The Big Data Opportunity

Further, Big Data is also about better understanding how and when a customer uses his service.  This understanding will enable the CSP to better serve the customer, and will ensure that the CSP provides increasing value in an ecosystem where more and more content and services are coming from third parties.  Customer records, usage records and billing records are used not only by the CSP anymore, but are often shared with external parties and partners in detail or aggregate fashion.  This copying and sharing of data is another factor that both DRIVES the growth of record volumes AND benefits from better knowledge from analytics.  Data-driven insights can lead to value-based price plans, high-performing advertising models, an enhanced customer experience, and data-driven decisions that improve operations across the board in a CSP environment.

Just like the struggle to quantify “how big is big,” the benefits of successfully deploying a big data strategy in a service provider environment are not always easy to define.  But the benefits are big, too!  McKinsey Global Institute, in that same 2011 report, estimates that location-based data alone will generate $100 Billion of value to CSPS in the next 10 years.  Even more impressive is their belief that location-based services will generate $700 Billion in value to consumers and business users alike, who stand to gain measurable efficiencies in time and cost savings from things like smart routing during their commute, people tracking for both safety and social purposes, and geo-targeted advertising that brings together sellers and buyers with well-understood value that meets a want or a need.  What strikes me is that we are all aware that these location data-driven services already exist today, and they can only improve in the future as the data that fuels them is better processed, better analyzed and better understood. 

Heading in the Right (Big) Direction

The good news is that CSPs realize this already.  A very recent survey of industry executives found agreement across the board:  91% believe that Big Data strategies should be a priority for every service provider.  But only slightly more than half believed that their organizations were making big data a priority today, so there’s a way to go. 

Ultimately, the insights that are derived from big data strategies will increase a CSP’s knowledge of both its own operations and of its customer base.  This knowledge will enable the CSP to better direct its network investment, improve the efficiency of its operational processes, deepen its knowledge of its customers’ behaviors and needs, and enhance customer experience and strengthen those customer relationships over time.

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This article is sponsored by CSG International.

CSG Systems International, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGS) is a market-leading business support solutions and services company serving the majority of the top 100 global communications service providers, including leaders in fixed, mobile and nextgeneration networks such as AT&T, Comcast, DISH Network, France Telecom, MasterCard, Orange, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Time Warner Cable, Vodafone, Vivo and Verizon. With over 25 years of experience and expertise in voice, video, data and content services, CSG International offers a broad portfolio of licensed and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based products and solutions that help clients compete more effectively, improve business operations and deliver a more impactful customer experience across a variety of touch points. For more information, visit our website at www.csgi.com.