Customer experience is top priority for Middle East telecom companies

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A better customer experience can help regional telecommunication firms remain relevant.
A better customer experience can help regional telecommunication firms remain relevant.

dubai - Regional telcos also count cost efficiencies and smart services among top goals

By Abdul Basit

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Published: Sun 26 Jun 2016, 5:48 PM

Last updated: Fri 16 Dec 2022, 11:36 AM

Customer experience is the top priority of Middle Eastern telecommunication operators, according to new survey findings.

Last week, the UAE telecom regulator launched a new initiative 'Erteqa' that aims to increase the level of customer service across the telecom sector.


According to EY's latest telecommunication report 'Navigating the Road to 2020 - Opportunities and challenges for telecom operators in the Middle East', 68 per cent of telecommunication C-suite respondents cite customer experience management as their top priority over the next three years.

While almost three-quarters of global C-Suite participants believe disruptive competition is a leading risk facing the sector, Middle East telco operators are more focused on the journey toward more intuitive, convenient and trusted relationships with customers.


Wasim Khan, partner and chief operating officer, EY, said a better customer experience can help telcos remain relevant.

"Every telecommunication player in the region sees customer experience as a top-three agenda item. Improving levels of support and personalising the experience are seen as the most important routes to improving customer relationships in the Middle East," he said.

Cost control, smart services

Regional players are more emphatic in their focus on cost efficiencies and smart services. Three in four regional respondents cite cost control compared with one in two participants globally and 38 per cent cite developing new services as a top three strategic priority and see smart home services as a leading driver of digital revenues, compared with 17 per cent globally.

"Greater levels of organisational agility are critical in a world where start-ups and web giants are reshaping demand scenarios. There is proportionately greater confidence in the revenue-generating potential of TV and cloud services too," Tim Peters, Mena telecoms, media and technology advisory services leader, said.

Although Middle East respondents are less likely to nominate network upgrades as a strategic priority compared with their global peer group, this does not mean that capex is levelling off.

In fact, 63 per cent of regional players see capex trending up in the next 12 months compared with 50 per cent of respondents globally.

Additionally, 43 per cent of local operators see internal collaboration as a leading route towards operating model improvements, while one in four believe that talent attraction and retention is a strategic priority.

"New talent will be a leading factor when improving their operating model, while shorter time-to-market and big data analytics are also viewed as key competencies going forward," Peter said.

He said the telecommunication industry will continue to evolve in new directions.

"Operators will continue to seek differentiation through network quality and breadth of service portfolio, underpinned by further industry consolidation and the appearance of new technologies to support data needs in the gigabit era," he said.

- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com


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