With an exponential growth in the adoption of technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), cloud, mobility, and artificial intelligence (AI), telecom companies have an excellent opportunity to leverage the emerging market conditions in the APAC region.

FREMONT, CA: Asia Pacific is becoming the hub of internet services. In spite of vast differences between the individual countries, the APAC market continues to expand with almost a double-digit annual growth rate. According to a survey, APAC is expected to have nearly 9 billion connected things by 2020, providing a $600 billion IoT opportunity. Smart cities are expected to grow to almost $800 billion by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 19.4 percent. Thus, telecom companies have an excellent opportunity to leverage the emerging market conditions. As per the research from Accenture, even though digitalization is the priority for telecommunications companies, the underlying challenge is to launch the services fast enough and to convert the digital transformations into a profitable business.

Here are some critical factors that will determine the path to becoming a leader in the region’s internet services landscape in the future:

• Creating the Ecosystem and Placing it at the Centre of Digital Economy

Expanding into adjacent industries through new business models is the norm. However, finding the right business partner is crucial to driving revenue growth with digital services. Establishing business relationships across industries such as insurance, retail, banking, healthcare, entertainment, and government can help the telecom companies to leverage their core assets and to enable various digital services to consumer segments as well as business.

• Monetizing Customer Data Asset

Telecom companies have access to massive customer data sets that can be leveraged for invaluable insights. Data is critical for designing systems that includes insights from various segments of the customer’s life. Data and analytics enable monetization of customer interactions through targeted up and cross-selling. Business models are also a possibility that can emerge around selling the data to external parties.

• Focusing on the Customer Experience

By re-inventing on how customers interact with the company and providing services that seamlessly merge with the daily life of customers, companies can gradually develop a long-lasting relationship which is critical for business growth. Leading telecom companies are digitalizing their retail experience and stressing on wealth interactions through digital self-servicing.