Premonvision provides advisory and consulting services to the consumer technology industry. We help clients overcome issues such as:
-the transformation from consumer electronics to network electronics companies
-developing residential market strategies for the telecommunications industry
-content delivery networks
-in-home network solutions
-building IP-based consumer services portfolios
Organizations struggle with these issues due to the disruptive nature of the Internet and IP communications.
Network operators, which for a long time focused on delivering voice over packet switching telecommunications networks, carry advanced and complex services, which are delivered over IP networks to a growing range of consumer terminals. At the same time many operators expand into service delivery, such as managed video services (IPTV). However, many of these new services require new skill sets and capabilities, and raise issues such as how to deliver services across multiple devices, how software and usability are emerging as key differentiators, how the choice of middleware and architecture impact long term ability to deliver compelling consumer services, and how standardization of service delivery can both inhibit and foster innovation. Putting aside the need for new skills and capabilities in new service markets, telecommunications operators around the world are unprofitable in managed video services, and we question whether some will return a profit that corresponds to the market risk exposure.
Focusing on developing end user services (or products) is an established mindset. This mindset fails to capture how the Internet shifts profit allocations within industries. Therefore, operators should evaluate if the profits in the video market are likely to shift elsewhere in the value chain. One such area is in the IT infrastructure service provisioning. The number of companies that use the Internet to deliver services grows every day, and they find new ways of delivering more services to businesses and consumers. However, to do so in many cases requires and IT infrastructure. Developing an IT infrastructure, in many cases, across countries that supports bandwidth and quality of service intensive applications is a costly affair and arguably not an activity that service providers should focus on. Instead, service providers should focus on developing their service portfolio and partner with IT infrastructure providers. This is a market that telecommunications providers have largely disregarded in their pursuit of higher profiled managed video services. Premonvision consults the network operator industry on these challenges and business opportunities, avoiding wasted resources and misaligned business plans.
The consumer electronics industry faces many similar and related issues. Firstly, the industry has over decades developed a culture where innovation is driven largely by manufacturing processes, i.e. how to make things faster, smaller, or lighter. This partially explains why there are relatively few new ground breaking innovations in consumer electronics compared to the Internet economy. The consumer electronics industry therefore faces a new business paradigm when entering the Internet services market with products that connect to the Internet and home networks. Historically, the CE industry has very little knowledge of how consumers actually use products, aside from commissioning market research studies. This is the case for example in the TV market, where competition has focused on marketing larger, brighter, thinner panels with higher resolutions. Consequently, the value chain in consumer electronics is largely: design->build->assemble->distribute, which again triggers another cycle.
However, for consumer electronics that interact with IP networks, which we call network electronics, the value chain becomes more complex. The current stages (design, build, assemble, distribute) are still important stages, however new stages are introduce that will make or break the product. Traditionally software and usability of software has played a small role in CE. Software development has largely focused on drivers and the operating system (ensuring fast boot, high up-times etc), and not on end user applications. Adding an IP pot to a devices does little on its own. What matters is how it searches and discovers services, how it presents services, and how these services are integrated with the 'digital identity' of the user and other devices and services. The implication is that to succeed in network electronics a thorough understanding of software and usability is paramount. Lastly, the new stage is introduced; life cycle management. In traditional electronics the value creation for the customer from the vendor's perspective is in the design and build/assembly. Distribution is a cost efficiency and margin play than a value creator. However, with network electronics a significant amount of value is in how the industry manages the life cycle of the product. With network electronics the value creation process really starts once the customer owns and uses the product. The product then becomes a platform for new applications, services and content. Those that fail to develop the platform over time will soon see that their products and platform become obsolete. Obsolete products may in return negatively impact brand names and the probability of future sales. Premonvision consult the network electronics industry on these issues and opportunities, and help safe guard against the many new aspects that are required to succeed are met and that clients excel in those areas.
We deliver client specific projects and consulting services, work shops and advisory reports and support activities.
