Mobile telecom revenues will reach $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to research from Informa Telecoms & Media. Data services will comprise 40 percent of that number ($440 billion), putting major pressure on carriers to maximize returns from data revenues. The research was commissioned by mobile marketing, advertising and data services company Motricity.
The research is the result of a survey from Informa, which shows that an increasing number of carriers are looking at moving to a managed service model for their data offerings. The global online survey was sent to mobile, fixed and converged carriers, and Informa also conducted interviews with carriers in the Asia Pacific region. Many mobile operators view the managed service model as a means of risk management, enabling them to focus on their core business. Outsourcing the development, delivery and management of services and applications can give operators more time to implement direct customer-facing activities.
The survey found that third-party management of mobile data services like merchandising, marketing, advertising, commerce solutions, business intelligence, and segmentation will allow mobile operators to expand their subscriber service offerings. Results showed that the top priorities for managed services include such specialist services as web discovery, content management, advertising and hosting/data center management.
Messaging ranked as the key driver of revenue for data services, followed by mobile Internet and music. Operators thought mobile Internet would take the lead in two years, followed by social networking and messaging. The research also showed that innovation will be critical for emerging markets because of increased competitive, investor and subscriber demands on operators to manage churn, improve user experiences and expand their margins. Out of respondents in the Asia Pacific region, 82 percent have a relationship with a managed service supplier around their data offerings, or have plans for one within the next three years. These carriers believe the most critical functions for operator support include content provider management, portal management and business intelligence, resulting in more strategic market segmentation.
"In the course of carrying out this research, it was interesting to note a common thread from operators -- the need to launch new services within increasingly rapid deployment cycles but at the same time managing OPEX tightly," said Nick Jotischky, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. "Quite a trick to pull off, and one that makes the potential selection and management of a managed service supplier an even more strategic decision."
"Motricity's solutions are the key to driving new revenue streams for operators worldwide," said Ryan Wuerch, CEO, Motricity. "Based on Informa's research, coupled with Motricity's aggressive international expansion plan, we are in a prime position to partner with operators in emerging markets. Our goal is to enable our partners to quickly monetize mobile data usage by providing the enhanced mobile Internet experience that their subscribers demand."
Edited by
Tammy Wolf
