In the week that the UK launches its first 4G network, Lux, Commercial Director at teliqo, agrees that data will absolutely be crucial to securing the future for telcos, but he also believes that the business-to-business market could offer an even bigger opportunity.
“I have no doubt that diversification is critical for our industry; data will be the key to the future for all telcos, just as broadband has been for IT managed services companies,” he said.
Lux continued: “Once you have a connection to the end user, a huge opportunity emerges to deliver scalable, secure applications and services. This is particularly true for the B2B market, where mobility is driving new working practices for businesses in all sectors. Remote working and Bring Your Own Device schemes are making it much easier for employees to work productively in or out of the office using their mobile devices. Add to that the increase in popularity of voice-prioritised broadband and voice over IP technology such as that used by unified communications platforms, and we have a compelling opportunity,” said Lux.
Lux concluded: “There are many ways telcos can provision additional services for these new trends in B2B communications, for example, delivering fixed IP addresses to all user devices allows for management and control in the business environment, and enables the user to bring their own device. And unlike consumers, business users are increasingly accessing critical applications such as CRM systems and databases via their mobile devices. Telcos are at a critical juncture, and the ones that diversify will be the ones that flourish.”