How the Internet of Things might disrupt the telecoms industry
There’s no doubt we’re advancing towards the Internet of Things at a phenomenal rate. Once reserved for the realms of sci-fi films, the concept that everyday items store, process and share information online is now reality thanks to the advances in embedded sensor technology and wireless energy. The ability to connect everyday devices will not only revolution the consumer electronics market, but the need for increased communication across devices is like to disrupt the telecoms industry as we know it.
I think we’ll see 3 significant changes in the telecoms industry play out as we move into 2015 and beyond:
- Growth of Open-Source Ecosystems
The internet of things will lead to an increasing consumer desire to connect and control all of their devices, sharing data between the products they own, and controlling them from their mobile devices. Whilst consumers can currently synchronise their devices across wireless networks and Bluetooth, advances will need to be made to these platforms if the reality of connected everyday household items online is to become a sustainable reality. To truly facility the Internet of Things, telecoms infrastructure will need to be device agnostic in order to support the transfer of information and data without the compatibility issues that exist today. The agility, flexibility and speed associated with open-source platforms, mean they are likely to win out in the race against the privately managed ecosystems maintained by telecoms today to provide a suitable platforms to support the communication between almost any devices.
- Declining Demand for Bundled-Offerings
As device-agnostic platforms make it easier to connect devices becomes easier consumers will have the ability to create customised bundles of products and services from preferred supplies without the connectivity and compatibility issues associated with brand specific telcos services today. Seamless integration and management of services is a big part of the value offered bundled products in today’s market place and will require telcos to rethink the way they service their customers. In the short term, telcos will likely adapt the offerings they have to suit the shift in consumer purchasing behaviour, but ultimately I think we’ll see the decline of bundled services, leading many telecom companies to rethink the way they cross sell to consumers.
- Shift Towards Specialist Services
With the ability to pick and choose services across suppliers, consumers will demand high quality products and services and will reward those suppliers that can meet this demand. Because large telcos have traditional operated a ‘catch-all’ approach, they tend to offer a broad range of fairly average offerings to a wide range of customers. In today’s world, where consumers are willing to sacrifice on quality in return for the ease of being able to purchasing multiple services from a single supplier to avoid connectivity/compatibility issues, this model worked. However, in the new age of the Internet of Things, where devices and services will work seamless regardless of supplier, manufacturer or brand, telcos are a likely to face competition from new market entrants, whose efforts are focused on offering the very highest quality for a single product/service.
What’s next?
As these changes plays out, I think we’ll see a shift away from consumption of bundled services from a single supplier towards an industry that is much more fragmented, as companies focus on offering specialist services to meet the demands of the consumer.
However, lets not forget, in an industry where physical infrastructure is still critical, the big telecoms companies are still likely to dominate in the short-term but I think in the long term they may struggle to hold on to their position at the top a their market share is eroded and shared between an increase number of smaller niche suppliers.
As we enter 2015 and beyond, this presents some interesting challenging for telecoms companies that may require them to rethink their business model and USP.
AND...if you're still not convinced at the disruptive power of the internet of things, take a look at how the internet of things will rule your workday in 2020...
Financial Services Solution Architect Lead for Middle East
9 年Very true Mark. Apples recent success does prove that the ecosystem is still alive and kicking. But I think companies are going to have to offering something unquie to keep hold of their customer base in an industry that is driven by consumers desire to have increased control and ability to connect their devices when, where and how they want. There's only so long companies can keep our the disruptive trend towards open-source. But unthinking our right, the ecosystem model is still thriving
Managing Director - Growth Services Lead (Marketing, Commerce, Sales and Customer Operations) - Europe, Middle East and Africa
9 年The unbundling of products is definitely an interesting dynamic. The huge profits announced by Apple for a controlled ecosystem might fly in the face of this prediction. However intuitively with consumers increasingly in control - ecosystem owners will either have to invest heavily in offering such an extrodinary ku differentiated customer experience that customers accept the limitations of an ecosystem, or open up to embrace a more diversified and collaborative digital ecosystem.
Helping Leaders Break the Stigma of Mental Wellbeing & Reclaim Their Time | Improving Decision-Making, Reducing Burnout, and Boosting Performance | Executive Mentor, Speaker, Leadership Wellbeing Advocate.
9 年Interesting article Joss and great Infographic! Thanks for sharing and hope you're well