The next game changer for telcos

Adoption of the SaaS model in the telecom sector can drive network evolution, reduce operational costs, and improve customer experience

The telecom sector has seen a significant rise in the adoption of the SaaS model, which is projected to boost the overall SaaS market growth. With the telecom industry undergoing a disruptive transformation, the incorporation of SaaS integrations is becoming increasingly crucial for telcos to enhance their efficiency and minimise operational costs.

The demand for SaaS integrations in the telecom sector has further surged due to the emergence of AI-based technologies. According to industry data, SaaS investments in the telecom space have witnessed a 5X jump in 2022 alone, and the market is expected to grow by 16.8% in 2023. This growth is expected to drive network evolution, with the implementation of technologies like network automation paving the way for self-healing networks.

Driving network automation

One of the key areas where SaaS models are expected to drive significant change in the telecom sector is in the area of network automation. With the advent of artificial intelligence or AI-based technologies, telcos are increasingly able to automate many of the tasks associated with managing and optimising their networks. This includes tasks such as network monitoring, troubleshooting, and capacity planning.

By automating these tasks, telcos can significantly reduce operational costs and improve network performance and reliability.

SaaS investments in the telecom space have witnessed a 5X jump in 2022 and the market is expected to grow by 16.8% in 2023.

The emergence of edge computing: Edge computing reduces latency and enables faster, more efficient data processing. It can be deployed to support the development of new services that require real-time processing and analysis of large amounts of data.

As more devices and applications are connected to the Internet of Things (IoT), the demand for localised data processing at the edge of the network is also increasing. Telco SaaS such as network intelligence is crucial in managing and optimising these distributed computing environments, which are critical to support emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and industrial IoT.

Greater focus on customer experience: SaaS models are poised to bring about a major transformation in the realm of customer experience. Today’s customers are more demanding than ever before, particularly in terms of the quality of their telecom services, thanks to the proliferation of digital channels such as social media and mobile apps. To meet these expectations, telcos can leverage SaaS models to gain access to a range of tools that enable them to quickly and efficiently launch new digital services and applications in a variety of areas, including the provision of an optimised in-home connectivity experience.

As service providers continue to focus on delivering a superior customer experience through their SaaS-based solutions, they will be able to leverage customer data to develop highly personalised services and offer intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces that enable customers to access and use services more easily.

SaaS integrations can also help telcos adopt and leverage emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning (ML). These technologies can help telcos to improve network performance, optimise resource utilisation, and enhance customer experience. It can provide the expertise and tools necessary for telcos to incorporate these technologies into their network operations.

Through SaaS models, telcos can deliver a range of advanced services and applications to customers, such as Voice over IP (VoIP), Unified Communications (UC), video conferencing, and mobile device management. These services can be delivered over the Internet or through a private network, depending on the needs of the customer.

Accelerated use of AI and ML: The use of AI and ML is becoming more prevalent in real-time network data analysis. This enables the identification of patterns and anomalies and the prediction of potential issues before they occur. In the future, network intelligence will heavily depend on these technologies to improve network performance, enhance security, and facilitate the development of new services and applications.

Increased focus on security: With the increasing complexity and sophistication of networks, security has become a major concern for communication players. No wonder then, network intelligence is expected to play a crucial role in identifying and mitigating potential security threats, as well as ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

Self-healing networks

With the increasing complexity and scale of telecommunications networks, there is a growing need for automated, self-healing networks that can identify and resolve issues without human intervention. This is where SaaS models come in, playing a crucial role in enabling self-healing networks.

In the past, telcos have relied on manual methods to detect and fix network issues, which can be time-consuming and result in significant downtime and dissatisfied customers. On the other hand, self-healing networks can detect and resolve issues in real time, leading to reduced downtime and improved network performance.

SaaS models leverage advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms to analyse network data and identify potential issues. With the deployment of various SaaS solutions, telcos can collect and analyse vast amounts of network data in real time, allowing them to detect potential issues before they become major problems. This approach can save time and resources, and improve the overall customer experience.

It also provides telcos with the ability to deploy automated remediation processes that can quickly resolve network issues. By leveraging AI and ML algorithms, these automated processes can learn from past network issues and develop solutions that can be deployed in real time, without the need for human intervention. In addition, SaaS ensures that updates and upgrades are delivered to the network infrastructure in real time.

Unlike manual processes, SaaS providers can deliver updates and upgrades automatically, ensuring that the network is always running on the latest and most secure technology. The model also allows telcos to offer more advanced network security features as a service, including intrusion detection and prevention, malware detection and removal, and data encryption. These features provide telcos with a more efficient and cost-effective way to secure their networks.

By Guharajan Sivakumar

Guharajan is the Co-founder and CTO of Aprecomm

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