32 per cent believe M2M will play a positive role; ahead of the Cloud, mobile banking, on demand content and mobile advertising
Recent research by WeDo Technologies, a leader in business and revenue assurance solutions, has found CSPs in agreement that M2M (machine to machine) is the emerging technology that will have the greatest positive impact on their revenues over the next two years. The survey of over 100 CSP representatives from 29 countries, conducted at WeDo’s Sixth Annual Worldwide User Group Meeting and 10th Anniversary Celebration in Portugal last month, uncovered that 32 per cent believe M2M will positively influence bottom lines, while 25 per cent thought that personal and/or business cloud services would be the technology that would defibrillate failing revenues.
The much hyped mobile money was the choice of 22 per cent of CSPs as an impactful technology, while 17 per cent of operators thought that on-demand content would have an effect on their businesses in the coming two years. Despite mass coverage in the media, and its undoubted potential, mobile advertising scored low in the survey, with only five per cent of respondents choosing it as a technology that will make a positive mark in the next two years.
OTT players
The research also confirmed the fact that the appearance of over the top (OTT) players, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft, in the market has shaken up competition among CSPs, and forced them to consider new business models to negotiate the threat they pose. However, the good news is that an overwhelming majority of CSP respondents, 70 per cent, agreed they would cooperate with each other over the coming two years to face down the threat that OTT players pose.
“Our User Group includes attendees from large-scale operators from around the world, so to see 32 per cent throw their weight behind M2M indicates that we can expect this technology to thrive,” commented Rui Paiva, WeDo Technologies’ CEO. “It was a little surprising to see mobile advertising rate so low as a business driver among CSPs. Mobile advertising can provide brands with a much more targeted way to influence the consumer, but our survey shows that operators don’t see it as a serious contender in terms of their own revenue streams. It is encouraging to see the CSP community agree to a holistic and cooperative approach in terms of dealing with OTT players. We welcome this, as OTT rivals do pose a significant threat to CSPs’ bottom lines.”
