Nine take-aways from industry analysts at Mobile World Congress

Mobile World Congress always covers a vast range of technology, data, and telecommunications topics, and I was delighted to be there with Elisa Polystar . Here are my general observations about what was notable in my conversations with industry analysts at this year's MWC:

1. Data unification and automation challenges were a major focus. There was much discussion about the common goal among authorities to unify data for better AI integration and automation, as well as the challenges of overlapping systems and maintaining multiple tools
2. The implementation of AI and autonomous networks was a hot topic. Participants talked about the need for incremental steps in implementing these technologies, rather than viewing them as magic solutions. There was increasing emphasis on practical applications and use cases
3. Data visualization and AI platforms were discussed, with participants sharing insights on their roles in these areas and the challenges of predicting market trends in fast-moving technologies
4. The importance of building trust in AI and automation tools was highlighted, especially in network operations. Discussions touched on the process of executing tasks through AI agents and the potential for AI to suggest solutions based on previous workloads
5. Skills gap and talent retention in the telecom industry were mentioned as ongoing challenges. There was talk about the role of automation in addressing these issues
6. The event featured discussions on energy storage, reflecting the diverse portfolio of companies in attendance (including Elisa Distributed Energy Storage)
7. Monetization of new technologies was a concern, with participants exploring various models and discussing the challenges of making money with emerging tech like ChatGPT
8. There was significant interest in market insights and analyst engagement, with discussions about the value of these insights in the telecom sector
9. The future of autonomous networks and necessary business process changes were debated, including the challenges of transitioning to the cloud and future-proofing systems

Overall, my discussions at Mobile World Congress 2025 reflected the rapid evolution of both CPSs and their clients, with a strong focus on AI, data management, and the practical challenges of implementing new technologies in existing systems.