By: Xiao Zhengcang, CTO, Whale Cloud International

The telecom industry has been a trailblazer in innovation, facilitating global connectivity for individuals and businesses alike. As digital technologies continue to evolve at a rapid pace, the future of telecom is brimming with possibilities.

To remain innovative and competitive, communication service providers (CSPs) are taking various strategic initiatives.

Firstly, they are investing heavily in research and development to explore emerging technologies and trends. This includes investing in areas such as 5G, IoT, AI, and cloud computing, among others.

Moreover, CSPs are focusing on enhancing their digital capabilities. They are adopting digital transformation strategies to streamline their operations, improve customer engagement, and enable agile service delivery. This includes upgrading their infrastructure, implementing cloud-based solutions, and leveraging data analytics to gain valuable insights.

As we see it, these strategic initiatives have two significant objectives to achieve. By enhancing operational efficiency, increasing revenue, cutting costs, and delivering exceptional customer experiences, CSPs are revolutionizing to keep a competitive edge and maximize benefits. Nevertheless, their influence goes beyond their individual success as they undertake the responsibility of leading societal digitalization and transformation.

This aligns perfectly with Whale Cloud’s STRATO strategy, which aims to transition from digital transformation 1.0 to 2.0 and help CSPs transform from digital telcos to digital service providers.

Illuminating the path to prosperity

To achieve agility and digital transformation, CSPs have the flexibility to choose from various approaches based on their maturity, strategic positioning, and corporate goals. Some CSPs may choose to pursue a highly automated destination, where they streamline processes and enhance customer experience through efficient and cost-effective operations. Others may opt to focus on creating and managing digital ecosystems, spanning multiple industries and adopting platform-based business models.

Achieving agility and digital transformation involves a combination of factors, including digitalizing existing infrastructure, automating and optimizing operations, embracing platform-based business models, participating in new ecosystems, and creating new marketplaces.

Architecting a digitally empowered society

CSPs are not only focused on their own organizational benefits but also on their role as catalysts for societal digitalization. By providing reliable and efficient communication technologies, they empower individuals, businesses, and governments to fully participate in the digital age.

This includes facilitating access to high-speed internet, mobile connectivity, and other digital services that are essential for the entire society. Meanwhile, CSPs are increasingly recognizing the importance of exposing their capabilities through APIs. They are exploring ways to transition from traditional models to integrated everything-as-a-service frameworks and embracing the B2B2X business model by collaborating with technology vendors, content providers, and other service providers. This collaboration fosters innovation, allowing CSPs to integrate traditional telecom and technology services into new service offerings used by enterprises to cater to different types of end customers.

One platform, with endless possibilities

Whether their focus is on driving their own success or contributing to the development of a digitally empowered society, CSPs require an innovative and feasible approach, along with a unified platform, to support their endeavors. This is where Telco as a Service (TaaS) steps in to meet these needs.

TaaS supports three digital pathways for CSPs to strategize and determine the optimal approach. For CSPs aspiring to become true native-digital organizations with full automation, TaaS provides the necessary technology and processes to swiftly launch a lightweight and digital-first stack for new market initiatives. This enables enhanced flexibility in business operations and ensures a superior customer experience.

TaaS also supports the “Greenfield Approach,” an alternative transformation option that mitigates the risks associated with migrating existing Operations Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS).

With this approach, CSPs can progressively reinvent parts of their business and gradually replace legacy systems with new ones. Typically, the old and new systems will operate in parallel for a period. Once the new system becomes sufficiently mature for operations, the core businesses will be migrated in batches based on business types and customers. The greenfield approach is particularly recommended for CSPs with complex legacy BSS systems seeking a transformation.

Furthermore, TaaS assists CSPs in establishing a marketplace for enterprise customers, which signifies the advanced stage of harnessing the value of TaaS. At this stage, CSPs can offer extended capabilities such as connectivity, data, channels, and operations to government and enterprise customers. They can act as digital hubs for their government and enterprise partners, promoting collaboration and facilitating value creation.

Making it happen: ongoing actions

In today’s industry landscape, both vendors and CSPs are actively engaged in various initiatives related to TaaS. At Whale Cloud, we firmly believe that the key to the successful realization of TaaS lies in embracing Out-of-the-Box (OOTB) solutions and fostering openness. These essential features are not only ingrained in our approach but also serve as the foundation for our competitive advantages.

As a testament to our commitment, Whale Cloud is currently collaborating with a prominent customer in the Asia Pacific region to translate ideas into tangible actions. By leveraging our expertise and innovative mindset, we are dedicated to driving forward the TaaS revolution in this dynamic market.

About the author:

Mr. Xiao Zhengcang is the Chief Technology Officer of the International Business Operation Center of Whale Cloud. With a trailblazing career in the industry, Mr. Xiao has gained substantial expertise in both telecommunications and cloud computing. Before his current role, he spearheaded the business operation platform division at Alibaba Cloud, showcasing his excellent leadership skills.

Recognized as a seasoned professional, Mr. Xiao has been instrumental in propelling the Local Public Cloud solution of Whale Cloud, accelerating the global promotion of inclusive cloud computing.

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