What do all these topics have in common?
Every one of those topics is thoughtfully covered in the 2016 annual Perspectives research report available for download from TM Forum.
Who is TM Forum?
I’ve been a member of TM Forum since 2012. For those of you not familiar with TM Forum, it’s a global member association for digital business. They’ve got hundreds of members from around the globe. Many are what we consider traditional communication service providers and a growing percentage of them are newcomers to the digital economy. They are joined by the vendors and partners who support their industry. Watch their introduction video.
TM Forum members get together regularly, both face to face and virtually to collaborate and partner to co-create, prototype, deliver and monetize innovative digital services for their billions of customers. In addition, the Forum provides thought-provoking digital business research and publications, industry best practices and standards and a variety of training programs, events, and workshops.
What I’ve Gotten Out of the Forum
I’ve relished my membership and interaction with the Forum both personally and professionally. Personally, I’ve met a lot of like-minded people who are just as interested and passionate about the future of the information and communications industry as I am. These people are typically quite intellectual, but also down-to-earth and fun and I’ve enjoyed both learning from them and sharing my expertise with them, as well as socializing with them.
Professionally I’ve been involved in two ways with the Forum. One, as a member company and partner, Tr3Dent has developed some really unique tools aimed at helping the Forum’s membership access the standards found in their Frameworx (aka the eTOM, SID, TAM and more.) We built a 3D viewer of the Frameworx that’s gotten rave reviews. We are also launching a new software program designed to help their membership manage complex digital ecosystems. That software platform is currently under development and expected to release in early 2017.
Collaboration with Peers
The second way I’ve been involved in the Forum is as an individual contributor. I’ve been most active in the B2B2X workstream of the TM Forum’s Open Digital project and have contributed heavily to the Business Scenario and Partnership work. I’ve been honored to receive two Outstanding Contributor awards from the Forum. If you ever consider joining the Forum and have questions, please feel free to contact me. I’ll be happy to share my experiences and insights with you.
The 2016 Perspectives
Every year TM Forum publishes a tremendous amount of industry research and articles. You don’t have to be a member to subscribe to their regular newsletters and can do so here. Much of their research is only available to members or can be purchased. One notable exception to that is their annual Perspective report which seeks to provide insights surrounding some of the biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities facing the industry.
The 2016 Perspectives report covers several topics that have been of great interest to me and to Tr3Dent.
Smart Cities
- What makes a city smart? What qualities and characteristics do smart cities exhibit? How can you rate the relative maturity of a city in terms of its “smartness?”
- How do we ensure citizens privacy and the security of their data in a smart city?
- What have we learned from the implementation of “smart lighting” that provides new services in terms of entertainment and information, connectivity, safety and more?
Customer Centricity & Data Analytics
- An updated view on NPS (Net Promoter Scores) Do they still have relevancy in a digital ecosystem? What else do you need to use to get actionable insights?
- How do you effectively and efficiently manage customer experience across all your channels? (omnichannel) Read about the approach Vodafone and Huawei take and explore whether or not machine learning can help.
- The value of focusing on customer journeys and why they have become so critical
- Explore 7 strategies for becoming data driven and how to get value from data
Partnerships & IOE (Internet of Everything)
- Smart Health – what does the future hold for hospitals?
- The explosive power of APIS (Application Program Interfaces) in the digital age
- How will each partner involved in delivering connected cars profit?
- Block Chain – will it fix or break banking? Or both?
- Where are we with smart homes? What are the current hurdles? Successes?
IT Transformation & Virtualization
- 5G –how is it being defined? And what will it do for us?
- What do you have to do to get NFV right? What are the biggest challenges and why?
- How is the role of IT changing and OSS/BSS moves into the cloud?
- What is the impact of ever increasing automation and how will communication service providers specifically be effected?
You can download a full copy of the 2016 Perspectives here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. And again, I’m happy to talk with you about TM Forum or Tr3Dent. Message me on LinkedIn or email me at kevin@tr3Dent.com.
Happy Reading,
Kevin McCaffrey
Founder
Tr3Dent
