Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online
Transcription
Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online
Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms With India on the threshold of an Internet explosion, a joint Google-A.T. Kearney study pinpoints the opportunities that hold the most value. Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 1 All estimates contained in this report are for information purposes only and should not be relied on for any other purpose. Any reliance third parties choose to make on these estimates is an independent decision made exclusively by such parties entirely at their own risk. Neither A.T. Kearney nor Google is under any duty to update or revise this report in any way. India’s online revolution is on the edge of an exciting phase. At the turn of the century, the country had only 5 million Internet users, largely on dial-up connections delivered through fixed-line networks. In 2009, Internet use took off as mobile penetration grew and telcos began to invest in data networks. By 2013, mobile Internet usage had overtaken fixed line, and mobile devices had become the sole access device for many people. Today, 230 million Indians are online, with 155 million of them using mobile devices. This is just the tip of the iceberg (see figure 1). In the next three years, the country will see another mobile explosion as the online community more than doubles to 480 million. By 2017, 385 million people will have smartphones, six times more than today, and the number of online transactors will explode to 160 million—eight times as many as today.1 Data consumption will triple, and consumers will be buying five times as much content. This transformation will happen at an unprecedented pace. For Indian telcos, a world of value-creating opportunities is about to emerge. Figure 1 Mobile explosion in India between now and 2017 Expected volumes in 2017 480 million Internet users Evolution between 2015 and 2017 3x data consumption per user Cumulative revenue potential of 385 million smartphones 160 million online transactors 5x $8 billion paid content consumption per user Note: Visitor location register adjusted mobile subscribers Sources: Pyramid Research 2013, Cellular Operators Association of India, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; A.T. Kearney analysis Google and A.T. Kearney conducted a joint study to pinpoint the best opportunities for Indian telcos to pursue to capitalize on this explosion in the mobile Internet user base. The results show the industry can generate additional cumulative revenues of $8 billion and EBITDA of $2.9 billion over the next three years.2 This paper presents Google and A.T. Kearney’s view on the mobile Internet market and the expected structural changes, opportunities for telcos, and strategic and operational imperatives for success. With unprecedented digital opportunities emerging over the next three years, now is the time to act. Online transactors are users who make payment transactions online, using Internet banking or cards. 1 EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization. 2 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 1 Indian Telcos Poised to Leapfrog into Digital The country’s telecom industry grew by 13 percent CAGR between fiscal year (FY) 2012 and FY14 and has reached total revenues of $25 billion, driven primarily by an increasing voice subscriber base (see figure 2). Industry EBITDA has held steady at around 15 percent, although it varies significantly between players. By FY17, the industry is expected to reach $35 billion in revenues. Voice share is expected to decline as a result of subscriber saturation in urban areas and ongoing pricing pressures. Non-voice, on the other hand, is expected to grow at 29 percent CAGR; within non-voice, data revenue will grow at around 70 percent per year and new digital VAS streams are expected to emerge and grow exponentially, whereas SMS and traditional VAS revenues will remain flat or decline.3 Telcos can push data consumption up by as much as 250 MB per user per month. While this is a substantial shift, it is not unique. Global markets have seen similar shifts as they matured from voice to messaging and from data to digital. The shift from data to digital is occurring as more digital content and services are introduced and adopted. Markets such as Japan and Korea have taken up to 10 years to move from data to digital, but we believe it will happen much faster in India. The country has already embraced the Internet, as seen by the massive adoption of social networking and the recent e-commerce boom. Mobile phones are emerging as the online access device of choice, and smartphones are expected to proliferate, allowing for wider and deeper use of the Internet and applications (see figure 3 on page 3). As a result of this extraordinary confluence of consumer behaviors, we believe India will leapfrog into online and digital services over the next three to five years—opening up an extraordinary opportunity for telcos to become the primary gateway to the digital life. Figure 2 India’s telecom industry is seeing unprecedented growth Indian telecom industry revenue growth ($ billion) +13% 20 25 5 20 Subscribers (million) 35 CAGR 10 29% 25 7% FY12 FY14 FY17e 683 773 944 Non-voice Voice Notes: Visitor location register adjusted mobile subscribers. FY is fiscal year. Sources: Pyramid Research 2013, Cellular Operators Association of India, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; A.T. Kearney analysis VAS is value-added services. SMS is short message service. 3 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 2 Figure 3 Mobile data use set to skyrocket in India Consumer behaviors Exploding Internet users 220 million Booming online transactions 45% 480 million in FY14 of railway bookings done on IRCTC website by FY17 transactors by FY17 Services ecosystem Device ecosystem 100 million on Facebook in April 2014 on YouTube every month as of September 2013 online commerce by FY17 160 million online Mobile data use 55 million >$30 billion Smartphone prices to drop under $50 48 million 50% of Google and YouTube searches on mobile on WhatsApp in April 2014 385 million smartphones by FY17 Notes: Online transactors refers to users who make payment transactions online using Internet banking or cards. FY is fiscal year. IRCTC is the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. Sources: press research, Cisco Visual Networking Index (2013-2018), “India’s Mobile Internet 2013” by Avendus, IDC 2013, MediaNama; A.T. Kearney analysis Figure 4 Telcos have had mixed success with digital content and services Contribution of digital content and services to total revenues (%) 16% Safaricom 10% Docomo M-PESA’s contribution, growing 43% in 2011 Includes smart services: content, advertising SK Telecom 5% SK Planet: digital services strategic business unit Telefónica 5% Digital services contribution KDDI Tigo SingTel 4% 3% 2% Consumer value-added service contribution Mobile financial services, online entertainment and information Group Digital Life strategic business unit: advertising, content business Note: 2012 data, contribution of revenue generated by all digital services and content Sources: company presentations, Bloomberg; A.T. Kearney analysis Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 3 A Wealth of Opportunities Digital opportunities typically fall into two categories: customer engagement (e-store and e-care) and content and services.4 Many leading global telcos are succeeding in e-store and e-care transformations but, so far, have had varying degrees of success with digital content and services (see figure 4 on page 3). In fact, there are no straightforward, proven models. Several challenges have caused this variability: • Migrating to new digital services (such as m-payments, e- and m-healthcare, and e- and m-education) often requires massive changes in behavior and substantial investments in consumer education. • Ecosystems are still nascent and often fragmented, demanding significant efforts in ecosystem integration (as with m-payment integration across banks, payment providers, and telcos). • Consumer polarization around a few global online players limits plays for new entrants. (Consider the preeminence of music and video hubs such as iTunes and YouTube.) • The onslaught continues from innovative over-the-top (OTT) players that are more focused and agile than telcos. • Consumers have a limited willingness to pay for new digital services, especially when there are free (albeit illicit) alternatives—as in content. The outlook for digital customer engagement, which can unlock massive opportunity in e-stores and e-care, is extremely positive. This has caused players to adjust their digital strategies, using three approaches: • Wait and watch. Observe and learn from others while focusing on driving data. For example, Orange Money in Kenya launched mobile banking and money transfers almost three years after Safaricom. • Focused plays. Pursue select opportunities that are relevant to key consumer groups. For example, Verizon is focusing more on connectivity solutions for residences and enterprises, including digital home, connected cars, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, instead of competing with OTTs in online consumer businesses. • Broad-based plays. Diversify play across a number of services and geographies. For example, SK Telekom is present in every area of digital life and has developed services for entertainment, banking, m-commerce, payments, education, and many other lifestyle verticals. India’s telcos can start off with a near-clean slate. A.T. Kearney and Google collaborated with several Indian telcos to identify the core focus areas, using a structured approach to generate and Content refers to information or publications that can be consumed digitally, such as music, movies, and books. Services refer to offerings that enable customers to perform personal or business tasks and transactions digitally, such as cloud services and m-payments. 4 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 4 prioritize ideas. We began by examining consumers’ lifestyle needs, telcos’ internal digitization capabilities, and applications supporting digitization to compile a list of about 40 ideas. From there, the ideas were condensed to the 12 with the most potential (see figure 5). The answers to several questions helped to distill the most promising opportunities in terms of attractiveness, ease of implementation, and EBITDA impact: • What is the extent of the consumer need? • Does it bridge an infrastructure gap? • Does it align with telcos’ core operations? • What is the existing and emerging competitive intensity? • Is there high potential for value? Figure 5 Prioritizing digital opportunities for Indian telecoms High Internal digitization Idea attractiveness Media services Low Mobile apps for SMEs M-education Online activation M-payments M-health Wealth management Devices e-tailing Low Online recharge Online customer service Content and services 2–3 year opportunities 3–5 year opportunities >5 year opportunities Home security E-governance Medium High Ease of implementation Notes: Bubble size indicates the total EBITDA equivalent for each opportunity in fiscal year 2017. SME is small- and medium-size enterprise. Source: A.T. Kearney analysis A shortlist of four top-priority ideas emerged (see figure 6 on page 6). Focusing on these areas could allow telcos to capture $8 billion to $10 billion of cumulative value between FY15 and FY17. • E-store and e-care. Online recharges for prepaid mobile phones, online customer services, and online acquisitions offer a massive opportunity to cut costs and create revenue from cross-selling and upselling. • Media content and services. This opportunity to lead the nascent Indian market could create more than $6 billion in additional data and content revenues. • Mobile business apps for SMEs. In this untapped market, telcos are in a prime position to drive widespread adoption and capture $1 billion in revenue. • M-payments. Though a smaller opportunity, m-payments enable e-store, paid content, and apps transactions. Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 5 Figure 6 Four areas hold vast potential for telcos Area E-store and e-care Cost saving Description • Rapidly move recharges, acquisition, and customer service online 0.8 Total Revenue EBITDA 0.4 1.0 Online business in FY17 • $7.4 billion in recharges per year • 15% of customer service calls • Give critical priority with immediate benefits • 15% of acquisitions Media content and services • Assess risk appetite, and emerge as major content player (music and video) Mobile apps for SMEs • Drive widespread adoption of apps, data, and devices in the untapped SME market – 1.2 0.3 • $0.7 billion per year in untapped market opportunity M-payments • Enable e-store and m-commerce transactions through wallet and carrier billing – 0.2 0.05 • $0.6 billion of recharges for online users 0.8 8.0 2.9 – • Boost data usage 6.2 1.5 • 3x data consumption per user • $1.6 billion per year in paid content • Fuel online transacting behavior Total Notes: Value over fiscal year (FY) 2015 to FY17 has been calculated taking into account the rising number of Internet users and greater adoption of digital services (FY15: about 30 percent of potential value, FY16: 50 to 60 percent of potential value, FY17: 100 percent of potential value). Total EBITDA impact is the sum of direct cost savings plus EBITDA arising out of incremental revenue (calculated using telecom industry EBITDA margin of about 25 percent). SME is small- and medium-size enterprise. Source: A.T. Kearney analysis To put it into perspective, these four opportunities alone could drive 30 percent of incremental revenue growth over the next three years, leading to 10 percent higher industry revenues and $1.5 billion in additional EBITDA by FY17. Three dark horses also have potential: m-education, m-health, and gaming. Although this report does not cover these topics, we believe they could emerge as significant opportunities in the medium term. E-Store and E-Care: Disruptive Improvements to Engage Consumers In the highly competitive Indian telecom industry, mounting cost pressure, changing consumer habits, and greater expectations about quality are strong incentives to engage digital customers and take hold of the massive opportunity of e-stores and e-care. The outlook for digital customer engagement is extremely positive for several reasons: • The number of Internet and smartphone users is about to explode. • Alpha users already exist, as seen in banking and travel. For example, 45 percent of railway bookings are done through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s website, and 57 percent of all travel reservations in India are made online. Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 6 • Telcos are investing in enhancing online user experiences and offerings. Some have even introduced partially digitized acquisition processes within the existing regulatory framework (with lead generation and order placement online). Considering the current digitization levels compared to global benchmarks, Indian telcos have a tremendous opportunity to drive an aggressive but realistic step change in penetration levels. The online channel’s lower delivery costs as opposed to traditional dealer commissions and calls to service centers can yield cumulative cost savings of between $720 million and $860 million over the next three years. In addition, e-store and e-care provide opportunities for cross-selling and upselling that could add cumulative revenues of $400 million (see figure 7). Figure 7 Telcos could drive a digital step change in India E-store and e-care potential in FY17 Digitization opportunity Current online penetration Online recharges 2–4% Online customer services Online acquisitions Global average Global best-in-class Target for FY17 Total potential FY15–17 20% of total subscribers (180 million) • $320 million cost savings 70% 13–15% of total customer services • $160 million cost savings 45% 15–20% of total acquisitions • $240–380 million cost savings 20–25% of total subscribers 70% 2–4% of total customer service tickets 30% of total customer services Less than 1% 10–12% of total acquisitions • $410 million incremental revenue Notes: Best-in-class benchmarks exclude players that have a completely online model, such as Giffgaff in the United Kingdom. FY is fiscal year. Sources: discussions with industry players; A.T. Kearney analysis The adoption of e-store and e-care is likely to come in stages, with online recharges and customer service being the first step. Acquisitions will follow as customers become more comfortable with online transactions. Online recharges Online recharges in India are low—only 2 to 4 percent of all recharges—primarily because of user experience issues and the low prevalence of online transactors for telecom services. This contrasts sharply with the global level of 20 to 25 percent and with best practices of 70 percent in advanced prepaid markets such as Portugal. Our survey of 3,452 mobile Internet users in 14 Indian cities examined awareness and adoption levels of digital services, including online recharges.5 The insights reinforce the promise of AC Nielsen conducted a market research survey with 3,452 Internet users across 14 cities in April and May of 2014. The survey compared people across age groups, location types, Internet and mobile device ownership, and usage behaviors. The survey was conducted in five metros, four tier 1 cities, and five tier 2 cities. Metros included Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, and Kolkata. Tier 1 cities included Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kochi, and Mysore. Tier 2 cities included Patna, Indore, Bhubaneshwar, Jalandhar, and Bhavnagar. 5 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 7 digital. Awareness is not the problem: 64 percent of respondents were aware of online recharge avenues, but only 18 percent had ever tried them. The gap can be attributed to a traditional discomfort with online transactions. Further, a significant share of people who had tried online recharges had significant problems, such as network access or speed issues and an inability to understand the online process. Most importantly, 70 percent of Internet users who have not yet undertaken online recharges are willing to try because of problems with traditional channels. The distance to stores (50 percent) and limited operating hours (43 percent) are the main pain points, along with unavailability of the desired recharge denomination (36 percent). Naturally, to drive up online recharges, the pool of online transactors needs to grow significantly from the current 10 percent. Our research indicates that more than 160 million consumers will be equipped with both debit cards and Internet banking and comfortable with online transactions by FY17. This compares with other emerging economies such as Brazil and China, assuming a lag of four to five years. Notably, it also implies that nearly all of the targeted 20 percent future rechargers will be covered (see figure 8). Figure 8 The popularity of online recharges for prepaid mobile phones is expected to rise Online transactors (million) 180 million (FY17 target of 20% online recharges) >230 160 15–25 million (current online rechargers) 20 Smartphone users (million) FY14 FY17 67 385 FY18 80 percent of Internet users on smartphones Note: FY is fiscal year. Sources: Internet Mobile Association of India, press research, A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Global Retail E-Commerce Index Encouraging online recharges will hinge on enhancing users’ experience, awareness, and comfort levels. Achieving a level of 20 percent online recharges by FY17 will lead to $320 million in cumulative cost savings and $400 million in incremental revenues between FY15 and FY17 by stimulating upselling and cross-selling to e-store users. Online customer service Companies around the world are shifting from traditional, offline modes of customer service to e-care. Leading telcos such as Telstra have demonstrated how it should be done—with intuitive functionalities and interactive customer service with 24/7 live chat and crowd support for problems. Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 8 In India, online customer service is again plagued by user experience and adoption issues. Sixty-one percent of customers are aware of online customer service, but only 21 percent have tried it. (Interestingly, 32 percent of those users have tried online customer service for banking.) Nearly 60 percent say that responses are not understandable, more than half say the turnaround time is too long, and a third cite network access issues.6 Because digital customers will soon demand high-quality online customer service, it is time to up the ante. The financial benefits are clear. Many requests and complaints are related to prepaid balances, payments, and other service calls (see figure 9). Thirty percent of these—15 percent of overall requests and complaints—can be resolved online. Naturally, the profile of online tickets is also expected to include a greater share of service inquiries and requests for assistance in technical problem solving. These are likely to be more effort-intensive and have to be factored into managing the shift to online and calculating the resulting savings potential. Figure 9 Many telecom customer service tasks can easily shift online Categories of customer service tickets (% of total tickets) 8–12% Recharge offer inquiries Difficult to deliver online 4–6% General details 3–5% 2G, 3G data inquiries Inquiry on value-added services Moderately difficult to deliver online 5–8% Caller tunes 3–5% Balance-related complaint 7–10% Payment query or complaint 7–10% 4–8% Service calls SIM-related Others Easy to deliver online 2–3% 45–55% Notes: Caller tunes includes activation and deactivation, song change, and inquiries about charges, monthly rent, profile, and song list. General details includes calls from other telecom customers and inquiry calls about roaming, stores, call centers, websites, dealers, and distributors. Service calls are related to do-not-disturb services, system errors, feedback on customer service, and responses to marketing texts or calls. Source: A.T. Kearney analysis Shifting 13 to 15 percent of customer services requests and complaints to the online channel could save $150 million to $160 million. Online acquisitions Leading telcos are offering customers the possibility to sign up online for new connections. For example, in the United Kingdom, Giffgaff has an online-only approach, where customers can order a SIM card and activate it themselves with just five simple steps. Based on a Nielsen market survey of 3,452 mobile users (across five metros, four tier 1 cities, and five tier 2 cities) who have had active Internet connections in the past six months 6 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 9 In India, however, regulatory requirements are hampering digital acquisition as employees must verify physical signatures and proof documents. Several Indian telcos have developed partially digitized processes to place orders and pay online. However, SIM delivery and the documentation process occur at the customer premises. This allows telcos to reduce the variable costs of subscriber acquisition by almost half, but very few acquisitions are carried out this way.7 Players that push this model could target 15 percent of acquisitions online and capture cumulative cost savings of $240 million over FY15 to FY17. If regulations ease to allow a fully digitized process, variable costs could be reduced by an additional 30 percent to capture further cumulative savings of $140 million over FY15 to FY17.8 The large-scale rollout of India’s unique identity card, Aadhaar, could be the game changer here. Success factors A winning model for e-stores and e-care will entail building a superior user experience, creating awareness for various online avenues, and building a compelling value proposition, including incentives for customers to go online. Players will also need to manage the transition of traditional retail channels, which might perceive the new model as eating into their income stream (see figure 10). To accelerate their digital journeys, Indian telcos will also need to reinforce and elevate their digital approaches and move to a truly “digital-first” organization. Figure 10 Success factors for e-store and e-care in India Build a superior user experience • Educate customers about multiple avenues of recharges and services • Build awareness about ease, convenience, and incentives • Educate and promote online modes of payments, including m-payment, to address security concerns • Ensure quick and convenient recharge option (low number of screens) • Have a well-designed portal to facilitate the process • Use customer analytics to upsell and cross-sell Create awareness of online avenues Winning themes in digitization • Offer incentives vis-à-vis traditional channels to create pull • Have categories of incentives: cash back, direct discounts, free value-add services or data usage, bundled incentives Manage channel transition • Reassess channel commission structures based on revised store economics • Institutionalize online KPIs for internal sales and customer service teams, in addition to overall KPIs Build a compelling value proposition Note: KPI is key performance indicator. Source: A.T. Kearney analysis Telcos can avoid channel commissions but will incur incremental fees for agents to deliver SIMs to customer premises, file and verify customer application forms, and transfer documents back to the telco’s offices. 7 Through a fully digitized process, telcos can further avoid delivery agents’ fees for completing applications and verifying documentation. 8 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 10 Media Content and Services: Triggering the Next Wave of Consumption Entertainment is the most important media category in India, with videos and music representing the largest subcategories (see figure 11). The Indian market is also highly vernacular, with 93 percent of time spent on videos consumed in Hindi or other regional languages. Figure 11 Entertainment is India’s most popular online search category Online searches in India (% of total, 2013) Total Content consumption (Time spent, 2013) Entertainment 12% 6% 1% 8% English vs. vernacular 2% 4% 7% 30% 8% 31% 32% 61% 10% 11% 63% English 14% Entertainment News and info Consumer electronics Finance Education Health Social networking Others Video Games Hindi Music Other Other regional languages Live TV Notes: Based on the number of Google search queries by category across computers, mobile devices with full browsers, and tablets with full browsers. Others includes jobs, vehicles, real estate, and gifts. Language of content based on video consumption across the Top 100 YouTube channels. Sources: Google; A.T. Kearney analysis India’s data and paid content consumption is much lower than global markets. Per capita data consumption is only one-sixth of U.S. levels, and paid content consumption per user is a tenth of U.S. levels (see figure 12 on page 12).9 Consumption is held back by several factors: • Low digitized content availability, especially in entertainment categories such as music and video • Low content accessibility because of the lack of an easy-to-use, vernacular gateway • Poor user experience as a result of network issues • Traditional low willingness to pay because of budget consciousness and availability of free content Paid content revenue refers to total revenue (telco share + content owner share) monetized only through direct payments by consumers, excluding advertising and caller ringback tones. Content revenue per user for the United States and Western Europe has been adjusted from actual values by 75 and 80 percent respectively to account for differences in nominal pricing levels. 9 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 11 Figure 12 Indians do not use much data or buy much content Per capita data consumption by Internet users in 2014 (MB per month) ~220MB 20–25% ~1,400 MB 5–10% 10% 5–10% 10% 5–10% 15–20% Content revenue per user ($ per user per year) 8.0 Others Email Music 5–10% 60–70% Videos 35–40% India 5.3 Social networking 0.8 United States India Western Europe United States Notes: Data consumption pattern for India based on behavior among smartphone users; U.S. pattern based on all Internet users. Includes total revenue (telco share plus content owner share) monetized only through direct payments by consumers. Excludes advertising and color ringback tones. Content revenue per user for the United States and Western Europe have been reduced from actual levels by 75 and 80 percent respectively to account for differences in pricing levels. Sources: Cisco, Skyfire, eMarketer, Nielsen; A.T. Kearney analysis The confluence of drivers (as discussed earlier) and the increasing 3G adoption will cause current data and paid content consumption to double organically by FY17 to 470 MB data per user per month and $1.6 in content revenue per year. Nevertheless, this will still be significantly lower than in other developed markets. Telcos have the opportunity to significantly expand the pie by catering to unserved demand, especially in online music and video. According to our survey, 73 percent of mobile data consumers would be willing to spend more time online if more entertainment content were available in an engaging format. Importantly, the monetization tide is changing both globally and in India. The global paid content market, plagued by copyright infringements over the past decade, is showing signs of recovery, and consumers are more willing to pay for quality content. Rights owners are taking notice, too, and are throwing more weight behind digital delivery: • Spotify, a recommendations-based music streaming service, grew its paid subscribers from 2.5 million in September 2010 to 6 million in December 2013, or 25 percent of its overall user base. • Netflix invested $100 million to produce two seasons of House of Cards, a political drama series exclusively released on Netflix. • Beyonce’s latest album had a one-week exclusive release on iTunes before its record release, smashing all previous download records. Even in India, 30 percent of consumers are willing to pay for quality and customized content, according to our survey. Furthermore, there are supply-side opportunities: • The ownership base is fragmented, with more than 750 TV channels and 140 movie production houses but no clear winners. Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 12 • There is a distribution shortage. Half of all Bollywood movies are not screened because of a shortage of theater screens. Telcos are uniquely positioned to address these adoption challenges and expand the overall pie because they have wide consumer reach and deep insights into consumer behaviors. Depending on their risk appetite, telcos can capture a large share of the content market. However, they must act now or run the risk of getting crowded out by other players, especially emerging OTTs. The question is how. Overall, there are three business models to choose from, each with varying levels of “bigness” (see figure 13). Figure 13 Telecom business models Telco role Suggest Recommendations engine Engage Customer engagement platform Description and implications • Rely on an OTT player to develop a content hub • Cutting-edge customer analytics promote all traffic to one hub • Build open API platform with app developers with fantastic user experience • Effective and flexible alliances with providers and carrier billing • Fairly complex, requires innovative capabilities and deep consumer insights Content hub • Last.fm capabilities in YouTube channel recommendations, promote data packs through SMS • Might not be sufficient to create step change in usage • Drive significant usage, allow telco to experiment, understand market, and stay relevant to consumers Aggregate Examples • Develop a library of high-quality, paid content • Most significant value potential • High risk of failure, need to go for the win (typically no more than two players can succeed) • Singtel’s inSing and deFIND are gateways for everything about life in Singapore • SK Telekom’s SK Planet is an all-encompassing lifestyle and entertainment hub and an app store • SK Telekom’s Melon is the market leader for music content in Korea, offering music downloads and streaming • Might need to consider industry collaborations Notes: OTT is over-the-top. API is application program interface. SMS is short message service. Source: A.T. Kearney analysis Given the awareness and vernacular access challenges, the best base approach is consumer engagement platforms (CEP). This will require developing a vast, dynamic set of offerings within a complex ecosystem of alliances. SingTel’s inSing and deFIND and SKT’s SK Planet are examples of leading CEPs. An extensive content hub offers the most value potential but comes with significant investments and risks. To succeed, telcos can learn from leading content hub players such as iTunes. Four moves will be essential: • Develop a distinctive, interactive user experience. • Build comprehensive libraries by partnering with the right content providers. • Create winning customer analytics capabilities to present curated content recommendations. • Use carrier billing as a strategic advantage. Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 13 Depending on the role chosen, there is a clear opportunity for telcos to push data consumption up further by 250 MB per user per month. Most of the latent demand—more than 80 percent—is in videos, which can lead to incremental cumulative revenues of up to $2.7 billion in FY17 and $5.6 billion between FY15 and FY17. There is also room to increase content revenue per user by $2.4 to $2.6 per year if telcos partner with content publishers to undertake a large-scale content play. This can drive total paid content consumption in FY17 from $0.6 billion to $1.6 billion, leading to an additional content revenue share for telcos of up to $280 million in FY17 and a cumulative $600 million over FY15 to FY17.10 Overall, the total cumulative value creation potential over FY15 to FY17 could reach $6.2 billion. Business Apps for SMEs: Make a Compelling Value Proposition Globally, SMEs across verticals have adopted an array of mobile business applications (MBAs) to drive operational efficiencies. In 2013, about 45 percent of the world’s SMEs were using MBAs— and it is expected to jump to 60 percent by 2016. In India, the SME market is enormous, with 50 million companies in operation in 2013, of which 2 million have more than 10 employees. SME spending on information and communications technology (ICT) has also been growing steadily over the past two years, at a CAGR of 15 percent to $7 billion in 2013. A large part of this comes from larger SMEs, which spend $3,500 per year on IT services, mostly on telephony and connectivity services. Little of this spending goes toward mobile business apps. Adoption has been hampered by security concerns, the cost of data-enabled devices, and a lack of employee Internet literacy, according to our survey. However, SMEs are willing to use apps if there is a compelling value proposition. Telcos have a unique opportunity to drive and monetize MBA adoption among SMEs, along with data connectivity revenues, by capitalizing on their unique strengths: • Existing sales relationships with SMEs and SME employees, far deeper than any app providers • An established billing platform • Insights into SMEs’ business needs and relevant mobile apps • The ability to extend ICT service support to other services, including mobile device management and security solutions Success will hinge on identifying and developing the right mobility-oriented and cloud-based smartphone apps to help SMEs improve their operational productivity. A focused sales effort will also require pinpointing where apps can add the most value. Using a structured approach to find the most promising apps and verticals, we identified five categories of apps for four industries (see figure 14 on page 15). Indian telcos should source or develop MBAs for these industries and focus their sales efforts on providing the larger SMEs with compelling business cases. Showcasing select M2M applications— for example, in security or in vehicle or asset tracking—can be a powerful way to demonstrate the value proposition of mobility and cloud-based apps. Assuming telco content revenue share at 30 to 40 percent, in line with global trends 10 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 14 Figure 14 Business apps have great potential for four industries Potential mobility and cloud applications Focus verticals Workforce management Description Banking, financial services, and insurance Sales improvement Supply chain management Customer services Data collection • Asset management • Insurance agents • Courier delivery Logistics • Transport providers • Pharma Healthcare • Pathology • Clinics and hospitals • Snacks manufacturers Consumer goods • Handicrafts manufacturers Low potential High potential Sources: CRISIL Research, Zinnov Research, press research; A.T. Kearney analysis Figure 15 Telcos have work to do to get SMEs to embrace apps Drive device connectivity Increase use of mobile business apps Drivers Challenges Potential action Convince SMEs of sustainable value proposition • SMEs hesitate to adopt without tangible benefits Integrate with existing IT systems • Standalone IT systems are used, typically for accounting Structure, educate, and incentivize the salesforce • The telco salesforce focuses on traditional services (voice and connectivity) because they are easier to sell • Modify the incentive structure to focus on mobile business apps • Devices are expensive (more than $80) • Offer free or discounted data packs for a limited time to push plan upgrades • Employees who are not Internet savvy see little merit in data • Waive or postpone app charges if employees upgrade devices or plans Enable employees to upgrade to data devices and plans • SMEs are concerned about after-sales support • Align with best-in-class providers • Demonstrate capable after-sales support • Focus on apps that increase productivity and not on replacing or adding to existing systems and software • Train salesforce to promote apps • Engage channel partners • Finance devices (for example, reimburse for prepaid) Note: SME is small- and medium-size enterprise. Source: A.T. Kearney analysis Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 15 If telcos can mobilize their sales force and drive adoption, they could gain incremental cumulative revenues of $490 million to $1 billion by FY17, of which 50 to 55 percent would come from mobile apps and 45 to 50 percent would come from higher data consumption (driven by higher device and M2M connectivity). Getting SMEs to adopt MBAs will require helping them throughout the selling and adoption process, as outlined in figure 15 on page 15. M-Payments: Enable Online Transactions to Drive Usage Maturity Mobile payments can serve a range of objectives, including supporting digital recharges, person-to-person (P2P) transfers, utility payments, online payments through payment gateways or carrier billing, and over-the-counter point-of-sale payments. Globally, m-payments have grown at an impressive CAGR of 49 percent to reach $235 billion in 2013. However, most of these transactions are toward top-ups (65 percent) and P2P transfers (34 percent). Telcos are still investing in consumer education and ecosystem development to aid adoption. In India, m-payments are still nascent and are hampered by several challenges: • Regulatory restrictions. There are limited cash-out facilities for m-wallets. Telcos must partner with banks to offer cash out, and carrier billing offers restricted functionality. • Ecosystem infancy. The agent network for loading m-wallet accounts is limited. For example, Safaricom Kenya has 80,000 M-Pesa agent outlets, but Airtel Money has only 15,000 outlets in India. Few vendors accept m-payments, especially in travel and e-commerce. • User experience and concerns. USSD- and SMS-based services are cumbersome, with slow response times and frequent session timeouts.11 Security is also an issue, with 59 percent of our survey respondents saying it is a concern for online transactions. However, as discussed earlier, m-wallets might be important for Indian telcos to provide an interim means of undertaking e-store transactions while online transacting via debit cards and Internet banking matures over the next two to three years. M-wallets will allow users with security concerns to experiment with lower-value wallets. M-payments can generate incremental revenue for telcos by acting as a payment instrument for micro payments in e-commerce, utility bill payments, and purchasing apps. By offering m-wallet and carrier billing as simpler alternatives to Internet banking and cards, telcos have much to gain: • Twenty-five percent of utility bill payments of Internet-enabled households (potentially $2.5 billion transaction value in FY17 on m-wallet) • Five percent of e-commerce transactions ($1.3 billion transaction value in FY17 on m-wallet) • Ninety percent of paid apps purchases (more than $200 million transaction value in FY17 on carrier billing) Depending on the service, telcos can earn up to a 2 percent commission on m-wallet transactions and possibly more than 10 percent revenue share on apps purchases. USSD is unstructured supplementary service data. 11 Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 16 Several moves can build a strong foundation for m-payments: • Invest in building the ecosystem. Improve the ease of use for products and offerings, and establish a large network of cash-in and, when allowed, cash-out outlets. • Invest in consumer education. Build awareness, and drive adoption. • Build trust. Use brand strength and existing billing relationships to give consumers confidence about telcos handling their money. Collaborate with banks and other payment gateways to gain consumers’ trust. If Indian telcos can deliver on these factors, they could earn cumulative revenues of $180 million between FY15 and FY17. Strategic Decisions: Determining the Future Digital State Forward-thinking players will develop their digital vision and determine their own position on the risk-reward curve of digital plays. Based on the breadth of digital offerings and intended aggressiveness (extent of diversification, scale of investments, extent of alliances), there are four states to choose from (see figure 16). After determining this vision, telcos need to make decisions in three areas to define their digital road map: • Business model and approach. Determine which and how many opportunities to pursue, with what risk appetite, and what the differentiating value proposition will be. • Capability building and alliance strategy. Develop in-house capabilities, or establish alliances with multiple partners. Figure 16 Four strategic visions for the telco digital venture Aggressiveness Innovators Multi-players Aggressive promotion of niche services portfolio through innovative models and strategic investments and alliances Aggressive diversification and investment decisions; partnership with different stakeholders to drive ecosystem integration Cautious followers Experimenters Wait and watch, pursuing select digital services adjacent to core offerings and requiring short-term bets Wide range of digital services but more adjacent to core offerings with small incremental investments • Extent of diversification into new business opportunities • Scale of investments • Partnerships with ecosystem players Portfolio of offerings Breadth of digital services being offered Source: A.T. Kearney analysis Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 17 • Organization structure. Create one centralized digital business unit to drive all digital initiatives, or use multiple smaller decentralized teams to pursue individual initiatives. Conclusion The Indian online market is about to explode, and telcos will be able to pursue an unprecedented array of large digital plays. Telcos have the opportunity to create $8 billion to $10 billion in cumulative value over the next three years, especially in four areas: • E-store and e-care. Significant push and facelift in offerings and user experience • Media content and services. Innovative platforms to drive data and paid content • MBA for SMEs. Four to five key service apps with a concerted effort to encourage consumers to use data, devices, and apps • M-payments. Promotion of m-wallet, enablement of carrier billing India is set to witness unparalleled Internet momentum, and telcos are uniquely positioned to take full advantage of it. It is time to get going and be digital. A.T. Kearney Google Nikolai Dobberstein, partner, Mumbai [email protected] Aditya Gaurav, industry head of telecom, Gurgaon [email protected] Ajay Gupta, principal, Mumbai [email protected] Shalini Poddar, principal account manager, Mumbai [email protected] Vignesh Shankar, consultant, Mumbai [email protected] Arpit Jaiswal, principal industry analyst, Gurgaon [email protected] The authors would like to thank Smita Singh, Manan Shah, Neeraj Gupta, and Rakesh Mahajan for their valuable contributions to this paper. Creating the Next Multibillion-Dollar Online Opportunities in Telecoms 18 A.T. Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries. Since 1926, we have been trusted advisors to the world's foremost organizations. A.T. Kearney is a partner-owned firm, committed to helping clients achieve immediate impact and growing advantage on their most mission-critical issues. For more information, visit www.atkearney.com. 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