For many years, TM Forum has been at the forefront of enabling enterprises to turn the latest wave of digital technology into business opportunities. To do this, our members collaborate to share best practices and develop common solutions to the shared business challenge of end-to-end management of complex systems.

One of the biggest revolutions in business that we are seeing today is the rise of the platform economy. We are all familiar with some of the largest platform businesses: Amazon, Google, Airbnb, Uber, etc. They have completely transformed business models, and their rapid growth has put incredible strains on the markets and players that they are disrupting.

The platform strategy

The platform strategy really is quite simple: Build digital ecosystems that connect customers with producers of goods and/or services – and hide the complexity from them.

Communications service providers have a unique opportunity to turn their networks and operational and business support systems into a flexible platform that can connect producers to consumers, as well as providing a great customer experience.

As we look ahead to 5G, this platform approach may well become essential for success. As well as enhanced data rates, 5G opens up new business models with the Internet of Things, smart cities, digital health and connected cars as just a few examples. No enterprise can address these opportunities alone – those that become a central facilitator or curator for a value fabric of partners addressing the opportunities will be the ones to thrive.

Keep reading on InterComms.