[Satellite TODAY Insider 05-10-11] Nine out of 10 telecoms firms are restructuring their businesses to connect vertical markets offerings and grow top-line revenues, according to an Informa Telecoms & Media report issued May 9.
Connected verticals represent common models in the satellite industry, where similar technology, systems and processes are applied to commercial, enterprise and government customers. The Informa report shows that six out of 10 telecoms firms are building vertical teams, with an additional 20 percent planning to do so in the future.
“The hurried pace of verticalization heralds a profound re-orientation of the global telecoms industry. Strategies must change to stem revenue decline in generic connectivity services and counter over-the-top competitors. But, successful execution requires more than a sales and marketing veneer. Corporate restructuring and partnering for service innovation and commercial execution are also critical needs,” Informa Telecoms & Media Research Director Camille Mendler said in the report.
The report identifies consolidated operators such as Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Verizon as the most aggressive in applying a multi-vertical market approach, as well as suppliers including Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and IBM. The energy and utilities sector was identified as the top targeted vertical, followed by health and transportation segments. Cloud computing, LTE and M2M were identified as the top enabling technologies.
Analysts have produced several reports expecting 2011 to be a period of modest recovery, with a focus on vertical markets, democratization of smartphones and development of strategic partnerships with Internet players.
In November, Informa Telecoms & Media’s Chief Research Officer Mark Newman said that efforts from operators, handset vendors and infrastructure suppliers to bounce back from the economic downturn and produce solid financial results in 2010 would shape trends for 2011. The issues most likely to dominate the landscape in 2011, “include the emergence of new vertical enterprise sectors such as healthcare, utilities and transportation; the mobile Internet as a mass market; and the importance of strategic partnerships with Internet players,” said Newman.
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