Telcos, the "Cloud" and Unified Communications
Posted by Steve Schwartz on Thu, Mar 18, 2010
A short note to telecommunications companies about "Cloud" computing services, but first some pertinent questions:
How do you define what services are delivered when you offer "Cloud" computing? Is it limited to hosted servers/OS/Database/Web Services billed by complex metering? Hosted Desktops? Virtual Servers? Cloud is a tough term to use and even define, and I eagerly await its being phased out.
This blog comes from my long and arduous experiences helping telcos deliver cheap and cheerful free PoP3 email... I have been in the ASP/Hosting/SaaS/Cloud business since 1999, and in the process worked with many telcos globally. During that time I have seen only one application service ever garner some success outside of the traditional offerings of broadband and voice services. In this context I gauge "success" as a service that actually generates revenue because customers want to buy it from the telco (i.e. the right target market), in the way the telco sells it (very cheap, or free bundled with broadband), and the way they want to buy it (online and anonymous).
Guess which application? PoP3 email! Mostly delivered to very small businesses or consumers. Transitioning to selling more advanced email and calendaring, let alone "Cloud", to real live SMB's with high expectations for support and customer service is a massive transition. This is not a technology problem.
The latest logical extension to email is Unified Communications and to me, the successful telco that wants to drive towards success in the "Cloud" will focus very narrowly on hosted Unified Communications, especially Hosted OCS (Microsoft Office Communications Server), for the smaller end of the SMB market. The accompanying diagram shows how Microsoft views the future of Unified Communications.
