. 5G and AI will most impact people working across different physical locations, such as field engineers, surveyors and farmers. ?

A future formula for success combines AI, 5G, edge and extended reality (XR). Nine out of 10 enterprises have identified compelling XR use cases and only device cost holds them back. Managed XR services are an opportunity for CSPs: 56% of XR investors will pay for real-time analytics and enhanced SLAs. Many use cases depend on a robust network: enabling hands-free work in hazardous areas, directing next best action in maintenance or enhanced fault finding.??

Becoming real-time enterprises ?

21st century businesses share a potent ambition: they want to become real-time enterprises – and it’s a goal that digital technologies like AI, 5G and edge can now make a reality. Real-time enterprises are:??

• Environmentally resilient in both security and resource utilisation?
• Situationally all-seeing in accounting for the location and activity of their human, physical and digital assets at all times??
• Operationally predictive in interpreting data and patterns to anticipate changing market factors such as threats and consumer consumption behaviour?

These capabilities are not simply ambitions – they are starting to happen now, as Mendler illustrated with examples:??

• A baseball team is using AI to collect bio-mechanical data and predict player injury?
• A medical insurer is using AI for claims processing in partnership with a hyperscaler, with plans for AI-driven preventative care and remote diagnostic tools?
• A logistics firm is using AI to optimise supply chain tracking in real-time and anticipate problems and threats?

Omdia analyst Camille Mendler’s recommendations to service providers: ?

• Refocus value on outcomes not connectivity: CSPs have had a century or more of selling connectivity but it represents the means to an end. Telcos must articulate how their digital capabilities result in benefits for enterprises – such as productivity, safety or better customer experience.?
• Sharpen your listening skills: To discover what enterprises want, service providers must listen to them, instead of pushing their own agenda. Mendler cited major sports businesses that want to be operationally predictive by collecting data to protect their valuable players’ health and to improve stadium security – but CSPs only want to sell solutions to improve stadium fan experience. ?
• Speak a new language: Instead of talking about service availability or five 9s, service providers must speak about outcomes in deal making. This means considering capex-light, outcome-driven compensation – tied to specific and measurable results that enterprises want. Not least, by harnessing the power of AI internally, CSPs are minimising commercial risk too. ?

?

This article is the second in a series looking at analyst and industry insights on AI and Gen AI, following the Omdia event ‘How AI Will Reshape Media and Telecoms’, held in London in July. To discover the latest insights and data on how AI is impacting telecoms, follow Network X Asia . ?

#AI #5G #Edge #XR #EnterpriseServices #MobileNetworks #InformaTechMobileNetworks #Telecoms #Telecom #Omdia ?