"Voice as a Feature" is Business Customer Future

For the last decade and a half, at least, communication applications increasingly have been decoupled from network access and also are starting to be available across a range of devices used by a single person.

Another way of saying that is to note that “application-specific networks,” built to deliver a single lead application, no longer are the norm. Instead, virtually all major networks now are “multi-service” networks.

In some ways that has helped service providers, who now can sell multiple anchor products on a single network (voice, video and data). On the other hand, modern networks also fundamentally separate “access” from “applications,” meaning “over the top” competition now is easy.

That of course also has the added danger of removing service providers from direct customer relationships on a wider range of products, services and experiences.

According to analysts at the Ericsson Consumer Lab, traditional communication verticals such as telephony and video conferencing will continue to exist as profitable businesses. "Voice as a Feature" is Business Customer Future - Carrier Evolution