Alan Quayle, an independent analyst and consultant, recently spoke with group editor Joseph Waring about his efforts to help telcos address the widening service innovation gap and the launch of a forum that brings together developers and telcos to develop innovative new services.
Quayle, who is the founder the Telecom Application Developer Summit (TADS), which runs from November 21-22 in Bangkok, argues that telecom application developers are grossly underserved by the telecom industry.
The event targets both developers and telcos that want to understand how to work with telecom app developers to create a profitable telecom application ecosystem.
Quayle shares the reasoning behind TADS and outlines what is needed for telcos to take control of their destiny.
We all agree the telecom industry needs to innovate, otherwise it will cede services to others and operators will become mere ISPs. How does it do that?
The focus has to be on service innovation. Service innovation matters across the demand curve, not just the long-tail. It’s about internal service innovation, service innovation with existing ecosystem partners, and service innovation with a segment of developers to which telecom is relevant.
How can telcos address the service innovation gap?
They need to retake control of internal service innovation from their so-called “strategic suppliers” that have stifled it and instead work directly with telecom application developers.
They also need to work with their existing partners to deliver service innovation in cooperation with telecom application developers.
To do this they must focus on a subset of long-tail developers, telecom application developers that can extend telecom into new ecosystems and business propositions. Think of them as a beach-head or lead-bowling-pin into the broader long-tail developer community.