Cisco this week announced the addition of a new network analytics tool to its cloud services portfolio that it says will open up new business opportunities for telecoms operators. And if a prediction made by the firm’s outspoken CEO on Tuesday proves correct, those opportunities can’t come soon enough.
"You will see 40%-50% of service providers over the next decade become irrelevant," John Chambers said at a press briefing at Mobile World Congress.
"They have to change," he said. In the digital mobile world the companies that succeed will be the ones with a "willingness to reorganise themselves."
At the event Chambers and his colleague Kelly Ahuja, SVP of Cisco’s service provider business, presented Mobility IQ, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) analytics solution that enables operators to see what is going on in their networks and to provide access to business customers, such as airports and retail outlets.
"It’s a complete picture…it’s not stovepipe," Chambers said. The solution works across cellular and WiFi networks, in real time, and provides a simple interface for users, he explained.
Ahuja gave a demonstration using data captured at Mobile World Congress this week, where attendees used 1.4 terabytes of data on the 3G and WiFi networks on Monday and a further 460 GB up to the time of the press conference on Tuesday morning. The system also measured the number of connected devices and can show metrics such as traffic usage by time of day and location.
That sort of data would be helpful to telcos’ network operations units, enabling them to identify problems on the network, for example.
The system also provides data that would be useful to marketing teams, allowing them to make a decision on "where to charge more for certain billboards" or how to tailor offers for consumers, Ahuja said.
There is also a managed services view, geared towards business customers who could use the data to better serve their customers.
"[Mobility IQ] data that can be actionable and grow the business," said Waleed al-Sayed, chief operating officer of Ooredoo, which has piloted the system in Qatar.
"[We have] committed to expand the service to all our customers," he said.
