digital transformation in the telecom industry

It would be a mere understatement to say that telecom giants are struggling with rapid digitalization. As they take the giant leap towards being more agile, customer-centric and efficient, they are caught in the perfect storm.

The world is becoming a more connected space each day with technologies such as 5G, IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and cloud revamping the very fabric of telecom. It makes us think about all the digital change that the industry is bracing itself for in the days to come.

Starting from networks to IT systems, people, processes and ultimately the relationship with customers, the telecom industry has a large ground to cover in terms of digital transformation.

Factors such as dwindling revenues, increasing customer expectations, stagnating profits and a cutthroat competitive landscape put immense pressure on telecom companies to up their game.

Operators are expected to invest billions into improving their networks and systems to deliver higher speeds, better coverage, and befitting customer experiences. Thus, it is safe to say that the suffering of telecom operators in the absence of a proper digital transformation strategy is pretty much unavoidable.

So, how do telecom companies stay two steps ahead of the digital transformation the industry currently demands?

It’s simple.

Optimize telecom offerings to drive continuous business value and test them at every stage. In an industry where business and technical requirements change frequently, it is essential to have the right blend of people, managed services and flexible resources to keep up with these dynamic requirements.

In this article, we will shed light on why Telecom Digital Transformation is dependent on reliable QA solutions.

Let’s get started:

The need for reliable QA solutions to digitally transform the telecommunications industry

The telecommunications industry is only going upward in terms of global spending. In addition to fixed network services, there is increased spending on improving mobile and wireless services.

According to Statista, about 1595 billion U.S. dollars will be spent globally on telecom services in 2024. This is a considerable increase from 2014 when the spending was only around 1332 billion dollars (about $4,100 per person in the US).

A large share of this spending can be attributed to innovations in wireless network transformation, the proliferation of IoT networks, software and devices, reliable low latency communications, and mobile broadband solutions.

As a result, there is a keen focus on the Quality aspect, as mistakes can be too costly to remediate later. Therefore, building quality solutions at the initial stages of the product’s development and evaluating quality at each stage is the way to go.

Here’s how QA can help in this regard and make quality the key ingredient of new and transformed digital telecommunication services:

Achieving heightened customer loyalty

By improving customer experiences, telecom companies or telcos can show their customers that they care about them. This is necessary to beat the competition.

Telcos need to optimize their digital offerings and gain an insight into changing consumer behaviors regarding functionality and usability. By choosing the appropriate QA tools to analyze customer experience, telcos can track, record and measure user behavior and satisfaction.

Reducing business risks

Telecom transformation is a vast and expensive undertaking that requires a keen understanding of the current systems in use. Implementing advanced networks to conduct the legacy system modernization can introduce complexities, thus demanding an increased need for testing and validation. Timely QA practices can reduce business risks and instead shift the emphasis on achieving the highest quality and efficiency standards.

QA can also cut costs by weeding out crucial defects in the systems. It ensures that telcos can remain sailing smoothly in a sea of competitors and that their customers enjoy the best experience across all the combinations of their services.

Building a reliable brand

A Quality Assurance Testing strategy that includes all the different types of testing- performance testing, managed crowd testing, automation tests, etc., can be instrumental in building suitable test environments that support the complex structure of a reliable telecommunication system.

Automation can help speed up the tests by simulating all the internal and external integrations to existing systems before testing.

Naturally, after such rigorous testing and quality assurance measures, the final product will be immensely satisfactory and credible, thus contributing to a pristine brand image.

Increasing cyber resilience

Security is a crucial aspect given the large volumes of data that telcos deal with daily. Telcos are bound to protect customer privacy or risk battling hundreds of dollars worth of lawsuits. Just the past year, we have seen a large number of data breaches by leading Telco giants all around the world.

QA makes it possible to safeguard customer data by drilling cyber security into every step of the Software Development Life Cycle.

Thus, QA is vital to protect telecommunication systems against cyber threats of all kinds. Measures such as regular cyber security testing and penetration testing can mitigate security risks by exploiting loopholes and uprooting security issues timely.

De-risking cloud migration

QA has a big hand in getting telecommunication enterprises future-ready by enabling effortless cloud transitions. Moving to cloud platforms is a significant and cemented step in the digital transformation journey of any organization. In addition, telcos need the cloud to create networks for future-ready digital customers.

QA helps telcos successfully move their current infrastructure to cloud-hosted solutions in a phased manner. The IaaS move requires expertise and planning because telcos cannot afford any disruption in currently running services. Therefore, QA experts perform a careful risk assessment of the current migrated environment before proceeding with the actual transition.

They also carry out the necessary security and performance tests to validate the new infrastructure and verify business continuity processes.

Conclusion

Telecom companies must increase their investments in technological advancements if they have to keep up with rising customer expectations. As one of the key industries on which businesses and society depend to shape better opportunities, a lot is riding on impeccable telecommunication solutions.

Therefore, the role of Quality assurance cannot be questioned or undermined by key players in the telecom arena. A good QA solutions provider can not only take away the software testing and quality control burden but also bring better business value.

Choosing the right quality partner for all your software testing and QA solutions can help you parse all the QA challenges you may encounter when taking the initial baby steps down the digital transformation path.