By: Scott St. John, Pipeline

As an industry, we have a tendency to complicate things. In the beginning, the great innovators of the time simply connected two devices together with a wire to transmit signals. And in the years that followed, the industry proceeded to put many more, and many different, devices together, then added a variety of wires and protocols and ultimately removed the wires altogether. 

Today one could only guess at the number of standards, interfaces and devices that have been spawned from this relatively simple initial concept. But if we go back to the basics, it’s not hard to see that there are some key components and fundamental principles that are just as applicable now as they were then, if not more so.

Theoretically, the core components of any offering are fairly simple. You need to have a product or service, a way to deliver it and the ability to bill customers for it. As your customers grow in numbers, you will eventually need a system to capture and reference customer information. And as competition increases, you’ll need a way to introduce new services or differentiate your existing services.

You’ll notice that at no point did I say you need a network.

The shift from network-centric services

The network is no longer the fulcrum point for services, but that doesn’t remove it from the equation entirely. The role of the network has changed from the service itself to that of a key service differentiator. The network is the service provider’s DNA—what makes it truly unique—and as more OTT services come on line every day, it may be the most important asset service providers have in their toolkit. 

With such a low barrier to entry for OTT services, just about any company with a credit line can throw its hat in the ring. But what these new competitors aren’t easily able to do well is offer service mash-ups that combine connectivity, quality of service (QoS) and network information to enrich services or develop one-of-a-kind product offerings. This presents a significant opportunity for service providers to leverage and monetize their network and systems in order to provide a compelling customer experience.

Looking at the underlying technology, we see all the usual suspects. It may be a somewhat simplified view of the world as we know it today, but for decades billing, customer care and fulfillment have been the essential building blocks for enabling services. However, products and services have taken on a new life of their own, and as a result, the importance of creating, managing and differentiating those services has taken center stage.