Given the business model transformation that service providers have demanded and vendors have failed to deliver for VoIP, I think 2013 showed some strong momentum for an emerging voice delivery model that addresses that need. Here at Alianza we believe a new technology and business model is essential for VoIP given market dynamics and the various strategic growth initiatives that could use the CAPEX/OPEX needed to normally fund a voice network (see my various posts on this topic throughout the year). This new model is the cloud voice platform.
This means ditching the network and not bothering with the complexity and cost of IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS). And 2013 closes with some additional news concerning this cloud sourcing model with Broadsoft’s finocom acquisition to expand their cloud-based model to Germany. While a small M&A move, this shows that the model is increasingly attractive and is becoming the clear choice for voice delivery for service providers. News for the year includes:
- Alianza fixed VoLTE solution launch
- Broadsoft’s two acquisitions for European expansion of the BroadCloud solution
- GENBAND’s acquisition of Fring for a wholesale OTT platform
- Level 3 partnering with Alianza for Carrier Cloud Voice
- NetAmerica Alliance’s fixed VoIP over LTE solution for its mobile members
Cloud voice platforms are not reseller programs or private label approaches to VoIP. The cloud is an evolutionary leap beyond old school wholesale approaches that use old-iron networks or resell another vendor’s software platform (e.g., ANPI’s launch of a hosted VoIP wholesale service for telcos using BroadSoft).
The new approach leverages the scale and flexibility of the cloud, is highly customizable, easy to manage and provides a SaaS-based business model.
It means subscribers get the features they demand and service providers get the business case they need for next generation voice. This model needs to apply to all service provider service requirements, not just business unified communications (UC). In fact, the residential VoIP side is in more dire need of business model transformation given the ARPU pressure.
Here’s to more radical transformation of communications in 2014! You can learn more about the rise of the cloud voice platforms in our white paper Cloud Phones: 9 Transformative Benefits for Service Providers