How is Cloud Computing Helping the Telecom Industry Grow?

Over-the-top streaming technologies have begun to hold digital spaces, which is why the telecom operators are battling with decreasing revenue streams and industry disruption. Now that every business has subpar connectivity solutions, telecom businesses need to evolve beyond network connectivity services and offer distinctive, sustainable solutions to their user base. Speaking of going beyond connectivity, cloud computing in the telecom industry can surely help. 

The impact of cloud computing in the telecom industry is unfettered and powerful. The telecom service operators and providers can store and compute customer data, create cloud data warehouses, migrate cloud data, cope with other telecom cloud services, access any tele service through the cloud autonomously, etc. 

Cloud telecommunication can be a universal computing tool with broad comprehension. With the endless benefits of cloud computing in the telecom industry, it is high time businesses learn to imply telecom cloud strategies in their everyday operations. 

Therefore, here’s an article that tells you how the telecom market can leverage the power of the cloud to accelerate its business growth. Moreover, you will learn how to transform your digital telecom services and meet the modern enterprise ICT needs using telecom cloud solutions. 

Let’s start with the basics, shall we? 

What is Cloud Computing in Telecommunications?

Under general circumstances, telecom software runs on dedicated computer appliances. However, if you are looking to advance agility and stay affordable at operational expenses, you must consider using telecom cloud architecture rather than traditional network infrastructures. 

Cloud computing in telecom is a software-defined infrastructure that allows your tele business to store and process data remotely in its data processing centers or data lakes. Cloud communication solutions can expand your business services quickly and react to the surge in changes. Cloud computing for telecom companies is the keystone of tele digital transformation from CSP (Customer Service Point) to DSP (Digital Service Point). 

The telecom cloud market size is estimated to surpass 105.7 billion USD by 2030 at a CAGR of 14.45% from 2022 to 2030. Imagine how a significant investment in telecom cloud services can open your business to a new world of B2B and B2C communications. This exhibits that the cloud is the most powerful enabler of power business innovation. 

Cloud Computing Types and Archetypes for Telecom Businesses

Generally, there are three cloud computing models widely adopted by telecom businesses to facilitate growth. 

• IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) where you can leverage computing resources such as network infrastructure, data storage, data server, etc. of your provider.
• PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service), where your platform vendor provides access to the usability of the software platform. 
• Software-as-a-Service where you can use your software development company’s off-the-shelf software. 

If you are worried about the responsibilities taken by you and your vendor, here’s how the charges are divided. 

Apart from these telecom cloud solutions, cloud computing is also categorized in archetypes based on its level of adoption. A cloud archetype is also described as a cloud-enabled framework in which the customer service providers can choose from varying degrees of cloud adoption, enablement, and innovation. 

There are majorly three cloud computing archetypes available for telecommunication businesses for adoption: 

1. Optimizers 

Optimizers use the cloud to perform current business efficiently by increasing their customer value proposition. As a telecom service provider, you can embrace this degree of cloud adoption to offer connectivity aligned with customer needs. You can use cloud caching, data acceleration, and other methods to deliver connectivity more innovatively. 

By far, the adoption of archetypes of cloud computing for telecom companies has positively impacted both the telecom cloud market and customers.

The critical roles of being a telecom cloud optimizer are: 

• Offering public cloud solutions 
• Fulfilling data sharing requirements
• Adopting a single cloud-based solution for effective operations 

2. Disruptors

 As the name signifies, disruptors create different value propositions, new products and services, and even new customer needs. To become a disruptor, you will have to leverage the most valuable resource, unique customer data, and analyze and merge it with other distinctive technology assets to create new services and needs. 

Given the current scenario, telecom businesses are well positioned to become crucial players in B2B telecom cloud services. It is easy to enhance your telecom software and services through custom software development using cloud capabilities. 

The key roles of being a telecom cloud disruptor are: 

• End-to-end quality service 
• Analyzing customer insights 
• Aggregation expertise
• Fulfilling local telecom presence 

3. Innovators

Innovators are the degree of cloud adoption where you have to tap the cloud potential to expand your business value proposition and create new revenue streams. In simple terms, to become an innovator, you will need to transform the roles within your value chain and enter adjacent industries and markets to gain new revenue streams. 

The key roles of being a telecom cloud innovator are: 

• Offering tailored customer experience to users 
• Increasing sales by placing ads
• Enhancing workflow management
• Gaining rapid insights into performance across multiple channels

Here’s a graph that depicts all three cloud archetypes and their key role.

To harness cloud computing in telecom industries, you can start with effective telecom operators’ cloud strategies. Effective cloud strategies such as extensive cloud collaboration services, workflow management, enterprise resource management, etc., can help you stay ahead in the market. 

The role of cloud computing in the telecom industry is significant and inevitable. Few Popular cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, Google Cloud, etc., can offer you top cloud architectures in terms of on-demand solutions. 

If your telecom business hasn’t been cloudified yet, you are probably missing out on the top benefits of cloud computing in the telecom industry. Let’s move to a rundown on some of the cloud use cases for telecom businesses and their major advantages. 

Benefits of Cloud Computing for Telecom Companies 

Let us start with the top three service models of cloud computing that have significantly increased the reach of telecom cloud services across the globe using modern technologies. These cloud service models also exhibit the cloud use cases for telecom businesses.

• Cloud delivery model- The cloud delivery platform offers IT and communication services over any network, such as fixed, mobile, and worldwide coverage. Since it is a cloud model, the services can be accessed by any end-user-connected devices like desktops, smartphones, television, etc. 
• Network service model- This Telcom cloud model delivers high-grade network services such as L4-L7 connections, VPN, etc., in order to ensure secure and high-performance services with high-quality assurance for end users. 
• Communication service model- This model includes various communication services such as audio calls and conferences, message broadcasting, video conferencing, etc., for effective connectivity. 

Now, coming back to the benefits of cloud computing for telecom businesses, there are unlimited opportunities for telecom cloud enterprises to explore. The role of cloud computing in the telecom industry has increased since the pandemic. 

Post pandemic, all personal communication, work communication, entertainment, food delivery services, and medical services are implemented through telecommunication services which is why cloud computing has become necessary. 

Here are some vital benefits of telecom cloud services

1. Reduction in costs 

Cloud computing for the telecom industry provides software at much lower rates with the help of software virtualization on remote servers. This allows easy allocation of the computing resources as required and thus helps reduce the hardware cost as well. 

You can generate more revenue with cloud computing capabilities than general local infrastructure services. Since cloud service providers follow a pay-as-you-go approach, you will only be paying for the resource you utilize. 

2. Improved telecom data centers 

It is rather beneficial for telecom companies and cloud service providers to collaborate since it leads to enhanced data centers and complete server utilization. Another positive impact of cloud computing on the telecom industry is adopting cloud data migration practices at a very low cost. If you are not satisfied with the provided cloud services, it is quite easy to migrate to a new telecom cloud solution by terminating the previous contact, signing a new one, and transferring your user data to a new server. 

This is how you can retain customer data, analyze it and keep them happy at minimal costs. 

3. Secured business data 

Cloud computing offers extensive data backup where you can backup, store, and protect your customer data on multiple cloud servers. This backup can be done at various servers simultaneously so that If one server fails, the data can be made available on other servers. This is how big telecom enterprises such as Vodafone, Airtel, and Jio carry their connected data services without any interruption or failure. 

Clouds, when merged with modern BI tools and technologies, can also predict if the server is going to fail to help you prepare for backup or disaster recovery. 

4. Flexibility in resource allocation 

A very useful feature of cloud computing is that you have the flexibility to allocate resources whenever required. Cloud computing helps telecom businesses to scale up and down the resources such as networks, Servers, Storage, IT, etc., anytime. 

This scalability and flexibility feature allows you to meet the peak loads and seasonal variant demands based on requests. Scale up the resources when the demand is high without any downtime. 

5. User-friendly technology 

If you were to compare cloud computing technology with other technologies, you’d realize the cloud is very convenient and user-friendly since it puts a very minimal load on businesses. The telecom market is benefited by cloud network functions deployment, faster critical solutions, and quick response to customer requests. 

6. Broader service perspective 

Due to cloud computing in the telecom industry, tele businesses can transform into digital operators now that IT services can be delivered over any network. 

Your telecom business can make solutions beyond connectivity with a broader service perspective. You can go for 5G solutions, IoT-based services, bespoke software, app solutions, etc. 

7. Harness customer data 

Cloud is a natural ecosystem for faster data processing; since the customer-generated data in telecom is humongous, telecom cloud businesses can process data faster. Moreover, using cloud analytics helps you gain data insights from processing which is a highly valuable feature in today’s competitive era. 

For instance, Appinventiv created a cloud data analytic solution for a global telecom enterprise striving to find more ways to connect people. Using customer data management and optimization and customer-centric solutions, Appinventiv followed an agile approach to create an ecosystem that can process and categorize customer data based on user behavior and other factors. 

This resulted in an 85% increase in data quality and 100% consumption and processing of customer data. This is a classic example of turning customer data into quality insights using cloud computing. 

In short, telecom businesses can discover innumerable business opportunities using cloud capabilities. Not only this, your telecom business can sustain itself in the long run with trending cloud computing solutions. 

[Also Read: How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Telecom App Like My WE?]

Top 3 trends of Cloud Computing For Telecom Businesses 

There is a race for resilience and scalability in the telecom cloud market. These cloud computing trends include more storage applications, custom CRM systems, advanced servers, etc., to scale your telecom business. Below are the top three cloud computing trends you can implement in your telecom business.  

1. Cloud Native Network Functions (CNNF)

Software-defined networking is now replaced by Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), gaining more independence from proprietary hardware and servers. Theis current network functioning of telecom businesses desperately needs to transform into cloud network functioning. 

A cloud-native architecture combines CNFs and VNFs while adopting modern 5G features. This provides maximum market coverage to telecom businesses looking to expand their services. 

2. Hybrid cloud hosting 

A hybrid cloud is a merger of public and private clouds where your data and software are portable and interoperable. Hybrid cloud solutions bring automation to telecom businesses ensuring that applications today will be valid in the future. 

3. Telecom cloud collaboration 

Partnerships between telcos and hyperscalers constitute a significant cloud computing trend transforming the business landscape. Telecom enterprise and cloud service providers join forces to expand 5G and edge computing collaboration. 

For instance, Verizon 5G EDGE is a collaboration of Verizon and Amazon Web services to connect devices, users, and applications in the fastest way possible.

[Also Read: Demystifying Mobile Edge Computing: How It Revolutionizes Mobile Networks]

How can Appinvetiv help your Telecom business with Cloud Computing Solutions? 

Appinventiv is a leading cloud consulting services company that offers professional cloud services and supports businesses at every development stage. From Cloud consulting services to transformation strategies and planning, cloud management and support, etc., we can streamline your business process for maximum scalability. Whether your telecom business is just starting its cloud journey or needs a quick optimization in its existing cloud infrastructure, we are here to help. Talk to our cloud experts to get started. 

FAQs on Cloud Telecommunications

Q. Which cloud service is best for a Telecom company?

A. Some of the best cloud computing services for telecom businesses are Amazon web services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Alibaba etc. popular for maintaining tele cloud networks and on-demand cloud platform solutions. However, if you require custom cloud solutions,it is suggested to seek technical guidance from a reliable cloud professional service provider.

Q. How does Cloud computing help in telecommunications?

A. Cloud computing offers modern telecom businesses scalability, flexibility, security and operational efficiency at a low cost. You also get a varied range of user-friendly software solutions under one platform.

Q. What is the difference between IT cloud and Telco cloud?

A. IT cloud services offer cloud based solutions to render businesses and enterprise requirements whereas Telco cloud services offer private cloud environments to host Virtual networks by utilizing NFV techniques.

THE AUTHOR

Sudeep Srivastava

Co-Founder and Director