For a telecom carrier to succeed as a partner in the channel, it needs to establish an evolved relationship with managed services providers based on trust, reliability, and a collective dedication to the end-customers’ success. Pioneers of this “Carrier Evolved” approach know the key to achieving that objective is not only to provide reliable and secure connectivity, but to accompany that level of connectivity with white glove and concierge-style support services, ensuring that the MSP’s end-users receive superior service capabilities at all times.
This contradicts the behavioral patterns of the past, when providers typically established a connection and then washed their hands of the customer and channel relationship. As the new, evolved carrier/MSP partnership model matures and AI-based technologies expand automation and self-service capabilities, it raises the question: What will these relationships look like in the future?
We could focus on advanced protocols such as quantum networking, where organizations use individual photons—the smallest possible quantum of light—and repeaters to securely transmit data. But even these advanced networking methods will likely be complementary to traditional networking methodologies that work together to deliver robust and secure connectivity, as opposed to one model replacing the other.
We envision a future where telecommunications services begin to converge more distinctly with IT networking. Ideally, telco and data services will be delivered in conjunction—beyond just VoIP offerings. Services will be intelligently configured to boost business goals for end-users. Like the integration between quantum and classical networking, the combined capability of managed service providers and consultative, evolved telco providers will be far more powerful than either can provide on their own.
Voice, Data, and Video Convergence
Connectivity is no longer limited to a mere utility — it’s a critical component of any successful organization’s growth strategy. To help customers gain the most value from these services, telecom providers and channel partners need to reach a place of trust. Both must be dedicated to the end-user’s long-term needs and experience. It may benefit our exploration of the future to consider the progression of the telecom industry (so far):
In the early days of connectivity, voice and data required disparate equipment and performed distinct functions. They rarely shared the same infrastructure. Yet convergence commenced as voice could be accommodated by IT networks through VoIP. Data VARs then had to seek expertise from telecom providers, promising to more expediently deliver voice alongside their IT networks. Even as these technologies merged, telco carriers and IT providers rarely communicated let alone worked together harmoniously.
More recently, we’ve seen video emerge to support collaboration, streaming, and remote and hybrid work. Unified communications, videoconferencing and other collaborative solutions began accommodating workplace environments that were upended by the pandemic and thrust into a hybrid and mobile-first paradigm. This has signalled a new era of convergence, one where a collective focus on data, voice, and video will require solution providers not just to dip a toe into telco, but to work in tandem with responsible carriers to deliver the best possible computing environments to each individual end-user. To achieve this, telecom carriers need to commit their expertise to supporting channel relationships, which hasn’t happened reliably enough in the past.
Rising to Future Demand
As we look to the future, there are several nascent trends that may gain momentum in the coming years:
- Convergence of LAN/WAN expertise: There’s a chasm in the current market. Channel partners are focused on maintaining the LAN. Telecom agents are more concerned with wide area networks. Yet a CIO or a CISO at a business is concerned with both from an end-to-end perspective, so MSPs and telecom carriers need to close that gap to better serve their customers’ holistic needs.
- Advanced consulting models, converged services: Partnerships that were once relegated to transactional relationships are evolving into more of an advisory capacity for end-customers. Businesses require partners who can help them manage the great array of services that are now table-stakes when it comes to running their businesses, including high-performance connectivity environments.
- Intelligent configuration: Smart network design allows MSPs to design their clients’ systems with specialized security features like Layer 2 segmentation and individualized access rules. Many business customers that want or need additional protection can achieve these goals through improved access policies.
- Fiber and synchronous connectivity: Fiber-optic, synchronous installations provide a roster of benefits for businesses with heavy connectivity demands, including increased speeds, bandwidth availability, and stability, while offering “symmetrical” and consistently faster uploading and downloading speeds. Increased adoption of these infrastructures will improve network performance, ROI, and stability for companies, especially when used with VoIP and SaaS platforms.
As systems and technologies advance at lightning speed, evolved carriers need to hold true to their ideologies and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with solution providers in the MSP community. We can only lay the groundwork for the future by building trusted partnerships and developing more customer-centric goals. In the end, the objective of the IT and telecom sectors must be the same. It’s not about selling minutes or establishing broadband connections—it’s about enabling superior outcomes for each business and end-user.