Critical Ops Cases: Prices

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated profound reinvention in the telecom industry. The crisis has highlighted the need for a faster, leaner operating model, made possible by rapidly shifting behaviors. Traditional players and non-traditional players have increased competition, shifting value towards technology-focused parts of the value chain. Business models have been disrupted by technologies like AI, big data, and the Internet of Things, redefining service-delivery and value-capture models.

The pandemic has also triggered a customer-back disruption, where digital-native companies like Uber and Netflix set new standards for seamless online experiences, forcing incumbents to redefine their interaction models. For telcos, this means it is decision time – will they seize the opportunity to fundamentally reimagine their business or risk another decade of decline?

Our research has shown that organizations that move early to restructure and change during times of crisis come out ahead in the subsequent decade. Telcos rose to the challenge of 2020 by connecting people to work, school, family, and healthcare, but the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already redefining the basis for success.

Over the past decade, telcos have faced continuous pressure as their traditional value pools have eroded and new growth horizons have proven elusive, driving return on investment capital (ROIC) ever closer to weighted average cost of capital (WACC). The next generation of telcos will be defined by leaders who act now, risking short-term incumbency advantages to seize untapped growth. We believe that 2021 will be a critical year for operators – a unique opportunity to fundamentally reimagine their business or risk decline.

The current moment demands a holistic, future-back approach to transformation, in which leaders deliver on four or five bold, integrated changes to reset their organization's DNA. The time to act is now – the next decade of growth awaits those who seize this opportunity.

Critical ops cases prices