Forging ahead with speed, scale and superfast telecom technologies in 2023

With the continual growth of real-time data and uncertain global economies, telecom service providers are shifting from being a communications enabler to helping obtain a competitive edge with the discovery of new solutions that drive revenues. After the spectrum auctions, cellular networks in India will be able to better leverage emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), edge computing, and the internet of things (IoT). These technologies are projected to fuel the nation's economic growth and sustainability demands.

According to a new analysis from telecom consultancy STL Partners, by utilizing analytics, AI, and automation, telecom companies can derive profits by over 8% of yearly revenues across more than 150 processes spanning network operations, customer channels, and sales & marketing.

What can we expect?

With connectivity expanding exponentially and new technologies coming on board, the boom in the telecom sector will spill over to the adoption of cloud-based technologies. With this, the proliferation of the public cloud in all segments of telecom will continue to strengthen. Also, Public cloud-based Operational Support Systems (OSS)/Business Support System (BSS) offerings from major telecom infrastructure vendors will gain momentum. Importantly, telecoms and others will have to look at controlling the costs of cloud deployments and squeeze value out of operational costs.

5G will not only become mainstream in 2023, but will accelerate growth in heavily automated sectors. Telecoms will expand services to verticals that require high-speed processing power to analyze data and output results. This will create a need for data architects and developers.

Demand for modern databases

The ever-growing telecommunications market brings in massive amounts of streaming data. The challenge will be to manage, leverage, and analyze this data across silos in real-time, optimizing new investments in modern infrastructure and applications, and delivering the best customer experiences, all at real-time speeds. Telecom companies that offer the best and most robust experience will retain and grow customers and sales.

Today, businesses require a modern data stack that provides dramatically lower ownership costs while maintaining predictable performance at an unlimited scale to meet the demands of real-time applications. Most databases in use today weren't designed for the explosion of real-time data, setting the stage for new database technologies. With advanced data infrastructure, telecoms will be able to:

• Minimize millisecond latency
• Boost performance and responsiveness
• Improve uptime
• Quickly scale to 10-100 million users per application
• Easily manage application traffic
• Enhance upselling and cross-selling with real-time personalization

Living life on the ‘edge’

Given the widespread application of edge computing in modern technology, we truly are living on the "edge." The transition from core to edge networks as well as Multi-Access Edge Compute (MEC) initiatives will proceed and gain in popularity. Edge computing allows remote devices to respond quickly and generate timely information. It facilitates real-time computing by processing data generated by edge devices. Databases that can move historical data from the core to the edge with little or no friction will become the norm as the need for cost reduction grows for telecoms and other industries.

Customer is king!

We live in the age of ‘intelligence’ where smart devices connect and inform us every minute. The speed and ease with which a company can deliver accurate information, orders, and intelligent actions directly affect customer satisfaction. Hyper personalization with information that is relevant to users can be achieved with the appropriate use of AI and predictive technologies.

While different businesses are using AI to create better user experience, telecom solution providers, integrated with real-time data management technology can deliver a personalized customer experience for rating, discounts, promotions, and settlements across networks.

A cry for sustainability

While enterprises are looking to improve business, ESG and Sustainability goals have made it onto the list of business priorities. A modern database can help reduce server usage by over 80% and significantly reduce server assets. With this, the TCO of the solution would dramatically come down. Telecom companies may function as an enabler across several crucial industries, assisting them to contribute to a greener future, through innovation in telecom-enabled technologies. A recent Aerospike and AWS benchmark report notes a 49% reduction in carbon emissions when building applications.

According to the proverb "necessity is the mother of creativity," the need for faster and more connected networks creates new avenues for change. Hyper-automation is not far away as we have already begun the process of integration across industries.

The ongoing development of the telecom industry serves as a foundation for all industries that use even the smallest amount of technology. While we observe improvements, lives will change as individuals transition from high-quality streaming services to speedier processing at greater scales. The next wave of change in the telecom industry will be shaped by the leaders of today who can grasp the scope of transformation, act swiftly, and do so with conviction to become future's catalysts.

-- Aveekshith Bushan, VP, Asia Pacific and Japan, Aerospike.