As far as analyses go, this positioning of the communications business, by consultants at Accenture, is somewhat reassuring. Unlike some other industries, including the postal service, energy and transportation, the communications business is less volatile.
On the other hand, communications also is more durable and less vulnerable. On the other hand, communications is not among the more viable, most durable of industries either, such as the software and high tech industries.
The point, Accenture argues, is that connectivity providers need to move beyond connectivity towards orchestration (up the stack). For the past decade or so, consultants and analysts have been telling retail-focused connectivity providers they had to choose: either be an efficient bit pipe or become a value-added solutions provider.
This latest argument by Accenture consultants is in that same vein. There are, fundamentally, not too many choices. Service providers can “stick to their knitting” and become more efficient providers of voice and data services. Or they can move up the stack into applications.
One big question, though, is what that means. Some, including Accenture, seem to argue for becoming a platform, more than becoming a solution provider. “Simply orchestrating vendors in a connectivity network will not add value—moving to a more open and different platform-based play, based on a modern IT architecture, will be the key to enabling growth,” they say.
It seems obvious that managerial skill, and a bit of luck, will be required over the next decade as the industry continues to morph into something different.
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