Operators in Focus

Operator strategies for

verticals in the 5G era

July 2020

© 2020 GSM Association

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators GSMA Intelligence is the definitive source of global mobile
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Authors: www.gsmaintelligence.com
Yiru Zhong, Lead Analyst
[email protected]
Christina Patsioura, Senior Analyst
 Contents

1 Executive summary

2 Enterprise portfolio

3 Opportunities in verticals

4 Success factors

5 Go-to-market patterns
 Shape of the market

Leveraging connectivity as a base to address verticals with potential. More than 80% of operators offer, or plan to offer, private
networks to enterprises in 2020. Most private network deployments are rooted in the LTE era but firmly positioned as a USP for selling
1 5G and IoT services to existing business customers. Manufacturing, financial services and retail are generally viewed as the most fertile
verticals for private networks by operators. Appetite in service sectors requiring more complex deployments, such as agriculture and
mining, is more variable but should not be disregarded considering the potential for long-term service contracts.

5G will likely lead to a step change in how operators approach verticals. A third of operators are currently positioning higher
speeds as the key 5G value proposition, as in consumer marketing. While there is some variation reflecting the needs of particular
2 sectors (e.g. network slicing for manufacturing), operators have yet to cut through to enterprise customers with a genuinely ‘new’
proposition. Opinions change when looking two years ahead, though: slicing capabilities, low latencies and private networks are likely to
form the core propositions in winning enterprise contracts then.

Customer demand drives urgency for structural change. Operators with a strategy to upsell to existing customers are clear that to
offer new connectivity services such as 5G or SD-WAN they must provide the same digital B2B experience that cloud and IT vendors
3 offer. Traditionally, operators’ B2B digitisation has lagged their progress in B2C but the chorus of enterprise expectations should provide
urgency for structural change. This extends to the organisational shift required for operators to be successful as consultative partners
rather than pure-play connectivity sellers.

The new era means new skills. The top three factors affecting operators’ ability to win enterprise business are automation capabilities,
labour skillsets and local market presence. Pricing and being first to market are much further down the list, suggesting time is being
4 taken to fundamentally reshape how services are sold rather than rushing products out in search of market share. We view this as
eminently sensible considering that the margin-accretive prospects of long-term contracts with large companies ultimately rely on quality
and demonstrable impact, which can be aided through trials in the near term.

4
 Survey details
Distribution and timing

• In Q2 2020, GSMA Intelligence surveyed 100 decision- • The decision-makers have a strategic role to grow enterprise
makers from operators around the world to understand their revenues, selling traditional communications services (fixed and
views on the enterprise opportunity. mobile) and other value-added services (cloud infrastructure and
services, IoT, security, big data and analytics, application management
and development services, and professional services).

• All responses were confidential and are only reported in aggregate.

Regional distribution of respondents (N=100) Organisation size by number of mobile connections (N=100)

38%
35%

25% 27%
20%
16%
10% 10%
10% 9%

Asia Pacific Europe Middle East North America Latin America

<1.5 million 1.5 million to 15 million to 75 million to >300 million
and Africa
14.99 million 74.99 million 299.99 million
5
 Survey details
Survey questions

Enterprise portfolio Opportunities in verticals Success factors Go-to-market patterns

• Which of the following • Please rank the top three verticals • Rank the top three factors that • What is the primary 5G value
communications services do you that you expect will be your affect your ability to sell proposition you are marketing to
currently sell to your enterprise greatest sources of revenue connectivity services to enterprises now and in 2022?
customers? between 2020 and 2025. enterprises. • When approaching enterprise
• When do you expect to sell the • When do you think each of the • Rank the top three factors that customers, which of the following
following communications services following verticals will generate affect your ability to sell non- products are most often included
to your enterprise customers? revenues at scale? connectivity services to as the ‘lead’ value-add elements?
• Which of the following non- • For each 5G benefit, please enterprises. • Who do you view as your most
communications services do you indicate the industry that you • How important – if at all – is each formidable competitor in each of
currently sell to your enterprise believe stands to benefit the most. of the following operational the following product areas?
customers? • Which verticals are the top priorities in helping you achieve • What type of vendor do you prefer
• Within the next two years, which of candidates for private network your long-term enterprise revenue to partner with when selling joint
the following non-communications investment? goals? solutions in each of the following
services do you intend to sell to • How important is each of the product areas?
your enterprise customers? following technology capabilities in • Please rank the top three non-
• Thinking of your overall strategy helping you achieve success with traditional partner types you
for your enterprise customers, enterprises? believe could be crucial to the
which of the following is the most success of your enterprise
important long-term (three to five strategy.
year) objective?

Impact of Covid-19

• For which type of service, if any, do you expect to see the strongest growth in demand from your enterprise customers due to the Covid-19 pandemic?
• Compared to expectations before the pandemic, how do you predict Covid-19 will impact overall 2020 revenues for your enterprise lines of business?

6
 Covid-19: services with the strongest demand
Cloud and private networks are the priority; the rest will follow

For which type of service, if any, do you expect to see the strongest growth • It is no surprise that operators anticipate cloud to
in demand from your enterprise customers due to the Covid-19 pandemic?* experience the strongest growth from enterprise customers
Percentage of respondents (N=92) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Working from home is now a
global trend; secure and resilient connectivity for cloud is a
Cloud infrastructure & solutions 35% top priority for most businesses.

• 5G enterprise connectivity and private networks can be

5G connectivity to businesses 20%
grouped alongside cloud as the means for companies to
sustain their remote and virtual business through the Covid-
Private wireless networks 19 crisis.
18%
(4G/5G)
• More sophisticated connectivity such as SD-WAN and
SD-WAN services 11% edge, as well as IoT deployments are in high demand from
businesses investing in digital transformation. However,
they are not a priority to get businesses through the crisis;
IoT solutions & services 9%
rather, they are areas in which businesses will invest as
soon as possible to build a stronger position for the future,
Edge networking 2% post-pandemic.

Do not expect growth in demand

3%
for enterprise services

Prefer not to answer 2%

*Survey work conducted mid-March to mid-April 2020

Source: GSMA Intelligence
7
 Covid-19: impact on enterprise revenue
Operators expect a substantial loss

Compared to expectations before the pandemic, how do you predict Covid-19 will
impact overall 2020 revenues for your enterprise lines of business?* • As of the beginning of the pandemic, the majority of
operators were expecting a revenue loss of between
Percentage of respondents (N=92) 1% and 10%, while around one in four expected a
decline of more than 10%. Either scenario would
DECREASE IN REVENUES INCREASE IN REVENUES
entail a substantial loss in enterprise revenue, but
their forecasts may prove accurate given the big
34% shock that companies may have to withstand and
32%
the resulting cuts they could make from their ICT
budgets.

• Enterprises account for around 30% of operators’

revenue mix on average. Nearly half of this stems
15% from SMEs, which may be affected more severely
by the economic hit.
8% 8%
• Given such scenarios, operators need to take a
medium to long-term approach to ensure contract
2% 2% continuation, allow for payment deferrals and enable
0% 0% 0%
greater customisation of services.
>15% 11% - 15% 6% - 10% 1% - 5% Do not 1% - 5% 6% - 10% 11% - 15% >15% Prefer not
expect a to answer
change in
enterprise
revenues
*Survey work conducted mid-March to mid-April 2020

Source: GSMA Intelligence

8
 Contents

1 Executive summary

2 Enterprise portfolio

3 Opportunities in verticals

4 Success factors

5 Go-to-market patterns

9
 In numbers: enterprise portfolio

The most important objective in operators’ enterprise Some 87% of operators offer cloud services to
36% strategy is to grow revenue with existing customers 87% enterprises and a further 8% plan to do so over the
(36% of respondents). next two years.

Deploying telecoms functions on the public cloud was

More than 80% of operators offer private wireless
>80% networks or plan to offer them to enterprises by the 48% once considered unlikely. Today, almost half of
operators claim to be doing so commercially.
end of 2020.

Over 70% of operators claim they will be selling Nearly all operators will offer IoT solutions by 2022. Some
>70% 5G to SMEs and corporates by the end of 2020. 94% 65% of surveyed enterprises have deployed an IoT
solution as part of a broader digital transformation
agenda.

10
 Enterprise portfolio for communications
Playing to your strengths

Which of the following communications services do you currently sell to your enterprise • Connectivity remains the base layer. Despite limited
customers and, if you don’t, when do you expect to do so? 5G network footprints, more than 70% of operators
Percentage of respondents claim they will be selling 5G to SMEs and corporates by
Traditional mobile and fixed the end of 2020. This likely reflects the sale of 5G
100% devices and in limited cases FWA, using established
services
B2B distribution channels.
2% 3%

Private networks 86% 7% • Private networks grow. More than 80% of operators
have private networks available. The high figure could
suggest a loose definition of the term though, ranging
from the installation of private networks to adaptation of
5G connectivity to businesses 72% 23% legacy LTE configurations.

• Room for growth beyond core connectivity. A

SD-WAN services 65% 12% 11% smaller proportion of operators are currently involved in
edge and SD-WAN, but the majority expect to offer
these by 2025. It remains to be seen how go-to market
models will shape up, with a mix of direct sales and
Edge networking 51% 17% 20% partnerships with cloud majors likely.

Currently (or plan to in 2020) 2021–2022 2023–2025 2025+ Never

Source: GSMA Intelligence

11
 Enterprise portfolio for non-communications services
Commitment in cloud and IoT; ambitions in data analytics

Which of the following non-communications services do you currently or plan to • Nearly all operators in cloud and security. This follows the
sell to your enterprise customers within the next two years? GSMA Intelligence Network Transformation Survey, which
Percentage of respondents showed almost half of operators offering public cloud solutions
to enterprises.
Currently sell Intend to sell in the next 2 years Did not respond
• Firm commitment to IoT. Around 65% of enterprises have
deployed an IoT solution as part of their digital transformation
Professional services 99% agendas, so operators are rightfully claiming a share here.
However, only 7% of enterprises consider operators as their
Cloud infrastructure &
“go-to” IoT vendor; more work is needed to become the
87% 8% 5% partner of choice.
solutions

• Big data analytics and application services – similar

Security solutions & services 85% 5% 10%
stories. Three in four operators will offer such services over
the next two years. For the rest, these might not be clearly
IoT solutions & services 83% 11% 6% defined commercial opportunities, or they might not even see
themselves in these areas in the future.

Big data & analytics 62% 14% 24%

Application development &

58% 13% 29%
services

Source: GSMA Intelligence

12
 Enterprise strategies for the next three to five years
Existing accounts form the target in the medium term

Thinking of your overall strategy for your enterprise customers, which of • Upsell tops all. The most important objective for
the following is the most important long-term (three- to five-year) objective? operators is to grow revenue with existing customers.
Percentage of respondents (N=100) This implies a strong focus among operators on
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% adding cloud, security and IoT (higher growth
services) to core connectivity offerings.

• North America is an outlier. For North American

36% 18% 16% 16% 12% 2% operators, the most important objective is to grow the
new accounts base. This is in contrast to operators’
priorities elsewhere.

Grow revenue with existing customers • Appetite to explore new areas. Similar proportions of
operators appear willing to explore new partnerships,
Grow new channels through partnerships use cases and business models, likely realising that
maximising future gains in the enterprise market will
Develop industry vertical focus by creating new repeatable use cases require partnerships and innovation.
Create new business models with enterprises

Grow customer base by selling to new accounts

Other

Source: GSMA Intelligence

13
 Contents

1 Executive summary

2 Enterprise portfolio

3 Opportunities in verticals

4 Success factors

5 Go-to-market patterns

14
 In numbers: opportunities in verticals

More than 15% of operators ranked More than half of operators expect to lead or co-
invest with their enterprise customers in private
>15% manufacturing (electronics) or financial services
as the strongest verticals for revenue beyond
>50% network deployments in financial services and
connectivity during 2020–2025. healthcare.

Less than 10% of operators see opportunities for Massive IoT is the 5G feature that 24% of
<10% revenue beyond connectivity in buildings, transport,
mining or utilities.
24% operators believe is key to addressing the retail
enterprise opportunity.

Two in five operators plan to invest in their Network slicing is the 5G feature that 21% of
40% infrastructure to support private networks for
verticals.
21% operators believe is key to addressing the
automotive manufacturing enterprise opportunity.

15
 Revenue opportunity in verticals for services beyond connectivity
Operators betting big in financial services, manufacturing and healthcare

Which industry verticals do you expect to be your greatest sources of revenue beyond
• Manufacturing lends itself to on-site networks.
connectivity between 2020 and 2025?
The manufacturing-related verticals would top the list
Percentage of respondents (N=100)
(79%) if combined. Smart manufacturing is also the
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% fastest growing segment for IoT.

Financial services • Other verticals also appeal. The industry verticals

Manufacturing - electronics & equipment
that operators anticipate to be the greatest sources of
revenue are financial services and retail, closely
Healthcare followed by healthcare.
Retail
• Regional variations. While manufacturing interest is
Agriculture widespread, more complex deployments have
Oil and Gas
Ranked 1st regional bents – agriculture and mining in Latin
Ranked 2nd America, and oil & gas in the Middle East and Africa,
Manufacturing - automotive for example.
Ranked 3rd
Public sector and government

Manufacturing - other

Buildings

Transportation, logistics, warehousing

Mining

Utilities

Source: GSMA Intelligence

16
 The private network opportunity in verticals
Investment appetite in line with revenue expectations

Which industry verticals are the top candidates for private wireless (4G/5G) network investment?
Option: co-investment between operators and enterprise

Percentage of respondents
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% • Two in five operators plan to invest in
their infrastructure to support private
Financial services networks for verticals

• Investing where the revenue

Healthcare
opportunity lies. In terms of bearing the
project investment cost, operators are
more willing to self-invest or co-invest in
verticals where they see the best long-
Manufacturing - automotive
term income opportunity. Financial
services, healthcare and manufacturing
sectors are front of mind.
Agriculture

Manufacturing - consumer electronics

Source: GSMA Intelligence

17
 5G features for individual verticals
Benefits not only in higher speeds

• Different features of 5G appeal to different verticals. For • A step change in how operators approach enterprise verticals.
example, operators see massive IoT as beneficial for retail but not Today a third of operators are positioning higher data speeds as the key
particularly for financial services. This implies a deeper level of 5G value proposition, despite realising different verticals need different
understanding of verticals’ needs beyond basic, secure 5G features. This is likely to be bridged by developing tailored 5G
connectivity. enterprise offerings.

Please indicate the industry vertical that you believe stands to benefit the most from…

Higher data transfer Ultra-reliable low latency Massive IoT Edge computing Network slicing
speeds
Top verticals: Top verticals: Top verticals: Top verticals: Top verticals:

• Financial services 25% • Manufacturing • Retail 24% • Financial 16% • Manufacturing

(automotive) 13% (automotive) 21%
• Public sector 22% • Public sector 22% • Healthcare 16%
• Transportation 12% • Financial services 20%
• Retail 13% • Manufacturing • Manufacturing
• Public sector 11% (automotive) 11% (automotive) 11% • Healthcare 13%

Source: GSMA Intelligence

18
 Contents

1 Executive summary

2 Enterprise portfolio

3 Opportunities in verticals

4 Success factors

5 Go-to-market patterns

19
 In numbers: success factors

A third of operators picked pricing as an important

Experience counts as the key factor in operators’ ability factor in their ability to sell connectivity to enterprise
to sell connectivity to enterprise customers. More than customers. That two thirds of small operators picked
>50% half of respondents list success in digital tools, local 33% pricing as the most important factor reflects the
presence and a broad portfolio as top three factors. pressure to compete on price and undermines the
story of a differentiated challenger.

Operators recognise their limitations in selling services

Only around 10% of operators selected time to
beyond connectivity if they do not develop skills fast
market as an important success factor in selling
enough in IT and/or industry expertise.
>50% More than half of operators want to see further 11% services beyond connectivity. If there is less
urgency in being first to market, there is room for
digitisation of their processes to succeed in selling non-
operators to make the move from transactional
connectivity services.
sales to a more consultative solutions model for
non-connectivity services.

Three quarters of operators expect an urgent change

in sales tactics from transactional to consultative in 70% of respondents rate security as an important
75% order to succeed in upselling to existing vertical 70% conversation point among enterprise customers.
customers.

20
 Ability to sell connectivity
Delivering on customer experience trumps all

From the list below, rank the top three factors that affect your ability to sell • Customer experience over price. The top three factors
connectivity services to enterprises affecting operators’ ability to sell connectivity services are
Percentage of respondents (N=100) linked to their ability to deliver on customer experience.
Given enterprises’ buying preferences, operators are right
Increased automation 54%
to focus on increasing digital tools to deliver the expected
experience. The ability to deliver from a local support site is
equally important.
Local market presence 53%
• Pricing more important for smaller players. While not
A broad portfolio 51% seen as the most important aspect of a deal for the sector
as a whole, two thirds of small operators (with fewer than
Pricing 33% 1.5 million mobile subscribers) regard competitive pricing
as the No.1 factor in winning enterprise business.
Self-service capabilities 32%
• Improved BSS is secondary. Such a low rating for BSS
exposes the risk that operators will not be able to adhere to
Differentiated offering 30%
the stringent connectivity metrics of 5G, private networks
and SD-WAN services.
Agile sales process 29%

A fit-for-purpose BSS 18%

Source: GSMA Intelligence

21
 Ability to sell non-connectivity services
Structural problems acknowledged

From the list below, rank the top three factors that affect your ability to sell non- • Operators on a transformational journey. Operators
connectivity services to enterprises recognise the urgency to refresh their organisation with
Percentage of respondents (N=100) relevant IT and/or industry expertise in order to upsell non-
connectivity services to existing vertical customers.

Skillsets and capabilities 56% • Slow and steady. Operators of all sizes do not consider
short time to market as an important success factor. This
Process automation 52% sentiment should be reflected in the shift in sales from
transactional to a more consultative solutions model for
non-connectivity services. However, the window for
Competitive pricing 46%
winning enterprise contracts for cloud and network
business will start to close as IT competitors begin to
Security credentials 41% accumulate cloud and networking capabilities.

Customer credibility 37% • Developer community overlooked. Large cloud vendors

such as Azure and AWS have well established developer
Competition from cloud vendors 32% communities and are already aggressively pursuing cloud
and edge networking capabilities. Operators risk
A developer community
overlooking this important route to market – especially
25%
those aiming to upsell via IT-led digital transformation.
Short time to market 11%

Source: GSMA Intelligence

22
 Operational priorities
Selling style adapts to new goals

How important – if at all – is each of the following operational priorities in helping you achieve • Consultative sales adapting to diverse
your long-term enterprise revenue goals? customer needs. Operators view the most
Percentage of respondents (N=100) important barrier to upsell as their failure to
offer the most relevant solutions and services to
target customers. To engage vertical
Know your customer business customers, operators are building their own
75% 23% 2%
needs specialist solutions to establish customer
credibility.
Invest in security 68% 25% 7%
• Investing in security to establish leadership.
Increase network automation 57% 38% 5% Many operators see investing in security as a
priority to establish trust with customers and
Increase service automation
conduct consultative sales for upsell
55% 40% 5%
opportunities.

Access to developer community 43% 33% 24% • Access to developer community low in
priority. This works against the expectation
Upskilling of sales 35% 48% 17% that operators will also target business-as-usual
IT requirements as part of their upsell
strategies.
Top 2 Moderately Important Bottom 2

Top 2 = Extremely important + Very important

Bottom 2 = Slightly important + Not important
Source: GSMA Intelligence

23
 Technology capabilities
Now is the time to define SLAs

How important is each of the following technology capabilities in helping you to achieve • SLAs are easier to understand. Security benefits are
success with enterprises? difficult to quantify at the best of times as
Percentage of respondents (N=100) measurement is negative (fines or economic loss). The
evolution of 5G and other new technologies will
Security SLAs 71% 20% 9% transform the way society functions but significantly
expand the threat landscape. Enterprises have often
Standalone 5G 70% 26% 4%
cited security concerns as a barrier to IoT adoption.
Networ & service performance Operators already recognise the importance of
66% 28% 6%
visbility investing in security; enabling security SLAs creates
Network & service performance
SLAs
64% 31% 5% something tangible that customers can measure and
understand.
Operations automation 53% 44% 3%

BSS improvements 51% 42% 7%

• Using security metrics to build trust. Operators
already track average time to detect or respond when
In-building coverage 38% 45% 17% they deliver managed security services to enterprises.
As enterprises become familiar with these metrics,
Edge networking 38% 28% 34% operators can introduce security-based SLAs around
availability, resilience, latency, bandwidth and access
Top 2 Moderately Important Bottom 2 control.

Top 2 = Extremely important + Very important

Bottom 2 = Slightly important + Not important

Source: GSMA Intelligence

24
 Contents

1 Executive summary

2 Enterprise portfolio

3 Opportunities in verticals

4 Success factors

5 Go-to-market patterns

25
 In numbers: go-to-market patterns

Around a third of operators are currently positioning 22% of operators are likely to position slicing
30% higher data speeds as the primary 5G value
proposition.
22% capabilities as the primary 5G value proposition
over the next two years.

The year to watch, as 2022 is the earliest that Rel-16 Cloud, 5G and IoT are included as lead value-
2022 systems will be commercially ready, allowing
operators to go to market with a richer set of offerings.
>50% added components by more than half of operators
going to market.

Telecoms equipment vendors are most frequently

Edge computing is the least likely value-added listed as the top competitor and partner in
4% component that operators will go to market with. No.1 operators’ B2B strategies, closely followed by
IT/cloud vendors.

26
 5G value proposition
Reluctance to focus on longer term 5G benefits is a potential risk

What is the primary 5G value proposition you are marketing to enterprises now • Operators focus on speed. 5G offers wider benefits than
and expect to market to enterprises within two years in 2022? higher speeds, but operators overwhelmingly picked speed
Percentage of respondents. Now – N=100; Next two years – N=90. as the primary value proposition for enterprise customers in
2020.

30% 30% • Commercial reality lags technical capabilities.

22% Commercial teams among operators are only prepared to
20% 18% discuss the different capabilities of 5G over the next two
13%11% 12% years. This caution could be due to the wait for 3GPP Rel-
10%
7% 7% 6% 6% 5% 16 to be complete and systems to be commercially ready.
3%
0%
• Slicing versus private networks. While these involve
Higher data Ultra Highly Slicing Higher data Private Massive We technical differences in how connectivity is provided, both
transfer responsive reliable volume networks IoT currently
speeds system do not serve the same base purpose: to service an enterprise
market to customer with a guaranteed level of 5G service on speed,
enterprises latency or both. The slight difference in favourability from
our survey is incidental, with both options likely to be kept
Now Next 2 years in the sales arsenal.

Source: GSMA Intelligence

27
 Lead value-add elements
Leading with cloud-led digital transformation

When approaching enterprise customers, which of the following products are most • Operators’ cloud v2.0 strategy. Our analysis of
often included as the lead value-added elements? operators’ B2B revenue revealed a revival in operators’
Percentage of respondents (N=100) cloud business propositions. Operators are moving beyond
data centres and application hosting to more service-
Cloud infrastructure and services 62% oriented hybrid cloud services. This survey suggests the
revised offering is not just for large operator groups; small
Communications services - 4G or 5G 53% and medium-sized operators are also leading with cloud as
IoT 52%
their value-added product.

Professional services 38% • IT-led digital transformation. A differentiated cloud

offering is essential for operators to meet IT-led digital
Private wireless networks 29% transformation requirements. For example, Singtel and
Telstra may be small by subscriber size, but ICT as a
Security 28%
proportion of their total revenues was 18% and 13%
SD-WAN services 19% respectively in 2019.
Applications management and
development
8% • Unexplored opportunities. IoT is a familiar value-added
lead, but technologies such as private networks, security,
Big data and analytics 7% SD-WAN and edge are not yet customer-ready for most
Edge networking 4%
operators.

Source: GSMA Intelligence

28
 Competition and partners in IoT
Operators want to lead but winner-takes-all view hurts prospects

Who do you view as your most formidable competitor/partner, besides your

telecoms peers, in IoT?
• Operators overstate their relevance in the IoT
Percentage of respondents (N=100) ecosystem. They consider IoT platform companies,
IT/cloud vendors and industrial vendors as almost equal
competitors, as they perceive that their own IoT offerings
35%
include cloud, platforms, and software such as applications
and analytics. Enterprises have almost equal preference
22% for those vendors that operators see as their top
20% 19% competitors.
15% 14%
12% 12%
• Expansion of partnerships needed. If operators are to
5% 5% 3%
2%
2% 0% 0%
address transformational needs, they must expand their
0% 0% 0% collaborative partner list beyond traditional connectivity
IT/cloud vendors
IoT platform companies

Industrial vendors

SI/transformation consulting

Security vendors
domains (telecoms OEMs and IT/cloud vendors). From this
Telecoms equipment vendors

Business software platform

Technical engineering companies

None of the above

survey, it is clear operators are missing potential routes to
market via engineering companies, consulting companies
companies

companies
and security vendors. These may be receptive to working
together on a joint IoT offering that is in line with the way
enterprises buy IoT solutions.

Competitors Partners
Source: GSMA Intelligence
29
 Competition and partners in private networks
Deployment options will give rise to new suppliers

Who do you view as your most formidable competitor/partner, besides your • Realistic view of the competition? We are surprised to
telecoms peers, for private networks? see only two main competitors in the operator view, as
Percentage of respondents (N=100) other types of competitor offer private networks. For
example, the availability of spectrum opens up competition
43% 43% from industrial vendors, SI companies or technical
39%
36% engineering companies. Almost 50% of enterprise
respondents who indicated they have invested or will
invest in private networks said they prefer to partner with
IT and infrastructure vendors.

6% • Different deployment options offer new partnership

1% 4%1% 3% 1% 1% 1% 2%1%
0%0% 0% 0% opportunities. Considering that most operators are
aiming to target vertical use cases with 5G capabilities
platform companies
IT/cloud vendors

Telecoms equipment

Industrial vendors

IoT platform companies

Technical engineering
consulting companies

None of the above

Security vendors
Business software

and private networks, it is naive to ignore the existing

SI/transformation

relationships enterprises already typically have. Industrial

companies
vendors

vendors such as Bosch or Siemens have similar ambitions

with their own proprietary offers – as will technical
engineering companies.

Competitors Partners
Source: GSMA Intelligence

30
 Competition and partners in security
Secure cloud enhances operators’ cloud v2.0 propositions

Who do you view as your most formidable competitor/partner, besides your • Sweet spot for operators in cloud v2.0. Operators are
telecoms peers, in security? clearly targeting their cloud offerings to address the
Percentage of respondents (N=100) security risks inherent in enterprises’ cloud environments,
typically with multiple cloud vendors operating across
multiple sites. Doing this well requires deep knowledge of
35%37% both IT/cloud vendors and security specialists, especially
those in cloud security.
27%
25% 23%
• Securing 5G cloud adoption. Telecoms equipment
17% vendors are crucial partners in operators’ ambitions to
secure their 5G proposition for vertical customers. 5G
4% 1% touches on cloud and virtualisation, which in turn rely on
3% 1% 2% 0% 2% 3% 0%
0% 0% 0% secure software. Telecoms equipment vendors are in a
strong position to support operators’ quest for leadership

SI/transformation consulting
IT/cloud vendors

Security vendors

Industrial vendors
Telecoms equipment vendors

Technical engineering

IoT platform companies

Business software platform

None of the above

in enabling secure 5G use cases.
companies
companies

companies

Competitors Partners
Source: GSMA Intelligence
31
 Competition and partners in SD-WAN
Upsell success requires accelerated digitisation

Who do you view as your most formidable competitor/partner, besides your • Upsell tactics become clear. That operators see telecoms
telecoms peers, in SD-WAN? equipment vendors as overwhelmingly the main competitor
Percentage of respondents (N=100) and partner reveals their go-to-market tactics for SD-WAN
services. They are selling it as the migration story from
42%45%
existing MPLS contracts. BT Global Services has
attempted this for many years, but recent results suggest
this is not growing fast enough to outpace the decline in
traditional voice and data services.

• Parity of features and experience. As part of operators’

upsell tactics, they are aiming to persuade existing
11%12%
customers to abandon their ongoing managed services
5% 2% 4% 3% contracts offered by vendors such as systems integrators
3% 3% 2% 1% 1%
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% or IT value-added resellers. Operators need to ensure
parity of features and experience, which requires
IT/cloud vendors

Security vendors
Telecoms equipment vendors

SI/transformation consulting

Industrial vendors

IoT platform companies

Business software platform

Technical engineering companies

None of the above

accelerated digitisation of their processes. This means
operators must meet the flexibility and agility that SD-WAN
companies
companies

promises and offer the same experience for enterprises

using IT services (e.g. via self-service portals).

Competitors Partners
Source: GSMA Intelligence 32
 Competition and partners in edge networking
Operators experiment with routes to market

Who do you view as your most formidable competitor/partner, besides your • 5G and early use cases of edge. 5G is the leading access
telecoms peers, in edge networking? network for early edge use cases, according to our study of
Percentage of respondents (N=100) the edge market in China. Use cases, deployment modes
and partnership models are being trialled with telecoms
equipment vendors, industrial vendors and IT/cloud
28% vendors.
20%
17% • Operator role is gradually defined. Large operator groups
12% 11% such as Vodafone, AT&T, Verizon and Telefónica raced to
the market with press releases for edge partnerships with
4% 4%4% 3% 1% 1% 0% 0%0% 0% 0% 0%0% AWS and Microsoft Azure. Vodafone has one of the most
clearly defined roles; it is investing in IT and software skills
IT/cloud vendors
Telecoms equipment vendors

Industrial vendors

SI/transformation consulting

IoT platform companies

Technical engineering

Security vendors
Business software platform

None of the above

to refresh its overall skill base, growing access to the
developer community and tapping into existing assets to

companies
deliver the ultra-low latency expected of edge computing.
companies
companies

The operator that digitises their processes the fastest gets

to success in edge quicker.

Competitors Partners

Source: GSMA Intelligence

33
 Non-traditional partners
Going big on vertical specialists

Please rank the top three non-traditional partner types you believe could be crucial • Know your customer via industry specialists.
to the success of your enterprise strategy Operators expect to target the transformational agenda of
Percentage of respondents (N=100) their vertical target customers. This go-to-market approach
is in line with enterprises’ adoption attitudes. According to
Industry vertical specialists 64% our Enterprise IoT Survey 2019, 65% have deployed IoT as
part of a broader digital transformation agenda, rather than
ML/AI specialists 56% as a standalone initiative (35%).

Cloud vendors 42% • ML/AI partners to complement analytics offering. In

aggregate, this is in line with operators’ plans to expand
Digital marketplace 40% into big data analytics and applications over the next two
years. European operators stand out in picking these types
OT security vendors 38%
of partners as most crucial to their B2B strategies.

• Minimal attention currently on applications. Limited

Data aggregators 28%
emphasis on the developer community and edge
computing vendors counters our hypothesis that operators
Developer community 17%
should be targeting business-as-usual IT requirements.
Edge computing vendors 12%

Source: GSMA Intelligence

34