Alcatel-Lucent, third in network managed services last
year, has introduced a lot of innovations in managed services offerings, such
as energy managed services for sustainability.
The Chinese equipment Huawei is fourth but gaining
quickly, with successes in emerging markets due to low-cost service offerings.
There is a see a fundamental change in network managed
services. It’s not just about reducing operational costs anymore. Most telecom
operators have already achieved cost savings through outsourcing, so they are
now looking for managed services partners who can help them to transform their
businesses and increase revenues,” said Aditya Kaul, practice director, mobile
networks, ABI Research.
The spent on network managed services totaled $5 billion
in 2007. Today, almost every network operator depends on managed services for
at least part of their operations and network managed services totaled $12
billion in 2011.
Network operators can reduce OPEX, improve service
quality, and increase revenues. And network equipment vendors earn higher
margins on services than on hardware and software, which is increasingly
commoditized.