Advising on the commercial impact of technology and
    market changes in telecoms, software and IT services

In today's enterprise communications market, demand and supply side dynamics are creating new opportunities for growing network services in the ICT arena

Growing your revenues

As IP has become an established force within the enterprise market, many different players compete for slightly increased but more smartly deployed enterprise ICT budgets. Demand side dynamics show a willingness to entertain new forms of managed and outsourced services, while the supply side struggles to migrate onto its next generation platforms and adjust services accordingly. Telcos are reorganising themselves to address the broader ICT opportunities whilst trying not to lose sight of their core strengths. The more IT-based integrators and service providers are embracing the network elements of the new supply chain. Everyone accepts that this is a buyers' market, but the buyers face so many potential partners that sourcing becomes a major issue for the CIOs.

The success and profitability of IP services depends on differentiating your service from those of your competitors on a product and customer service level. The elusive question is how to add true value to the customer rather than just increments to the basic connectivity proposition. Core network services such as IP VPN and broadband access are now very competitive and the need has never been greater to:

• truly differentiate the service offering from the competition
• provide seamless integration with mobility services of all types
• combine organisational strength with new sustainable revenue generators
• communicate the corporate brand value and its value proposition to clients effectively
• identify and exploit effective channels to market.

Are you ready to grasp the opportunities that lie ahead and leverage emerging technologies and services?

How can Ovum help you?

We are recognised as the leading authority on the European market for the ICT sector, and our employees provide personable, accessible and independent advice. We have a collaborative approach when working with our clients and utilise the breadth and depth of our end user research and analysts' expertise to ensure that we provide you with easily understood information and advice.

Ovum minimises the risks for its clients, while identifying and helping them to understand and exploit:

• what enterprise users, from SMEs to MNCs are really looking for - through our EVUA research and global SME survey
• how CIOs and their equivalents choose their suppliers
• how emerging services fit into the industry structure
• where market opportunities for growth lie
• market developments that impact your bottom line
• key player performance and competitor intelligence

IP-Enterprise@Ovum is part of Ovum's portfolio of services, which combines a unique blend of demand and supply-side research deliverables with access to our highly experienced analysts, research database and forecasts. Focusing on network-led managed service and outsourcing propositions in the markets for corporate connectivity and communication services, this advisory service helps telecoms operators, service providers, equipment vendors and systems integrators to identify emerging opportunities for enterprise voice and data services. Our IP Enterprise service helps service providers to understand the potential of established key platforms such as IP VPNs and voice-over-IP and the enterprise requirements for services based on them.

Our coverage includes the following areas:

• Business voice, both traditional and hosted
• IP VPNs including MPLS, IP SEC and layer 2 services
• Business access services including business broadband, Ethernet, private lines
• IP contact centres, including both hosted and CPE-based
• Conferencing, including audio, video and emerging collaboration
• Applications management services from a networking perspective.

Ovum's advisory services are available online and deliver continuous research and analysis that enable you to base your strategic decisions on the most up-to-date information and advice. Our analysis covers companies, technologies and markets, and is provided in a variety of formats: from short, hard-hitting opinion pieces to extensive, in-depth reports.

Key questions that IP-Enterprise@Ovum will answer:

• How do service providers finally build services that map on to real end user demands?
• What are the new opportunities for service providers to exploit the benefits of convergence without jeopardising existing revenues?
• What are the new opportunities for vendors selling to carriers or directly to the enterprise market? How can they optimise revenues across both markets?
• How do you develop efficient channels to market in vertical segments and segments based on company size?
• What type of communication services are enterprises prepared to pay for and how can you get on their shortlist?
• Is network-led outsourcing an effective means to improve margins within managed network services? How do you cut through the hype and identify the real trends?
• What are the real needs of end users, why are companies taking up communication services and when do they outsource network services?
• How far can service providers move up the value chain with enterprise customers?

Services that meet your immediate needs

Customised advice via Analyst Interaction

Analyst Interaction is an integral part of IP-Enterprise@Ovum and comes in a variety of formats - from questions or discussions with our specialist analysts via telephone and email to workshops, briefings and strategy sessions.

Analyst Interaction provides you with customised research and advice as and when you need it, which can help you to understand complex issues and validate your plans for sustainable growth.

How have clients used Analyst Interaction?

Red flags: clients have used analyst time to evaluate some of the potential red flags that senior executives need to be aware of in this converging and confusing marketplace.

SLAs: we have worked with clients to identify the key propositions that should be included in service level agreements and how these can be seen as a valuable part of the sales and support process.

Segmentation: we have worked with clients to identify how different industries segment their customer bases and how account management and customer service programmes might be best mapped on to this segmentation.

Competitive landscape: through the end user research we do with MNCs and SMEs, we have helped clients understand how they are perceived in the end user market.

Managed IP voice: we have worked with clients to help them position the new breed of managed voice services in a hosted environment and have worked with them on the appropriate tariffing packages.

IP centrex: we helped a client to define their role in the IP centrex market and briefed them on the approach they should take to maximise opportunities in the market.

VNO defines strategies: incumbents see the VNOs as a serious threat and we have worked with them to help position their services in the face of this new threat.

Network-led outsourcing: We have provided a number of clients with strategic individual advice on how to utilise their strength to position their offering in the ICT market against other network service providers and against IT service companies. We have assisted a regional provider to multinationals in refining go-to-market messages and collateral.

Your next move ...
To find out more about Ovum's services contact us at your nearest office or visit our website at www.ovum.com