The days of delighting subscribers with standard voice and messaging are gone. Today, smartphone adoption and the technology advancements that have succeeded it have created new competitors, increased consumer demand and disrupted traditional business models 

A new year has barely settled in, and already, the IoT (Internet of Things) is fueling changes in the telco industry. According to Gartner, the 8.4 Billion connected "Things" in use today will balloon to an unprecedented 20.4 billion by 2020. The largely consumer-fueled growth will be driven by three regions: North America, Western Europe, and mainland China.

Advancements in virtualization have drastically improved the way mobile network infrastructure can and should be built. Making the move from managing a physical hardware infrastructure environment to a virtualized software infrastructure environment greatly reduces CAPEX, but also can result in increased OPEX savings as the responsibility for the maintaining service shifts to the cloud provider. 

The proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) comes with numerous potential benefits. Baby monitors, smart meters, even the connected car are all made possible by IoT technology. With this, the sheer volume of IoT connected devices is projected to explode in coming years, surpassing even the number of mobile handsets we use today. 

Now that we understand the challenges for today's telcos, we understand that, in order to succeed, telcos need to embrace the changes and challenges within their market. Yes, consumers want different solutions and services than they did a decade ago. Yes, voice calls and SMS messaging will no longer be the core component of increasing ARPU. Yes, the Over-The-Top (OTT) players have changed the game with their innovative eye and quick-to-market solutions.