How partner ecosystem will help telcos monetize IoT

Telecom Operators must reinvigorate their business models beyond connection to fully benefit from the internet of things (IoT), also known as the fourth industrial revolution. The IoT economic opportunity is expected to reach $8 trillion within a decade. The IoT market spans a wide range of industries. This necessitates a broader variety of business partners in the IoT service-delivery ecosystem while assuring sound partner relationship management. Telecoms can flourish in this environment without straying too far from their core capabilities if they use an enabling-platform strategy to create local innovative 5G partner Ecosystems and secure control points in the commercialization of value chains through partner ecosystems management.

Endless Diversity in IoT

The tremendous diversity of application potential is one of the obstacles to IoT expansion. There is a plethora of application sub-sectors, each with many potential uses. Easier access and use of data to revolutionize corporate processes and create new business models is the driving force behind these initiatives. Making the most of the concentration of apps in critical contexts, such as the home, offices, and cities, is one method to turn this difficulty into an opportunity. Clustered applications in 5G partner Ecosystems make it easier to exploit synergies in each location, making interoperable solutions’ value potential more visible. Telcos must participate actively in a diversified ecosystem of technology vendors, vertical-market domain specialists, and channel partners- each having their own KPIs for growth to benefit from the IoT opportunity further up the value chain. Partner lifecycle management is a difficult task given the breadth and depth of IoT prospects and the numerous stakeholders involved.

Why Adopt Partner Ecosystems?

A partner ecosystem management approach allows telcos to extend their companies by adding expert business companions, such as applied analytics and data sourcing, and go-to-market channel partners, in addition to increasing revenues and remaining competitive in the digital age. Telecoms can further deepen their customer relationships by establishing 5G partner Ecosystems of IoT-specific application developers and providing commercialization tools for application mashups, resulting in more business opportunities and lower churn.

Becoming 5G Ready with Partner Ecosystems 

According to a new Accenture Strategy analysis, ecosystems have the potential to generate

$100 trillion in value for businesses over the next ten years allows for greater competitive agility, and the telecom industry is especially vulnerable to ecosystem disruption. The telecom industry is rated first in Accenture’s ecosystem capabilities index, which evaluates companies’ capacity to establish thriving ecosystems. In fact, 83 percent of telecom executives said partner lifecycle management and ecosystems are a vital component of their disruptive strategy, as per this research.

Partner Ecosystem Supports more Complex Business Models

As company volumes expand, simply directing ecosystem partners as a manual add-on to existing systems and procedures will not be viable. Long-term, the IoT market’s sheer size necessitates the development of highly automated, simply adaptable, low-cost support systems. Furthermore, as the IoT market evolves due to increased application compatibility and a more powerful partner ecosystem management, orchestration and administration capabilities will become critical to support more sophisticated business models. A multi-party service, for example, with a revenue-sharing model based on resource-usage measurements rather than data consumption. These could include database calls and identity management, connecting one owner to a group of connected devices.

Making the most of the platform

A telco might utilize the platform to sell its products and services to its consumers and markets at first. Telcos will be able to construct new service bundles more readily as the telco-enabled ecosystem grows, merging their products and services with those of other providers and innovators— the telco functions as a tenant-user on its partner ecosystem management platform in both of these cases. The actual strategic value of a digital ecosystem, on the other hand, comes from harnessing the service offerings of a diverse supplier base, using shared orchestration, monetization, and administration tools to offer new service bundles, with all parties benefiting from the platform’s low-cost economics. Over time, the telco’s platform should expand to accommodate as many tenants, creating a market for new service bundles and channels to new market segments.

The Path Forward

A clear and ambitious vision, the right partners, and the ability to think broader and riskier are necessary for ecosystem success. Telecom corporations can take three actions to implement a disruptive 5G partner Ecosystems strategy:

• Smarter Decisions: Market plays are at the heart of any ecosystem—disruptive growth opportunities with tremendous income potential. Define the vision, business case, prioritization, and roadmap for each market play. The value proposition that emerges when ecosystem participants combine their functional, technological, and industrial strengths and capabilities might be game-changing.
• Choose Partners Wisely: Partners should bring additional capabilities, a collaborative mentality, domain expertise, Customer Relationships, and Data: To assist in bringing the market play to completion. Leaders must detect the level of orchestration from ecosystem partners and their level of involvement in product development after selecting the proper teammates for partner lifecycle management.
• Think Out of the Box: The ability of enterprises to adopt an ecosystem “mindset” is critical to ecosystem success. This necessitates embracing new business models, thinking beyond current growth drivers, and exploring for strategic partners and disruptive market plays outside the company’s four walls—and even the industry.

Learn how our Partner Ecosystem Management can help your organization

Request demo