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1、REPORTAuthors:Mark Newman,Chief Analyst,TM ForumDawn Bushaus,Contributing Analyst,TM ForumSponsored by:Editor:Ian Kemp,Managing Editor,TM Forumestablishing links:platform models in the Open API economy March 2023contentssection 2:survey CSPs views on the state of Open APIssection 1:what is the commu

2、nications API economy?the big pictureadditional features&resources 11060347section 4:what CSPs can learn from the CPaaS marketsection 3:overcoming perceived challenges to using Open APIs201723section 5:NaaS,CaaS and telco marketplace opportunities2inform.tmforum.orgsection 6:innovative examples of C

3、SP platforms and marketplaces28section 8:make it happen how to succeed in the communications API economysection 7:on CAMARA collaborating on APIs to deliver quality of service on demand4542the big pictureThis research report explores the potential for communications service providers(CSPs)to move to

4、 the next stage in the API economy as they build their own platforms capable of delivering first network-as-a-service(NaaS)and then connectivity-as-a-service(CaaS),which builds on NaaS by focusing on the service intent and the option of making partnering zero touch.Our research finds that after year

5、s of using TM Forums Open APIs,primarily to reduce complexity and speed of integration of their own operational and business support systems(OSS/BSS),operators are now using them along with other APIs to create platforms and marketplaces,in many cases exposing IT and network assets and business proc

6、esses to partners and customers(see next page for more about our research methodology).Ericssons November 2021 acquisition of Vonage,a leader in the CPaaS market,sheds light on how CSPs and the developer community might be able to leverage NaaS,CaaS and 5G.Telcos have worked long and hard to gain tr

7、action in the API economy.A decade ago a few operators,led by AT&T,tried to capitalize on the demand for SMS termination by launching their own developer and API programs.But the initiatives failed to take off and the protagonists were relegated to the role of wholesalers,while new platform provider

8、s like Twilio used APIs to build a global market for cloud-based voice and messaging services called communications platform-as-a-service(CPaaS).3inform.tmforum.orgThis report explores the potential for CSPs to move to the next stage in the API economy as they build their own platforms.This report i

9、ncludes analysis of a survey of CSPs,conducted in September and October 2022,comparing their adoption of TM Forums Open APIs with a survey two years earlier.Based on the data,we conclude that adoption of the Open APIs and the Open Digital Architecture(ODA)are maturing.Our 2020 survey drew responses

10、from 85 CSP participants at 51 unique companies and 45 supplier participants at 34 unique companies.This time we surveyed only CSPs,drawing responses from 95 people at 54 unique companies from all regions of the world.About two thirds of respondents to this years survey work in an IT operations role

11、,with 15%characterizing their role as senior level.The remaining respondents are split fairly evenly among consumer,enterprise and network roles.Questions in this years survey were designed not only to gauge API adoption and sentiment,but also to understand CSPs views about exposing APIs externally

12、in platforms and marketplaces.The API portion of the results are analyzed in section 2,while most of the questions focusing on marketplaces are discussed in section 5.In some cases,we have compared the results of this survey with our 2021 survey about marketplaces,which drew responses from 80 CSP re

13、spondents at 67 unique companies.In addition to the survey,we conducted in-depth interviews with CSP executives and analyzed public presentations about the use of Open APIs and ODA made during TM Forums 2022 Digital Transformation World event in Copenhagen.Read our previous reports on APIs and marke

14、tplaces:Our research methodology4the big pictureinform.tmforum.orgWho are the survey respondents?95respondents from54 companies2/3 IT roles1/3 Consumer,enterprise,network roles29%14%18%26%13%Middle East&AfricaEuropeAsia&Asia-pacificNorth AmericaSouth AmericaTM Forum,20235the big pictureinform.tmforu

15、m.orgGiven that Ericssons customers are predominantly large CSPs,it is reasonable to assume that the company will want to partner with them in a way that is mutually beneficial.While Ericssons strategy involves adding new APIs to the Vonage Communications Platform(for example,5G APIs),many CSPs are

16、intent on building their own marketplaces.Section 6 provides case studies of five operators that have already built platform businesses,each with a different approach or strategy:Africas MTN Group is building its Chenosis platform as a pure API marketplace to meet the requirements of developers acro

17、ss Africa.South-east Asias Axiata Group is focusing firmly on the small and medium-sized enterprise(SME)market,offering a range of digital products and services delivered through its Ideamart platform.Jio Platforms,parent company of Indias Reliance Jio Infocomm,is developing its own network and IT s

18、oftware to support Reliance Jios new 5G network.Jio Platforms is using APIs and a platform business model to offer the capabilities to other mobile operators and enterprises in a variety of verticals with a goal of providing 5G network slicing.Singtel Group in Singapore has launched a platform calle

19、d Paragon to offer 5G services to its enterprise customers.UK-based Vodafone Group is developing an ambitious strategy(which it calls telco-as-a-service,or TaaS)and is in the early stages of creating an API marketplace for its own products and services.Long road ahead?With the exception of Axiatas I

20、deamart,all these platforms are new,and they potentially face a long road to success.It has taken Axiata ten years to identify a clear,tangible market opportunity.Whats more,fundamental questions about the future direction of NaaS and CaaS remain unanswered.The industry is excited about their potent

21、ial,but building a business case around the technologies remains challenging.Some of the questions that we explore in our research are:Will CaaS emerge as a market that is distinct from CPaaS,or will they overlap?How will operators monetize CaaS through their marketplaces?Will they adopt traditional

22、 usage-based API pricing approaches or will they favor partnerships and revenue sharing agreements with developers?To what extent will NaaS,CaaS and network slicing create new and incremental demand for connectivity in addition to offering an evolutionary path for existing connectivity customers to

23、procure services that better meet their specific requirements?How will CSPs view the opportunity for taking a wholesale(B2B2X)approach to monetizing network APIs,particularly if their wholesale customers compete with them in B2C and B2B markets?How will CSPs find the right balance between wholesale

24、opportunities,retail opportunities and platform business models?What are the best approaches for building developer ecosystems,and to what extent can CSPs partner with existing developer programs and initiatives?In the next section we look at early attempts by operators to kick-start the open API ec

25、onomy,as well as monetization models in the evolution towards platform businesses.6section 1:what is the communications API economy?inform.tmforum.orgSome operators pursued their own API strategies,however.The AT&T Developer Program,for example,was the largest and most ambitious API developer progra

26、m launched by a telco(see sidebar).Similarly,Orange Partner focused on opportunities in the companys African businesses,while Telefnica BlueVia and Telenor Fusion also targeted developers.Anyone following the telecoms industry for 15 or 20 years might get a sense of dj vu when reading that telcos wa

27、nt to monetize their network and IT APIs.Back in 2008,some of the worlds largest communications service providers(CSPs)sponsored a GSMA initiative called OneAPI aimed at offering a simple way for developers to integrate network-based features within their applications.OneAPI generated a huge amount

28、of excitement,with 300 operators worldwide joining and committing to opening up their networks.But it fizzled out like so many other initiatives that have required CSPs to federate their capabilities.AT&T started its Developer Program in 2010.In 2013,the company recorded 4.5 billion API calls,and by

29、 the end of 2014 had more than 1,500 APIs across its B2B and B2C divisions including SMS(short messaging service),MMS(multimedia messaging service),advertising,speech,address book,device capabilities,m2m(machine to machine),sponsored data and identity.However,according to former AT&T Developer Progr

30、am executives,the business was largely based on developers interest in using SMS for A2P messaging.At the time,SMS was the dominant messaging service on mobile networks,but until initiatives such as the AT&T Developer Program,A2P messaging had mainly been confined to the delivery of value-added serv

31、ices such as ringtones.During the five years or so that AT&T was committed to its developer initiative,the program evolved from being relatively unfocused and attempting to attract a broad range of developers to one more focused on specific sectors and capabilities.For example,in 2015 at AT&Ts annua

32、l developer event,the company launched new APIs and other developer tools for connected cars(AT&T Drive),home security(AT&T Digital Life)and voice communications(AT&T enhanced Web RTC API).But the initiative faded away soon after:while the AT&T Developer Program website still exists with pages focus

33、ing on 5G and AI,most of the posts are at least four years old.By the time AT&Ts program lost steam,Twilio had emerged as a serious force as the communications platform-as-a-service(CPaaS)market moved away from telecoms operators to companies with expertise in software platforms.Well look at Twilio

34、and the CPaaS market more in section 4.AT&Ts Developer Program fades away7section 1:what is the communications API economy?These operators were driven partly by a desire to use APIs to reduce the cost of integrating technology in their own internal operations and partly by a belief that they could g

35、enerate significant new revenues as platform players.The difference between then and now,however,is that most CSPs today are committed to deploying standard APIs including TM Forum Open APIs.Lessons learnedUnderstanding why telcos developer programs ultimately failed is useful in assessing the poten

36、tial for current and future API initiatives.There are four primary reasons:Development of smartphones,which impacted revenue from premium SMS Difficulty attracting developers Discomfort with platform business models Lack of software expertise.The emergence of premium SMS in the 1990s gave CSPs their

37、 first taste of partnering with third-party content and applications companies.Mobile users who wanted to buy content such as ringtones,games and adult content provided by value-added service providers could send a premium-rate text message.The mobile operator then charged the purchase amount,typica

38、lly ranging from$1 to$5,to the subscribers phone bill and shared the revenue with the content provider.The sharing arrangement usually resulted in the CSP getting between 30%and 70%of the transaction,which meant that premium SMS was massively profitable for mobile operators.It was also profitable fo

39、r content partners,even though they sometimes received less half of the fee paid by the customer.But all that changed with the advent of smartphones and app stores,allowing mobile users to buy content from companies beyond those partnering with mobile operators.Direct-carrier billing(DCB)is the smar

40、tphone-era equivalent of premium SMS.CSPs use it to charge customers for value-added services via either their mobile bill or prepaid account,but DCB offers the operator more pricing flexibility than premium SMS.Most operators use it to allow mobile customers to pay for apps on Google Play or Apple

41、Store,for over-the-top(OTT)services like Netflix or Disney+,or for broadband/TV subscriptions,rather than having to use credit or debit cards.Despite growth in DCB many operators express disappointment at the(net)revenue it generates.Indeed,the revenue share retained by operators is much closer to c

42、redit card companies margins of 3%to 6%than the 30%to 70%margins of premium SMS.The margins for bundling video subscriptions are particularly under pressure.These stood at 10%to 15%in the early bundling era but today generate no profit,which means that bundling OTT services is principally a tool for

43、 customer retention.Operators experiences in premium SMS and DCB are relevant to a broader discussion about commercializing APIs because billing represents an excellent example of a CSP capability that could be exposed by an API.In the API marketplaces that CSPs envision,billing APIs would be availa

44、ble for any developer or enterprise to embed in their applications.The developer conundrumPlatform business models need developer communities to succeed.While CSPs employ some of their own developers and partner with developers working for their technology suppliers,they have little or no experience

45、 building developer communities.The AT&T Developer Program was,as its name suggests,an attempt to build one.And while there was early enthusiasm from developers AT&T ran an annual developer event for several years the company ultimately failed to offer the tools and capabilities needed to retain the

46、m.Since the failure of AT&Ts program and a handful of others,most telcos have shied away from attempting to attract developers,and many now seem uncertain about how to proceed.Axiata Groups Ideamart and MTNs Chenosis API marketplace are exceptions.Well look more closely at their marketplaces in sect

47、ion 6.Rather than building their own developer communities,many CSPs may seek to partner with developers that are part of an inform.tmforum.orgEverything changed with the advent of smartphones and app stores,allowing mobile users to buy content from companies beyond those partnering with mobile oper

48、ators.8section 1:what is the communications API economy?existing ecosystem operated by Google,Microsoft or Amazon Web Services(AWS).Alternatively,they may limit their ambitions to working with content partners developers in B2C and B2B markets.Platform business modelsUsing a platform model is not a

49、natural way for traditionally siloed telcos to operate,and it was never clear where their early API monetization initiatives sat within their organizations.Most operators werent sure whether,as a new line of business,it should sit within B2B or B2C divisions based on whether developers were building

50、 products and services for businesses or consumers or within the wholesale arm.Such considerations are important because of telcos siloed nature and because API services could compete with or undermine existing products and services.For example,an operator may decide to offer APIs for free or at an

51、extremely low price in order to generate interest from developers,but this approach risks cannibalizing revenues for wholesale SMS.A platform business model by definition is two-sided,with producers and consumers.In an API marketplace,developers are the producers,while the individuals and companies

52、that buy the applications are the consumers.The evolution of the CPaaS market demonstrates how the value ultimately flows to the companies most in tune with consumers needs(see section 4).Its important for CSPs to understand both sides of the marketplace.A true platform allows them to offer services

53、 in competition with other companies,potentially other CSPs,along with partners that may offer services such as IoT,cloud and security.This is not how CSPs have viewed marketplaces in the past.Our survey about marketplaces in 2021 found that a majority of CSP respondents viewed them as a way to reta

54、in control of customers by providing a simple digital portal for ordering services provided by the CSP.In addition,CSPs were uncomfortable with other companies providing the platform,and particularly hyperscalers.Read our first marketplace report:inform.tmforum.orginform.tmforum.orgSponsor:Authors:T

55、im McElligott,Senior Analyst Dawn Bushaus,Managing Editor Editor:Joanne Taaffe,Editor in Chief,Inform June 2021Our survey this time shows that CSPs are beginning to see the value in adopting a true platform business model(see graphic below).While operators remain inform.tmforum.orgWhat is a marketpl

56、ace?TM Forum,2023CSP-operated digital self-service portal for buying&bundling services from a single CSP andits ecosystem partners.CSP owns the customerPlace where CSPs can procure ODA-compliant components for building their software infrastructureSelf-service portal where multiple CSPs and partners

57、 canofer connectivity,apps,devices&content through a neutral third-party marketplace provider.No one CSP or partner owns the customerSame as above except a hyperscaler operates the marketplace and owns the customerHub where companies within a large telecoms group can provide services to each otherPa

58、rtly aligned with my visionNot aligned with my visionCompletely aligned with my vision31%58%12%27%54%19%33%43%24%20%43%38%27%56%17%Partnership-based pricing rather than charging developers based on how much or how often their applications use an API,developers agree to a revenue-share of sales of th

59、e application in which the API is embedded.Pricing modelsCSPs must take several factors into consideration when deciding which pricing models to adopt.They need to be able to answer the following questions:Does the API give third parties access to products and services the telco already offers to it

60、s B2C and B2B customers?If so,the options are either to place restrictions on how the API is used,or to charge a fee that ensures that the API does not undermine the retail business.A good example of this would be SMS APIs,where pricing logically should be consistent with the companys wholesale offe

61、ring.Is there pent-up demand from developers for an API,or is it unproven?If its unproven,the CSP may want to price it aggressively to drive developer usage.To what extent is the owner of the API seeking to use developers to help build its presence in a specific market or sector?Consider the example

62、 of AT&T touting APIs for developers in the connected car market.A partnership-based pricing approach would make sense in that case.9section 1:what is the communications API economy?divided over who should operate the marketplace,owning the customer is no longer the main driver.Well look at more of

63、what our survey reveals about marketplaces in section 5.Software expertiseIn the past couple of years,many large CSPs have started hiring teams of software developers and engineers to develop their own IT operational and business support systems(OSS/BSS)and create new capabilities for customers.Voda

64、fone Group,for example,announced in 2021 that it would hire 7,000 additional software engineers to add to the 9,000 it already employed(see page 41).But between 2008 and 2014,when CSPs were launching their first API initiatives,most had little or no software expertise and did not understand develope

65、rs requirements for low-friction,web-based environments to consume APIs and other tools to help them successfully bring products to market.CSPs that want to monetize their APIs also need to understand which charging models work best for developers and for their own businesses.There are four popular

66、models:Pay-as-you-go pricing the fees that developers pay are directly related to how much they use the API.One example is paying per use or call,where each time an application requests the API and retrieves data,a charge is triggered.Fixed pricing this is normally a monthly fee for a maximum number

67、 of API calls.Combination pricing a hybrid model that includes a monthly subscription fee with per-API call pricing kicking in once a threshold is exceeded.inform.tmforum.orgMarketplace driversTM Forum,2023Marketplaces can be used to generate new connectivity revenuesOperating marketplaces can enabl

68、e CSPs to sell access to many APIsMarketplaces are great sales channels for generating additional revenueOperating marketplaces keeps CSPs in control of the customer relationshipParticipating in a marketplace prevents any one company from owning the customerCSPs can take a cut of all sales65432110se

69、ction 1:what is the communications API economy?inform.tmforum.org Is the CSP seeking to build a partnership with a particular developer,or is the relationship purely transactional?If a partnership is desired,then revenue sharing again is likely the best model.But if the arrangement is purely transac

70、tional,a pay-as-you-go or fixed pricing model would be more appropriate.Does the CSP plan to turn APIs into a line of business,or is the API strategy simply a way to deepen knowledge of a particular market in order to launch its own products and services?An operator that sees APIs as strategic may o

71、ffer them at a lower cost to encourage usage.These varied approaches are illustrated in the case studies in section 6.Axiata,for example,monetizes its APIs through a combination of daily and monthly fees plus revenue sharing.MTN Chenosis,on the other hand,is positioning itself purely as an API marke

72、tplace,so pay-as-you-go or fixed pricing makes more sense.In the next section,we provide some analysis around our new survey which looks at CSPs adoption of TM Forum Open APIs.If the arrangement is purely transactional,a pay-as-you-go or fixed pricing model would be appropriate.11section 2:survey CS

73、Ps views on the state of Open APIsinform.tmforum.orgThe Open APIs got their start in 2013 at a small hackathon in San Francisco that showed off the first three interfaces:Product Catalog,Product Ordering and Trouble Ticket Management.BT,Orange and Vodafone pioneered the interfaces,and since the form

74、al launch of the Open API project in 2016,dozens more operators and suppliers have joined them in adopting the standards(see sidebar on page 12 you can also learn more about the history of the Open APIs in our earlier report).Maturity is increasingA full three quarters of the CSP respondents surveye

75、d for this report said they are using Open APIs,and nearly 20%more intend to.The level of adoption in 2020 was about the same and is not surprising,given that most companies surveyed are TM Forum members.But our findings about the drivers of Open API adoption are more interesting and telling.While C

76、SPs primary reasons for adopting the APIs havent changed a large majority want to reduce IT costs and complexity APIs are simple coding instructions that help disparate software systems communicate without the need for expensive and time-consuming integration.Indeed,most CSPs began using TM Forums O

77、pen APIs to reduce complexity in their internal IT operations.But as the case studies in section 6 illustrate and our survey shows,Open API use is maturing.To date,149 companies 27 of the worlds leading CSPs and 122 of their technology partners have signed the Open API Manifesto.The Open APIs are te

78、chnology agnostic and can be used in any digital services scenario,from developing next-generation IT systems to enabling IoT services and smart cities,or onboarding virtual network functions.They are developed using a crowd-sourcing approach,and members are encouraged to contribute extensions and e

79、nhancements for the benefit of everyone who uses them.Over the past decade,the number of Open APIs has grown to more than 70,all developed collaboratively by TM Forum members.The interfaces are widely adopted,with more than 600,000 downloads by 39,000 software developers from 2,500 organizations.To

80、date,149 companies 27 of the worlds leading CSPs and 122 of their technology partners have signed the Open API Manifesto publicly demonstrating their endorsement of the Open APIs.In signing the manifesto,CSPs agree to make the Open APIs a requirement for procurement of IT operations software,while t

81、echnology partners are committing to using Open APIs in relevant products.The Open APIs become more powerful when used in conjunction with a modern,component-based architecture like the TM Forum Open Digital Architecture(ODA).A combined Open API and ODA Manifesto is supported by 122 companies(up fro

82、m just 44 in 2020),including 20 global service providers and 102 technology partners.The ODA,which is part of the Open Digital Framework(see page 51),aims to create a software marketplace where CSPs can easily procure Lego-like IT components in order to speed innovation,improve customer experience a

83、nd reduce costs.The goal is to define standardized,interoperable and reusable software components that are organized loosely into coupled domains.The components expose business services through the Open APIs,which are built on a common data model.Importantly,ODA provides machine-readable assets and

84、software code,including a reference implementation and test environment,which is the first step towards a viable marketplace.What are Open APIs?12section 2:survey CSPs views on the state of Open APIsinform.tmforum.orgOpen APIs at a glance70+Open API specificationsdeployed worldwide2,500+&39,000+comp

85、aniesdevelopers downloading and using the APIs149companies signed up tothe Open API Manifesto122companies signed up tothe combined Open API&ODA ManifestoThe Open APIs are developed using a crowd-sourcing approach,and members are encouraged to contribute extensions and enhancements for everyones bene

86、fit.13section 2:survey CSPs views on the state of Open APIs significantly higher percentages of respondents to this survey see monetization of platforms,targeting new markets and adoption of cloud-native technology as important reasons for adopting standard interfaces(see graphic above).The survey f

87、inds a 47%increase in respondents adopting Open APIs for monetization by exposing network and IT assets externally;and a 34%increase in those using the APIs to target new markets and move legacy applications to the cloud.The results dovetail with the findings in our Digital Transformation Tracker 6

88、survey published in July 2022,which found that the percentage of CSP respondents aiming for their companies to become end-to-end digital service providers nearly tripled from 2020.That survey also saw a 50%increase in CSP respondents whose companies are fully committed to a cloud-native approach.As

89、noted in the introduction to this report,if we had surveyed more people working in B2B roles this time,that might explain a big jump in the percentage of operators looking to use the APIs to monetize their assets and target new markets.But most respondents to this survey(and to 2020s)work in IT oper

90、ations.There has been close to a 25%increase in CSPs adopting the Open APIs in conjunction with the ODA.Significant growth in the number of companies signing the combined manifesto reflects this trend as well.Together,these findings provide strong evidence that CSPs use of APIs is maturing.And our c

91、ase studies in section 6 demonstrate how.Mandates are necessaryAnother positive finding is that a full 95%of respondents say they have made Open API adoption part of their corporate strategy.But paradoxically many CSPs surveyed are not mandating that their suppliers support the standards.The percent

92、age of respondents who say their RFPs require Open APIs has dropped to 56%this time,down from almost two thirds in 2020(see graphic on next page).At the same time,more than half of respondents say a big challenge for them is that not enough suppliers support the APIs(more on challenges in the next s

93、ection).Nonetheless,26%say their suppliers are“very committed”to the Open APIs a healthy increase from 2020 when only 7%said their suppliers were very committed and a further 36%say most suppliers are“committed”.When we surveyed suppliers and spoke with them about this topic,inform.tmforum.org91%74%

94、87%65%55%41%66%45%92%87%CSPs reasons for adopting Open APIsTM Forum,2023To reduce complexityTo reduce the cost of integrationTo monetize our network and IT assets by exposing them externally to partnersTo target new markets such as IoT and industry verticals,particularly as 5G is deployedBecause we

95、want to adopt cloud-native technology and move legacy applications to the cloud20202022The survey finds a 47%increase in respondents adopting Open APIs for monetization.14section 2:survey CSPs views on the state of Open APIsmany made a distinction between CSPs requesting support for Open APIs versus

96、 mandating it.Nearly all RFPs request support for the interfaces,suppliers said,but fewer require it.The vendors added that they wish all CSPs would make Open API compliance mandatory in all RFPs,because full compliance would make integration easier for everyone and would drive the Open APIs as the

97、de facto standard.Which Open APIs?The graphic on p.15 shows the types of Open APIs CSPs are using or plan to use.For the purposes of this survey and the one in 2020,we grouped them logically as outlined here:Customer APIs that CSPs use to interact with their customers(for example,customer management

98、,shopping cart and bill management APIs)Engaged Party APIs that CSPs use to interact with partners to deliver services(for example,privacy management,party interaction and partnership management APIs)Customer Engaged Party APIs that are common to Customer and Engaged Party relationships(for example,

99、product ordering,service level agreement management and payment management APIs)Product APIs that CSPs use to manage the products they offer(for example,product catalog management and product inventory management)Resource APIs that CSPs use to manage their physical resources(for example,resource cat

100、alog management,resource inventory management and alarm APIs)inform.tmforum.orgHow CSPs rate their suppliers support for Open APIs?They are very committed to supporting our Open API requirementsMost are committed,but some just pay lip serviceA few are committed,but most just pay lip serviceNone of t

101、hem seem very committed to supporting Open APIs2022202012%38%7%26%36%43%34%4%TM Forum,2023Most CSPs begin digital transformation with customer-facing systems because they are critical to differentiating their offerings.Do CSPs RFPs require suppliersto support Open APIs?56%64.5%35.5%44%20222020TM For

102、um,2023YesNo15section 2:survey CSPs views on the state of Open APIs Service APIs that CSPs use to manage their logical services(for example,service catalog management,service inventory management,and service activation and configuration APIs)Common APIs that fit into all the groups described above(f

103、or example,trouble ticket,usage management,performance management and geographic location management APIs)Standalone APIs that do not fit into any of the groups outlined above(for example,IoT device management and distributed ledger management APIs).Customers firstThe results this time are similar t

104、o 2020,with most respondents focusing on customer,product and service APIs,followed by resource APIs,although the percentage picking resource APIs is slightly lower in this survey.It is not surprising that customer and product APIs are still among the most widely adopted Open APIs.Most CSPs begin di

105、gital transformation with customer-facing systems because they are critical to differentiating their offerings.Popularity of the service and resource APIs could again signal that operators platform approaches are maturing because they are used to enable network-as-a-service(NaaS).API component suite

106、sWe also asked about Open API component suites,which group interfaces that can be used together to address specific business challenges.The Customer Self-care Component Suite,for example,defines the set of operations that CSPs should offer to enable a self-care app,while the NaaS Component Suite aut

107、omates the end-to-end lifecycle of network services.In this survey and the last,adoption of the Open API suites inform.tmforum.org56%25%5%5%7%11%4%9%4%6%17%11%33%20%15%22%44%30%36%32%59%28%21%20%Open APIs CSPs are using or plan to useTM Forum,2023Customer APIsCustomer Engaged Party APIsProduct APIsR

108、esource APIsService APIsEngaged Party APIsCommon APIsStandalone APIsAI Management Component SuiteIoT Device Management Component SuiteNaaS Component SuiteSelf-care Component SuitePlan to useUsing16section 2:survey CSPs views on the state of Open APIshas been quite low compared to adoption of individ

109、ual APIs.There are a couple of possible explanations.It may be that people are unaware that they are available,in which case education about the suites and publicizing them could increase usage.It is also possible,however,that uptake is low because CSPs prefer to implement the interfaces individuall

110、y.On the journey to implementing NaaS,for example,a CSP might transform service ordering,provisioning and activation all at once but wait to transform service assurance and performance management.In that case,using individual APIs makes more sense.Quantifying the valueAbout two thirds of respondents

111、 said they have not yet been able to quantify the value of using TM Forum Open APIs,a similar result to 2020.But its possible that some operators dont feel the need to measure value because the benefits are clear.Or perhaps deciding what to measure and implementing systems to track KPIs arent priori

112、ties.CSPs that are measuring the value of using Open APIs point to three primary benefits:Operational savings skipping the API design phase offers significant savings of time and money as designing an API typically takes three to six months and involves four to five developers.Another benefit relate

113、d to design is that operators and their suppliers have learned valuable lessons in implementing the Open APIs,and this knowledge is incorporated into updated versions of the interfaces.Increased revenue as CSPs begin to expose the APIs externally,they can also earn quantifiable revenue.They might se

114、ll APIs through an app store,for example.Or,more likely they will increase revenue by making internal capabilities like billing,location services or quality-of-service(QoS)guarantees available to customers and partners using the APIs as part of a platform business model.This is the case for the oper

115、ators we profile in section 6,but they did not disclose how much they are earning or anticipate earning.Simplification of partner onboarding this is a primary goal of the zero-touch partnering Open APIs,which are available individually or as part of the Self-care Component Suite.The idea is to make

116、the partnering process plug-and-play by defining standard interfaces for service level agreements(SLAs),contract management and monetization,including how revenue is shared between partners.The Open APIs accommodate the most likely scenarios,which means operators dont have to go through the painstak

117、ing process of negotiating a one-to-one agreement with every partner.The next section looks at some of the challenges CSPs face in implementing the Open APIs and how a concept called domain context specialization could help.inform.tmforum.orgCan CSPs measure thebenefits of using APIs?TM Forum,202362

118、.5%37.5%YesNo17section 3:overcoming perceived challenges to using Open APIsinform.tmforum.orgTwo years ago,just over half of CSP respondents said the biggest obstacle to using the Open APIs is that they are too generic users must do additional programming to get the functionality they need while a t

119、hird of respondents said the interfaces are difficult to use.This time the perception that theyre not specialized enough persists,but a much smaller percentage think the APIs are difficult to use(see graphic on next page).The Open APIs are purposefully generic and technology agnostic so that they ca

120、n be used in any digital services scenario.The interfaces are REST-based and can be used by almost any programming language.For example,the Product Ordering API can be used to order any type of product,from a device to SD-WAN or a 5G QoS network slice,because the product information is passed via re

121、ference,not value.The product details are contained in a product catalog,and that definition explains which attributes are mandatory and which are optional.Software code must be written on either side of the API to make this flexibility understandable.TM Forum members are also developing new asynchr

122、onous Open APIs for use in event-based architectures.While REST-based APIs are transactional and expect an immediate response to a request,asynchronous APIs do not.Events are addressed by the receiving systems at their convenience,which increases flexibility and efficiency in managing and executing

123、complex transactions.Async Open APIs are a key ODA requirement as it evolves into an event-driven,AI-ready architecture.The idea that the Open APIs are too generic is still cited as the number one challenge to using them.But the Open APIs are,in fact,deliberately designed to be generic.Thats what ma

124、kes them open,standard and reusable.The Open APIs are purposefully generic and technology agnostic so they can be used in any digital services scenario.18section 3:overcoming perceived challenges to using Open APIs“Because the Open APIs are generic,they can work for new services that we hadnt even i

125、magined when we designed the APIs.,”said Lester Thomas,now Head of New Technologies&Innovation,Vodafone Digital&IT,in our 2020 report.“Were effectively making the APIs a kernel of the absolute minimum you need for a standard,and then you add extensions to that kernel.”Adding extensions to the Open A

126、PIs is how MEF created its Lifecycle Service Orchestration(LSO)APIs,for example.MEF simplified deployment and management of end-to-end Carrier Ethernet and SD-WAN services by creating standardized payloads for Open APIs such as the Product Catalog API.The Open Network Automation Platform(ONAP)has al

127、so extended Open APIs for its members to use.Read this report to learn more about how TM Forum and MEF are working together:REPORT COVERCALL TO ACTIONAuthors and editors:xxxxxxknowledgeREPORTSponsored by:for integrationsetting new standardsDIGITAL ECOSYSTEMSImage used on tileReport CoverKey WordsBri

128、dging boundaries with common standardsWorking together Handing over common standards to each otherLogistics chainsCooperationJune 2022|www.tmforum.orgAuthor:Dr.Mark H.Mortensen,Contributing AnalystEditor:Dawn Bushaus,Contributing EditorDIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS setting new standards for integrationsponsore

129、d by:Now TM Forum is taking this concept of domain context specialization,or DCS,further by standardizing Open API payloads for specific applications like 5G slicing or wholesale access.Using DCS,a single Open API can carry different standardized payloads,which dramatically reduces the need for tech

130、nology-specific management and orchestration APIs.DCS“specializes”the interface for certain scenarios or domains in order to constrain it and therefore make it simpler to implement,according to TM Forum CTO George Glass.The designer of the DCS can specify that normally optional attributes are mandat

131、ory or specific entity values are restricted,for example.“If youre talking about delivering access,the technology and domain shouldnt matter it could be Wi-Fi,4G or 5G,”Glass says.“What we need to know are the characteristics of the connectivity:Whats the latency guarantee,for example?”Other standar

132、dsWe didnt ask specifically about DCS in our survey,but we did ask CSPs which other types of APIs they are using.The results,shown in the graphic on the next page,could point to areas where DCS may be useful.Interestingly,CSPs use of ONAP APIs has decreased significantly from 2020,while their inform

133、.tmforum.org14%19%22%41%51%47%52%52%14%33%Challenges to using the Open APIsTM Forum,2023We dont need to use them because we have our own APIsThey are difcult to useThey are too genericThey are not supported by enough suppliersOther(common responses:extensions are time-consuming&difcult;all the above

134、;not enough documentation)2020202219section 3:overcoming perceived challenges to using Open APIsuse of GSMA APIs has increased by the same percentage.Decreased use of ONAP APIs could simply come down to different survey respondents this time that is,more of last years respondents may have worked in

135、a role using the ONAP APIs.But it is also possible that the decrease could signal some disillusionment with open source,according to Glass.ONAP was formed in February 2017 when AT&Ts ECOMP open source project merged with the Open Orchestrator initiative,which was pioneered by China Mobile and China

136、Telecom and supported by Orange.The groups charter has been to develop an open source platform for managing and orchestrating virtualized networks.Many large CSPs are,indeed,increasing their use of open source software.However,Glass notes that they often prefer to develop the software in-house so th

137、at they have control if something goes wrong in production.Or,they may work with a vendor to help them implement and manage open source solutions.While operators may be comfortable using parts of a platform like ONAP,completely turning over orchestration to it can be a step too far for some.The incr

138、ease in the number of respondents who picked GSMA APIs in our survey options could be attributable to growing interest in the CAMARA open source project.We explain how CAMARA and TM Forum are collaborating on quality of service APIs in section 7.In the next section,we look at the history and evoluti

139、on of the CPaaS market and how CSPs could move up the value chain and towards becoming platform providers.inform.tmforum.org43%37%35%30%22%26%35%39%8%4%20%33%CSPs adoption of other groups APIsTM Forum,2023MEF APIs based on Open APIsONAP APIs based on Open APIsONF APIs3GPP APIsGSMA APIsOther(common r

140、esponses:ETSI MANO,O-RAN Alliance,Open Mobile Alliance)20202022Many CSPs prefer to develop open source software in-house so that they have control if something goes wrong in production.20section 4:what CSPs can learn from the CPaaS marketinform.tmforum.orgOperators are central to CPaaS,but they sit

141、at the bottom of the value chain.Their role is confined to providing wholesale voice and SMS termination.The greatest value in the chain flows to the companies at the top,which deliver a wide range of B2B services that embed voice and SMS communications(see sidebar on next page).Founded in 2008,Twil

142、io is one of the earliest and most successful CPaaS providers,although the sectors origins arguably can be traced back to Skype and the emergence of voice over IP(VoIP).SMS aggregation,which connects application providers with telco networks,began in the market for mobile value-added services(VAS)an

143、d is also a CPaaS forerunner.Telecoms operators often lament the emergence of Twilio and other CPaaS providers,believing that it is a market they should have built and controlled themselves.But CSPs did not have the ability to do what Twilio did because they didnt employ large numbers of software de

144、velopers or know how to attract them.Twilio was created by developers who understand what developers want and need.The companys leadership has always viewed developers as customers,and today Twilio has 10 million developers in its ecosystem.Types of CPaaS providersTwilios roots are in providing VoIP

145、 services.Other successful CPaaS providers that started with VoIP include Bandwidth,which acquired Voxbone in 2020;Plivo;and Vonage,which was acquired by Ericsson in 2021.Another group of CPaaS providers originated as SMS aggregators,but they were forced to expand into CPaaS as margins in aggregatio

146、n declined.Examples are Infobip,Sinch and Syniverse.In the early years of CPaaS,a key battleground was geographical reach,with all players seeking to expand regionally and globally.The aggregators facilitated this expansion.The market for CPaaS services and APIs was worth$8 billion in 2021,according

147、 to Ericsson,which cites its own data as well as data from IDC,and is expected to grow to$22 billion in 2025.The biggest players in 2021 were Twilio,with communications services revenue of$3.3 billion(more than 85%of its total revenues),and Vonage,with revenues of$1.1 billion,of which$591 million wa

148、s from CPaaS.Messaging remains the largest segment within the overall CPaaS sector.Indeed,55%of Twilios revenues come from messaging,and predominantly SMS.Twilio and other CPaaS providers also offer OTT messaging services such as WhatsApp,WeChat and Facebook Messenger.Communications platform-as-a-se

149、rvice,or CPaaS,is a relatively new segment of telecoms that emerged to address demand for making phone calls and sending text messages via PCs and mobile apps.The sectors main value lies in bridging the world of Internet Protocol(IP)software and developers with telecoms,which continues to be hampere

150、d by legacy architectures,nationalized operations and heavy regulation.CPaaS does this by moving the entire communications ecosystem to the cloud.21section 4:what CSPs can learn from the CPaaS marketCPaaS evolvesAt first,CPaaS customers were mainly Internet companies using voice and messaging servic

151、es to deliver an enhanced level of service to customers with whom their relationship was almost exclusively digital.But the market has expanded to a broader range of businesses.Vonage cites customers in healthcare,finance,technology,education,retail,travel and transportation.Twilios largest customer

152、s are in IT(21%of revenues),financial services(12%)and professional services(9%).As CPaaS providers have expanded to different sectors of the economy,they have also enlarged their portfolios of products and services.In doing so they have transitioned into fully-fledged B2B telecoms service providers

153、 that operate in the cloud.Indeed,they have been so successful at entering new markets that the term CPaaS is inform.tmforum.orgThe CPaaS market is complex because it contains many categories of companies,and the players often occupy more than one part of the overall value chain.In most cases compan

154、ies that have started lower are trying to move up the stack to serve businesses.We have segmented the value chain into four layers as shown in the graphic.From bottom to top,heres what happens and who plays at each layer.Wholesale termination of voice and SMS on telecoms networks all CPaaS services

155、must terminate on a CSPs network.While operators wholesale businesses are in decline as users of fixed and mobile services migrate to voice and messaging services provided by OTT players,growth is still happening in A2P messaging,which is traffic generated by SMS aggregators and CPaaS application pr

156、oviders.Research firm Ovum estimates that the A2P messaging market will grow to$73 billion by 2027 although its not clear whether wholesale A2P termination will also grow or how quickly.Connectivity aggregation the job of CPaaS aggregators is to help application providers terminate voice calls and t

157、ext messages in as many countries as possible.Aggregators buy wholesale termination services from CSPs around the world and then resell connectivity to application providers.Companies like Sinch,Syniverse and Infobip began as aggregators and are moving up the value chain.APIs this is where the CPaaS

158、 market really began to take shape.Twilios understanding of application developers requirements helped the company create APIs to embed voice and SMS termination in software applications.In 2016 Twilio launched an API marketplace giving developers access to third-party tools to expand the market for

159、 their software.Twilio has more than 280,000 customer accounts and its APIs are used by 10 million developers worldwide.Vonage is another large player in this tier,with 120,000 customers and more than a million developers.Applications/developers developers of B2B software applications that deliver c

160、apabilities such as unified communications-as-a-service(UCaaS),contact center-as-a-service(CCaaS)and customer experience-as-a-service(CXaaS)are at the top of the CPaaS value chain.Players here include 8x8,DialPad and RingCentral,among many others,with companies such as Twilio and Vonage expanding in

161、to this tier.In the CPaaS value chain,the real money is at the topCPaaS value chainTM Forum,2023Most CPaaS companies got their start as connectivity aggregators and/or API marketplace providers and are moving up the value chain to deliver applications as-a-service to businesses large and small.Appli

162、cations/developersSaaS,CCaaS,UCaaS,etc.APIsAPI marketplaces aimed atdevelopers of B2B appsConnectivity aggregationVoice,SMS,IP messaging,RCSTelecoms networkWholesale termination of voice,SMS,IoT SIMs,etc.22section 4:what CSPs can learn from the CPaaS marketarguably no longer appropriate.Programable

163、communications is sometimes used as an alternative.CPaaS providers biggest successes have been in carving out a role for UCaaS,which Gartner defines as“equipment,software and services which provide and combinate multiple enterprise communications channels,such as voice,video,personal and team messag

164、ing,voicemail and content sharing”.The UCaaS market is dominated by players such as Microsoft,Zoom and Cisco,but the fastest growth is happening among“as-a-service”players and video conferencing providers,with the traditional private branch exchange(PBX)business in sharp decline.According to Ericsso

165、n,the UCaaS market was worth$26 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to$37 billion in 2025.Increasingly,UCaaS and CCaaS are viewed as a single category.Vonage,for example,generated$529 million from UCaaS and CCaaS combined in 2021.Role for CSPsThere are two ways for CSPs to participate in the CP

166、aaS market:become a CPaaS provider or partner with one.BICS,the wholesale arm of Belgian telecoms operator Proximus,and Telefnica chose to become CPaaS providers.For BICS,it was a natural next step because the operator was already an aggregator as part of its traditional wholesale business.Telefnica

167、s foray into the CPaaS market was short-lived,however.It acquired TokBox,a company providing hosted infrastructure,APIs and tools to deliver enterprise-grade WebRTC,in 2012,but sold the specialist to Vonage in 2018 after failing to integrate it.Companies such as Kandy(owned by Ribbon Communications)

168、,iBasis and Telestax(acquired by Mavenir in 2021),partner with CSPs to enable them to build their own white-labeled CPaaS services and UCaaS.For example,AT&T has partnered with Kandy to create an API marketplace to embed services such as click-to-connect voice,video,conferencing and two-factor authe

169、ntication.Other partnership opportunities for CSPs exist with Microsoft,whose Microsoft Teams product has become a UCaaS leader.Microsoft launched Operator Connect in late 2021 and has signed up CSPs including BT,Telia and Verizon.Operator Connect gives business customers an easy way to integrate fi

170、xed and mobile phone numbers into Teams so that users can make calls that terminate on the public-switched telephone network.Well discuss the role for CSPs in CPaaS more in the next section,where we look at its relationship to network-as-a-service(NaaS)and connectivity-as-a-service(CaaS).Troubled ou

171、tlook?Since February 2021 CPaaS share prices have been in steep decline.For example,Twilios share price on January 24,2023,was$53,down from$453 two years previously.Bandwidth saw its share price decline from$184 to$23 over the same period.CPaaS providers are facing three primary challenges:Profit ma

172、rgins have declined.This is especially true in the traditional API messaging business.Companies whose strengths have been in this layer are now seeking to move up into the enterprise services space.CPaaS revenue growth has slowed.Twilios year-on-year revenue growth has declined from around 65%in ear

173、ly 2021 to 33%in 2022.Its medium-term revenue growth guidance is 15%to 25%.Businesses were overvalued two years ago.While the steep decline in share prices is alarming,it is worth noting that the increase in share prices was equally precipitous.Publicly traded CPaaS providers share prices today are

174、at the same level they were five years ago(three years before their peak).To address the challenges,CPaaS providers are focusing on giving customers a better experience and new APIs.This includes introducing new drag-and-drop tools and visual development environments that make it easier for business

175、 analysts(rather than developers)to create applications.When it comes to new APIs,emerging areas include video,which is already gaining traction in segments including telehealth and insurance,and authentication,which has experienced strong growth in the last two years,particularly during Covid-19 lo

176、ckdowns when digital commerce surged.Another untapped opportunity for CPaaS providers is IoT APIs.Moving up the value chain is another strategy for CPaaS providers.UCaaS already represents a core business for Twilio and Vonage,but its new for CPaaS players focusing on aggregation.Many UCaaS vendors

177、are also now expanding into CCaaS.The next section looks at the opportunities and challenges for CSPs to develop platform and marketplace strategies.inform.tmforum.org23section 5:NaaS,CaaS and telco marketplace opportunitiesinform.tmforum.orgNaaS and CaaS are relevant to any discussion about platfor

178、ms and the telecoms API economy because both deliver capabilities exposed via APIs.NaaS is defined most simply as a framework for building network services that decouples the customers service requirements along with the operational and business support systems(OSS/BSS)used to create and manage the

179、service from the network resources needed to fulfill those requirements.The decoupling happens through an abstraction layer that hides networking details and complexity,which is central to simplifying the whole services lifecycle(see graphic on p.24).In our report Naas:where it is and where its goin

180、g,we profiled four operators that have implemented a NaaS framework:Orange Business Services,Telus,Verizon and Vodafone.Their early implementations have focused on services such as software-defined wide area networking(SD-WAN),with security and related value-adds delivered in the cloud.The offers ar

181、e presented to enterprises through graphical user interfaces and comprise a curated,pre-certified set of service options.The advantage to customers is that they gain some control over configurations and other changes.CaaS facilitates an even more extensive shift in the delivery of connectivity by ai

182、ming to completely close the gap between what customers want and what a CSP can sell them,facilitated by intent-driven,automated functions and(optional)zero-touch partnering(ZTP).Until now,CSPs have stopped short of truly abstracting the network from their OSS/BSS and inviting partners onto CaaS pla

183、tforms because of technology limitations and concerns about performance and security.But many are now ready to transition from an“inside-out”curated and pre-integrated process for service ordering and management to an“outside-in”catalog of service elements that they can compose automatically in near

184、 real-time based on a customers business requirements and using ZTP when necessary.In doing so they are adopting TM Forum Open APIs and the Open Digital Architecture(ODA see page 30).CSPs such as Vodafone,which calls its strategy“TaaS”(telco-as-a-service),are hoping to attract developers by taking t

185、his outside-While communications platform-as-a-service(CPaaS)is a rapidly maturing market with a well-established value chain,network-as-a-service(NaaS)and connectivity-as-a-service(CaaS)are still in the early stages.There is still considerable uncertainty among CSPs and others about value chains an

186、d market potential.24section 5:NaaS,CaaS and telco marketplace opportunitiesin approach.The company has built its platform centrally to serve multiple markets and is using it to build its own products and services and create an API marketplace and associated business model.See section 6 for more on

187、Vodafones approach.How to go to market?CSPs are hugely interested in monetizing CaaS and network slicing.Many are planning to launch their own marketplaces either within a specific market or product segment or across the business.Our case studies in the next section include a marketplace for small a

188、nd medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)and an API marketplace.But its not clear exactly how a CaaS marketplace might look.The vision is for enterprises and developers to embed connectivity within their applications and inform.tmforum.orgTM Forum,2021 NaaS uses APIs to reduce complexityCustomerRetailEnterp

189、riseWholesaleRetail CustomersEnterprise CustomersWholesale CustomersSales&servicesThird parties/partnersProduct master dataSales catalogOffer managementOpen APIs exposed via API gateway or hubIT systems&servicesFederated resource dataFederated service dataOrdermanagementProductcatalogIntegration via

190、 Open APIsNaaS abstraction layer and Open API component suiteFacilitiesFacilitiesExposed service catalogNaaS GatewayVPN,Ethernet,WAN,OpticalData,APN,RAN SliceVoice SMS,MMSIaaS,IoT App,Mobile AppIoT SliceNetwork service operational domainsMobile AccessCalling(voice and video)Third-party ecosystem ser

191、vices(pute services)Unified CommsIP DomainManaged SecurityTransportMedia ContentRating.InfrastructureInfrastructureCommon packet networkingTransmissionCommon fiberCommon NFViNetwork domains to expose and manage the end-to-end lifecycle of services through Open APIs=agilityToo much knowledge down to

192、the resource level=complexity&long time to marketExposed service catalogNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsNetwork ElementsSystem nSystem 3Syst

193、em 2System 1System nSystem CSystem DSystem BSystem AEMS 1EMS 2EMS nOffer managementOffer managementOffer managementNetwork InfrastructureElement managersNetwork systemsIT systemsSales and servicesNetwork slicing gives CSPs a way to offer different“flavors”of connectivity.Slicing involves the transfo

194、rmation of a CSPs network into a set of logical,self-contained networks across core,transport and radio access networks(RANs)that share the same infrastructure.Each logical network is designed to serve a defined business purpose and comprises all the required network resources,configured and connect

195、ed end-to-end.Using this approach,the same network can be“sliced”to simultaneously support applications that have very different requirements for speed and availability.For example,a use case like robotic surgery would need low latency,high bandwidth and ultra-reliability,but an application connecti

196、ng IoT sensors might only need massive connectivity.Mobile operators view network slicing as the biggest single benefit that 5G delivers and the main motivation for investing in new cloud-based core networks,known as Standalone 5G.However,the complexity of delivering slices that can be flexibly crea

197、ted,quickly deployed and automatically managed throughout their lifecycles,means that it may be another two to three years before they are commercially available.Read our report 5G core:exploring CSP approaches to learn more about operators 5G strategies5G network slicing helps CSPs customize connec

198、tivity25section 5:NaaS,CaaS and telco marketplace opportunitiessupplement the connectivity with other capabilities also available on the marketplace such as security.This is clearly a compelling proposition for the CSP.But is it for the enterprise or the developer?Over the years developers have buil

199、t applications and capabilities on top of connectivity,working around limitations of speed or coverage.With the marketplace concept,customers are buying connectivity that is designed to meet the specific requirements of an application,so in theory they should be willing to pay a premium for it.But i

200、ts not clear that they are.Questions about how easy it would be for developers to integrate services and capabilities from outside an operators marketplace also need to be answered.IoT is a clear opportunity for CaaS because of the sheer diversity of IoT applications(and potential applications)and t

201、he different types of connectivity they require.Furthermore,IoT connectivity represents a new,greenfield opportunity for mobile operators,which is different from trying to sell customized solutions to enterprises that already buy standard connectivity services.Whose marketplace?In our survey of CSPs

202、,we asked respondents to tell us which types of companies are most likely to operate marketplaces for communications services.Its not surprising that CSPs came out ahead,but it is perhaps surprising how closely hyperscalers and large software providers follow in the responses since CSPs are usually

203、seen as wanting to keep control of the customer(see graphic above).But perhaps CSPs are recognizing that they face challenges in launching marketplaces that they may not be able to overcome.Most operators are limited in terms of geographic reach and scale to a single country or region,and they have

204、no history of building developer communities.These are major shortcomings.inform.tmforum.orgMost likely marketplace operatorsTM Forum,2023CSPs54%Hyperscalers53%Large,multi-domainICT software suppliers51%Systemsintegrators37%Neutral industryorganizations8%Questions about how easy it would be for deve

205、lopers to integrate services from outside an operators marketplace need to be answered.26section 5:NaaS,CaaS and telco marketplace opportunitiesWe asked about challenges in our survey and found that willingness to embrace new business models,cultural change and legacy architectures are concerns for

206、about two-thirds of respondents(see graphic above).However,there has been a slight decrease in the percentage of CSPs concerned about almost all the challenges we asked about except for the ability to partner and hyperscalers dominant role as platform operators.Nevertheless,there is clear momentum a

207、mong respondents when it comes to experimenting with and launching marketplaces.Half of survey respondents said they either already operate one or are taking steps to create a marketplace(see graphic right).Again,we provide some examples in the next section.Potential for 5G APIsIt is not yet clear w

208、hether CSPs will want to partner with Vonage or other CPaaS providers to expose their 5G network APIs.Before being acquired by Ericsson,Vonage did not build strategic relationships with telecoms operators.Like other CPaaS providers,the company buys its SMS and voice termination services from aggrega

209、tors that can offer connectivity with operators in different countries and regions.It is also not a given that mobile operators will make all their 5G APIs available to CPaaS providers and other third parties on a wholesale basis.As we have noted,some CSPs are building or planning to build their own

210、 platforms that could compete with some of the services that CPaaS providers offer.CSPs could choose to make some but not all their 5G APIs available to CPaaS providers,depending on whether they see them as being competitive.Or they may make 5G APIs available only to a limited number of partners wit

211、h whom they strike revenue-sharing agreements.inform.tmforum.org68%74%57%52%66%37%49%46%61%67%65%62%67%77%Challenges to developing marketplacesTM Forum,2023Fully committing to a new business modelNeed for a complete mindset/cultural shiftToo much reliance on legacy infrastructureLack of automated bu

212、siness processesLack of an open architectureA mediocre history of working with third partiesThe market has moved on to a cloud economy led by hyperscalers20212022CSPs deploymentof marketplacesTM Forum,202321%29%17%19%14%We have not consideredlaunching a marketplace yetWe are evaluating the potential

213、of launching one or more marketplacesWe are in the proof-of-concept stage for a possible marketplaceWe have begun assembling ecosystem partners to build a marketplaceWe already operate a marketplace27section 5:NaaS,CaaS and telco marketplace opportunitiesEricsson is a key strategic partner for many

214、telecoms operators globally that buy its hardware,software and services.It would make sense for Vonage-Ericsson to become an aggregator of 5G connectivity across multiple countries and regions(see box right).But to allay operators concerns about being relegated to a wholesale role that undermines th

215、eir own platform initiatives,Vonage would need to offer a more attractive set of commercial terms than traditional API pricing,meaning either higher prices or a revenue-sharing model that makes the CSP more vested in how the developer uses the API.In the next section are five case studies of CSPs th

216、at have already built platform businesses with differing approaches and strategies.inform.tmforum.orgEricsson,the worlds second-largest mobile network vendor,is positioning itself in“as-a-service”markets for future connectivity and network services.In a presentation to investors,analysts and the med

217、ia in September 2022,its wholly owned subsidiary,Vonage,made reference to the potential of 5G APIs(Ericsson completed its acquisition of Vonage in July 2022).Vonage is already seeing growth in the adoption of video APIs by its developer community,and now with 5G it wants to offer quality-of-service(

218、QoS)guarantees,rather than just relying on best effort connectivity.Perhaps the best examples of the potential for video with QoS are connected drones and applications such as insurance and construction,which use video for inspection and surveillance.Ericsson has long envisioned a range of 5G B2B us

219、e cases for mobile operators to enable.Now with Vonage the focus is slightly different.Vonage is positioning these use cases in the context of APIs that either developers or operators can use to create new services for enterprises and consumers.But Ericsson isnt the only network equipment vendor bet

220、ting that APIs and developers will be able to stimulate the 5G market.Mavenir has also been acquiring and aligning with CPaaS providers.In August 2021,the networking supplier acquired CPaaS provider Telestax.And in March 2022 Mavenir joined forces with iBasis,a company that Dutch telco KPN acquired

221、and merged into its wholesale business and then later sold.Mavenir and iBasis have worked together on iBasis Carrier Communications Platform-as-a-Service offering.Ericsson-Vonage looks to APIs for future connectivity28section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and marketplacesinform.tmforum.orgP

222、ure API marketplaceThis type of marketplace is like an API supermarket.The targeted developer communities are necessarily broad,spanning many sectors.African telecoms group MTN,which has created an API business unit called Chenosis,is using this model to attract developers from across the African co

223、ntinent.Chenosis offers a wide range of APIs(only a small number of them from MTN)and other tools for developers.This type of marketplace likely will be most effective in large countries or regions with underdeveloped software markets but a critical mass of developers.IoT marketplace We estimate tha

224、t more than 90%of CSPs IoT revenues come from connectivity.If they want a bigger role in and additional revenue from IoT ecosystems,they will need to partner with vendors of IoT modules and devices,application developers,systems integrators,hyperscalers,and vertical market specialists.Several CSPs a

225、lready operate IoT marketplaces,but most of them are simple IoT platforms that provide connectivity along with services such as management of applications,data and devices to a single enterprise.A true IoT marketplace would go further,enabling all participants to trade with each other.Then the CSP p

226、latform operator would be able to earn a share of revenue from transactions on the platform.“A key issue for CSPs is global reach,”Andy Tiller,TM Forums EVP of Products and Services,explained in our 2021 report on marketplaces.“If CSPs want to offer global IoT services to large enterprises,they need

227、 to offer their platform as an over-the-top solution,meaning unbundled from connectivity,or else offer federated connectivity with partner CSPs for worldwide coverage.”TIM Brasils IoT Marketpace and the AT&T Marketplace are examples of simple IoT marketplaces.US mobile operator T-Mobile also recentl

228、y introduced an IoT developer kit on its DevEdge self-service developer platform,which was launched in March 2022 as part of a broader innovation program called“5G Forward”.Wholesale marketplacesHundreds of telcos worldwide need to buy wholesale services outside their own footprints to deliver end-t

229、o-end services to enterprises,so a wholesale marketplace would make sense.However,the wholesale business has not evolved in this way so far.Today,it is dominated by a small number of large operators like AT&T,BT,Proximus and Telefnica,which have built their own regional and global networks.Federated

230、 networks and services are similar to wholesale.While traditional wholesale services terminate traffic on other operators networks,federation is when CSPs pool their networks or other capabilities and make them available to each other.By federating their networks via a platform business model,CSPs c

231、an offer end-to-end services CSPs are using APIs to develop different types of business models,ranging from pure API marketplaces to ambitious network-as-a-service(NaaS)platforms.It is not clear yet which will be most successful.The case studies described in this section illustrate some of those mod

232、els.29section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and marketplaceslike edge computing to business customers that have global operations.Ngena,which is an association of CSPs,is an example of a federated marketplace.The company claims it can deliver“secure connectivity as a service to any location

233、 in the world”.We asked Ngena to participate in this report but did not receive a reply.SME marketplaceTelcos have long viewed small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)as a potentially lucrative market,but they have struggled to find the right business model for serving them.SMEs require a high level

234、 of personalization and customization,but they dont have a lot of money to spend on such services.Recently,however,SMEs have become more comfortable with buying IT services online thanks to self-service portals provided by companies such as Amazon Web Services(AWS),which simplify the process.South-e

235、ast Asias Axiata Group has spent ten years building a platform called Ideamart,which targets small businesses that lack digital skills and the ability to sell online.Interestingly,however,Axiata still relies on third-party IT experts and systems integrators to sell services to SME customers.5G marke

236、tplaceThe ability to deliver differentiated connectivity experiences that take advantage of new capabilities like ultra-low latency lies at the very heart of the 5G value proposition.True end-to-end 5G network slicing will be automated using NaaS and CaaS platforms to give customers full control of

237、their connectivity experiences,but this requires additional standards and for vendors to incorporate them.In the meantime,Singtel is allowing customers to choose among a limited number of“parameters”relating to connectivity.Its Paragon platform also delivers insights to customers about how and where

238、 their employees are using their 5G connections.Singtel is also exposing multi-access edge computing(MEC)infrastructure,allowing customers to create virtual machines and deploy containerized applications on public clouds.Telco tech marketplaceCSPs are hiring more software engineers to develop their

239、own software.Greenfield operators Rakuten in Japan and Reliance Jio Infocomm in India are taking the next step of exposing and selling their internally developed OSS/BSS platforms via APIs to customers including other CSPs.We profile Jio Platforms,which acts as a holding company for Reliance Jio and

240、 other digital businesses of Reliance Industries.The company built an OSS/BSS platform for the Jio 5G network,which it is now selling to other service providers and customers in industry verticals.Jio says it is building a“massive digital and connectivity ecosystem”for India and beyond.Read our repo

241、rt on Rakuten:CaaS marketplaceThe most ambitious telco marketplace strategy builds on the telco tech marketplace idea to deliver NaaS and CaaS.As explained in section 5,CSPs are beginning to abstract the network from their OSS/BSS and inviting partners onto their platforms.The idea is to offer a cat

242、alog of service elements that can be composed on demand in near real-time based on a customers business intent.Dish Wireless is one of the most vocal proponents of this business model.In November 2022 the company launched a new website aimed at developers to create applications for its new 5G networ

243、k.Making network and IT capabilities available to third parties was one of Dishs founding principles,according to CIO Atilla Tinic:“Whatever we are building internally needs to be exposable externally so that at any point in time a customer could come in and consume it.”Reliance Jio intends to open

244、its 5G network in this way as well,and this is Vodafones strategy too.Vodafone uses the term“telco-as-a-service”to describe its platform,and although the company has not publicized its strategy widely,its website provides detailed information about the approach.We consider Vodafone to be the most am

245、bitious CSP among those profiled in this section because it is such a large,multinational organization.The company must modernize a huge number of legacy systems to succeed with TaaS.Vodafone is accomplishing this transformation using TM Forum standards(see box on next page).In addition,the company

246、is overhauling its culture and organizational structure to build new B2B products and diversify into software developer markets.Our five case studies of operators with innovative platform models begin with MTN Chenosis on p.31.inform.tmforum.org30section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and ma

247、rketplacesinform.tmforum.orgIn our surveys about APIs,we always ask CSPs whether they are adopting Open APIs in conjunction with TM Forums Open Digital Architecture(ODA).Adoption of an open architecture is a necessary step toward creating platforms.In this survey the percentage of CSPs adopting both

248、 or planning to do so has increased to 75%(up from 61%in the 2020 survey),while the percentage who said they dont plan to adopt the ODA or Open APIs has gone down by more than 40%to 25%.The ODA aims to replace traditional operational and business support systems(OSS/BSS)with a modern,cloud-native ap

249、proach to building software for the telecoms industry.The goal is to create a software marketplace where CSPs can easily procure Lego-like IT components that can be plugged into their operations environments and managed autonomously.This speeds innovation and service creation,improves customer exper

250、ience and reduces operating costs.Axiata,Jio,Telus and Vodafone have gone through the rigorous process of having their companies certified as“Running on ODA”.A CSP can achieve this status if it has met the following criteria:ODA is its default reference enterprise architecture It has widespread ODA

251、competence evidenced by ODA training certifications The company is actively contributing to ODA development,driven by real-world operational needs Open APIs are deployed and in operational use Open API conformance is mandatory for its suppliers,and ODA competence is expected,evidenced by ODA trainin

252、g certifications.Learn more about the ODA:Author:Dawn Bushaus,Contributing AnalystEditor:Ian Kemp,Managing EditorSponsored by:labsknowledgecode+frameworkstraining+accreditationusing ODA components to create a plug-and-play architecturefuture:buildfor theRunning on ODA helps CSPs become platform prov

253、idersCSPs adopting Open APIs and ODACurrently adopting bothAdopting Open APIs and plan to adopt ODAAdopting Open APIs,but we are not adopting the ODA and have no plans to do soNot adopting Open APIs or ODA202220207%38%23%30%45%32%18%7%TM Forum,202331section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and

254、 marketplacesinform.tmforum.org“What were trying to do is help developers in Africa get great apps out as quickly and as at low cost as possible.”This ambition expressed by Saad Syed,the CEO of Chenosis,a start-up business owned by Africas MTN Group reveals an approach to API monetization that is ve

255、ry different from other operators.Chenosis was launched more than two years ago,but the business has largely been in stealth mode since then.Getting it up and running in such a large operator group with 19 operating companies has also been a challenge.However,the recruitment of Syed in March 2022 a

256、commercial business leader with direct recent experience working for Google APIs platform Apigee signals a ramp up in terms of commercial strategy.Indeed,2023 will be the year when Chenosis properly opens for business in its first five markets:South Africa,Nigeria,Uganda,Rwanda and Ghana.Starting ou

257、tWhen MTN announced Chenosis in August 2020 it represented a bold move from an operator that until then had been focused on delivering mobile and,more recently,broadband connectivity to consumers and businesses across Africa.However,MTN already had a mobile payments business called MTN Mobile Money(

258、MoMo)and a messaging and value-added services platform,Ayoba.It was also expanding rapidly in the B2B market.From the outset Chenosis has been granted considerable autonomy.“Chenosis is a separate brand and entity,and will have an arms-length relationship with MTN so that it remains open to all mobi

259、le network operators,fintech startups,payment service providers,mobile wallet operators,financial service providers,and more,”Charles Molapisi,the then MTN Group Chief Technology and Information Officer,and now CEO of MTN South Africa,said at the launch in August 2020.Chenosis early positioning was

260、as an API marketplace selling MTN APIs and others from third parties.“The Chenosis Marketplace allows businesses and developers to publish their APIs so that other developers can discover and consume them,”the company stated at launch.“The marketplace also provides the tools for publishers to moneti

261、ze and promote their APIs,by creating subscription plans and product bundles that developers and businesses can purchase.”Aggregating opportunitiesWhile MTN is“just one publisher”on the Chenosis marketplace,according to Syed,it represents a starting point in terms of generating business for the orga

262、nization.“In the short term were going to leverage the MTN API catalog,which has ready-made use cases,and get out there and monetize them,”he says.An early target will be the aggregator community which has grown up in recent years to leverage the CPaaS business model(see section 4).In the short term

263、 their interest lies in communications services APIs(principally voice and SMS),but“I could foresee a time where these aggregators are also consuming third-party APIs as well,”says Syed.To expand beyond the existing aggregator opportunity Chenosis is seeking to create new use cases.“With that same s

264、et of APIs,we are trying to figure out what the additional segments are that we can go to for alternative outcomes,”continues Syed.This will necessarily involve experimentation,and likely with more failures than successes.“Were an agile start-up,so were going to iterate and experiment and do all tha

265、t kind of stuff that start-ups are expected to do as they innovate and disrupt,”Syed says.He sees huge potential in growing the pool of APIs within MTN.“One of the concepts that I have is everything is an API because,ultimately,thats where you want to get to,”he explains.“If you look at Jeff Bezos a

266、nd his famous edict of APIs at Amazon,you know that everything that you build,every business process,has to be consumable by someone else.And if you dont,youll be fired.”Exposing APIs in this way can generate direct or indirect revenue or benefits such as an improved customer experience,but Syed rec

267、ognizes that cultural change across the business is needed“to get people to start speaking the basic language of APIs”.Developer accelerator Syeds vision for Chenosis goes way beyond a marketplace for MTN APIs,however.Indeed,rather than positioning the business as an API marketplace,Chenosis MTN Che

268、nosis:from API marketplace to developer accelerator platform32section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and marketplacesinform.tmforum.orgsees itself as a developer accelerator platform focused more on outcomes than products.Nevertheless,APIs will sit at the front and center of Chenosis value p

269、roposition.The company sees itself as a marketplace and an aggregator of a range of APIs with the intention of ingesting them from different publishers and combining them to provide different outcomes.This means understanding what APIs can be used for and where their value lies.For the time being,Ch

270、enosis is in exploration mode.“Because were in start-up phase right now were having those conversations with everybody.Were looking for MVPs minimum viable products,and were looking for cool use cases.And then we are collaborating with our partners to help them scale across Africa,and perhaps beyond

271、 as we launch.”Examples of APIs that Chenosis is working on include a facial recognition interface that is already available on the API marketplace.Chenosis has done an MVP with a student housing association which is interested in using the API to let students into the building during out-of-office

272、hours.Another example is a signature verification API.However,the two main segments that Chenosis is targeting today are voice and SMS aggregators and the financial services community.Aggregators include companies such as Twilio and Infobip to which Chenosis hopes to sell other APIs and tools beyond

273、 traditional telecoms connectivity.On the financial services side Chenosis is already engaged with banks on specific APIs they can use to mitigate fraud.Chenosis will either serve them directly or use CPaaS aggregators that can supply a wider range of APIs.One broad category that Chenosis is also lo

274、oking at is open banking the idea of allowing a third-party organization to see an individuals banking and financial services data rather than that person having to fill in separate forms each time they want to engage with a new financial services company.“Theres growing interest and momentum in app

275、lying something similar to the open banking approaches in Europe and North America in some of the big economies in Africa,”says Syed.“And weve had some really interesting conversations with the banks about the role of Chenosis becoming an aggregator within that domain.”Beyond APIs,Chenosis is lookin

276、g to help improve the developer experience.This means providing a range of cloud-native capabilities at low cost to African developers.“Theres a whole bunch of other tools that you need to build something beyond APIs.”These sit in five categories:Low code/no code tools Code deployment tools Code ana

277、lytics tools AI and FinOps(cloud-based financial infrastructure management)tools API platform tools.Chenosis is currently having conversations with different platform providers to co-create propositions that fit into these categories.It is then evaluating them by asking:what real problems the soluti

278、on or service or platform is trying to resolve;what the market opportunity looks like for Africa;who are the likely customers of these platform features;and what are the commercial models around them.Watch a short video about the Chenosis developer platform:Which business model?Chenosis views APIs a

279、s products for which it needs to understand the value and market potential.“We need to be asking a whole range of questions about APIs,”says Syed.“For example,if youre building this then what is the problem youre trying to fix?Whos going to consume it?How many people are going to consume it?What are

280、 they willing to pay?”Answers to these questions then shape the business and pricing models that Chenosis adopts.“API pricing is one of the interesting elements of this market,”says Syed.“It is so volatile and so nebulous.How do you come up with a price?”This commercialization of the API opportunity

281、 also involves building a sales and marketing strategy.“The thing that I learned in API business is,if you build it and they will come does not work,”says Syed.“So,what you have to do is treat it as a product,which delivers intrinsic value.Thats why we are more focused on outcomes and use cases.”MTN

282、 Chenosis:from API marketplace to developer accelerator platform33section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and marketplacesinform.tmforum.orgBuilding the businessChenosis started to gain momentum at the end of 2022 with the arrival of a senior management team.Priorities have included:Building

283、out the technology strategy and partnerships Creating a product strategy and roadmap Engaging with early customers and prospects with an initial focus on the aggregator community and financial services Defining a go-to-market strategy.Chenosis is,essentially,a start-up business even though it will l

284、ean on its parent company,particularly when it comes to back-end processes finance,HR and technology.“We are determined to be a startup,so we are very cost conscious,”says Syed.“As such we have taken a decision to outsource much of what we do.As we start to scale and ramp up revenue,I see us in-sour

285、cing more and more.”This outsourcing approach applies to both people and technology.“Were basically hiring graduates for other functions and roles outside of the core leadership team,”says Syed.“Thats not as a graduate initiative;its how were going to build the company.And that also helps us address

286、 diversity objectives.In 12 months time I would expect 75%to 80%of the people we employ to have come through this graduate intake.”Chenosis technology strategy is equally modest.“Were not really planning to build anything,”says Ken Kayser,Chenosis Platform Lead“So were planning to work with almost a

287、 reseller model,leveraging third party-platforms and white-labeling.That gives us skin in the game and quick access to the market rather than adopting a typical build process and hoping that you get adoption.”MTN Chenosis:from API marketplace to developer accelerator platform34section 6:innovative e

288、xamples of CSP platforms and marketplacesinform.tmforum.orgIn 2012,South-east Asian telecoms operator group Axiata began leveraging its IT and network assets via APIs and partnering with third-party developers,especially small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs).Since then,the companys platform ecosy

289、stem has grown to serve 70,000 developers.It is delivering meaningful revenue that is shared with partners well over$100 million in 2021,according to Axiata Group CIO Anthony Rodrigo.Ideamart is the umbrella term given to the products,services and partnerships that sprung out of this initiative to b

290、uild platform businesses by leveraging Axiatas telco assets via APIs.Axiata has operations in 11 countries serving more than 160 million subscribers.The company has transformed from a holding entity with a portfolio of pure-play mobile assets into a business with a“Triple Core Strategy”focusing on d

291、igital telco,digital businesses and infrastructure.Today Axiatas operations include providing mobile connectivity,enterprise business solutions,digital financial services,digital advertising and a global digital platform.For the past decade,the Ideamart initiative has been spearheaded by a ten-perso

292、n team within Axiatas Sri Lankan operating company,Dialog,but its goal is to help all Axiatas operating divisions build digital relationships with customers.The platform has evolved in three overlapping phases,from experimentation to scaling in the B2C market to transitioning to a focus on B2B(see i

293、nfographic below).Viranga Seneviratne,Senior General Manager at Ideamart,explains Axiatas move into B2B:“We realized that a major portion of the SME market remained underserved in terms of going digital.It provided the perfect opportunity for Dialog to deliver services beyond connectivity,reusing ou

294、r platform capability and the building blocks that we made available to our partners.So,thats when we createdEnterprise Marketplace.”In doing so,Dialog tapped into pent-up demand from small businesses to use digital and social media marketing channels to reach their own clients and receive payments

295、electronically.This coincided with Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns,which increased businesses need to go digital.“We wanted these companies to quickly go digital,to empower them in their digitalization journey,”says Seneviratne.Axiatas platform ecosystem empowers developersTM Forum,2023Ideamarts journey

296、 from experimentation to a$100 million ecosystem2012 to 2015experimenting with“freelancers”2015 to 2020scaling up in B2C2020 to 2023exploiting the B2B opportunity Enabled so-called“freelancers”typically university students looking to make extra money to build applications using a limited selection o

297、f APIs such as messaging,USSD (unstructured supplementary service data)and charging Approach was low touch(paperless sign-up and partner settlement processes),ofering revenue-sharing agreements Began attracting attention from bigger content and gaming aggregators such as Codashop and Marvel Media Gr

298、ew to 120 APIs and added new commercial terms including pay-per-use and diferentiated revenue sharing based on content type Connected Sri Lankas other mobile operators(Bharti Airtel,Hutchison and SLT Mobitel)to the platform to serve as a country gateway Pivoted from B2C to B2B to address the broad I

299、CT services opportunity with a focus on SMEs Created new Ideamart channel called Enterprise Marketplace35section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and marketplacesinform.tmforum.orgHow Ideamart worksThe graphic above shows Ideamarts layered platform architecture.Dialog targets SMEs that lack th

300、e digital skills companies would normally need for online commerce by offering easy-to-use web widgets that require no coding.Using these tools,a small business can design a service online by simply checking boxes to meet their requirements,while Axiata configures the back-end software automatically

301、.Even though the tools are easy to use,Dialog found that some businesses needed help on the ground.So the company contracted with local tech“Geeks”to work with small businesses,educating them about the benefits of going online and helping to match the businesses needs to software and services.In add

302、ition,Dialog Axiatas platform ecosystem empowers developersAxiata platform and API marketplaceThe“Kitchen”is where developers can access a range of Axiata APIs/services including charging,“knowing your customer”and loyalty componentsDevelopersConsumersEnterprise ClientsICT providersEnterprisesAggreg

303、atorsGeek SquadEnterprise MarketplaceSystems integrators/aggregatorsePlatforms and developertools provided by a widerange of individuals and organizationsThird-party B2B productsand services viaEnterprise MarketplaceTM Forum,2023(source:Axiata Group)APIs power IdeamartAxiatas software arm,Axiata Dig

304、ital Labs,created the API platform that supports Ideamart and all other external and internal marketplaces run by Axiata operating companies.The Ideamart marketplace is built on more than 120 APIs,20 of them TM Forum Open APIs for services such as charging,location and mobile wallets.Axiata refers t

305、o the platform where developers can find and use APIs and service creation tools as the“Kitchen”.Ideamart generates millions of API calls each day,so it is important for the underlying infrastructure to be able to support the traffic,although Axiata says the traffic growth is predictable and does no

306、t experience unexpected peaks and troughs.The platform runs in the public cloud on AWS,which supports scaling on demand.Some of Axiatas marketplace success can be attributed to its work with TM Forum.The company was an early adopter of the ODA and has been awarded“Running on ODA”status(see page 30).

307、Axiata Digital Labs has used learnings from TM Forum Catalyst proofs of concept to evolve its API platform and was recently awarded a TM Forum Excellence Award for its use of ODA and Open APIs to help Axiata operating companies move operations to the cloud.36section 6:innovative examples of CSP plat

308、forms and marketplacesinform.tmforum.orgrecruited local systems integrators and aggregators already engaged in helping SMEs go digital.Dialog looked for local experts rather than deploy its own sales team because the company recognized that its internal skills are limited to selling traditional conn

309、ectivity products.The Geeks and other local partners are incentivized through revenue sharing and sales commissions.In addition to selling solutions that embed Axiatas capabilities,Dialog created a digital enterprise marketplace that includes products and services from companies such as Google,Micro

310、soft and other local solutions providers seeking a new go-to-market channel.For each category of services,Dialog offered several products including lower-priced options suited to the SME and small office/home office(SoHo)markets.Monetization strategyIdeamarts services are offered primarily on a pay-

311、as-you-go basis.This removes the requirement for an upfront investment from SMEs,which is often a barrier to adoption.The business model is two-sided:Dialog generates revenue from the SME content developers that use its APIs and other developer tools,and from the businesses and consumers that use th

312、e solutions and services provided via the platform.Content is monetized in three ways:Revenue sharing Dialog uses its own charging and billing systems to bill end customers for the products and services they consume and then hands back a majority of this revenue to developers and partners through se

313、ttlement Transaction fees Dialog charges developers for the network resources they consume(which tend to be lower than payment services from financial services firms)Fees for specific ICT services for example,Dialog may charge a content provider for helping them to achieve a targeted number of custo

314、mers based on a marketing campaign.In any two-sided business model,a platform must nurture producers(content developers)and consumers.In Axiatas case this means helping to ensure that channel partners Geeks and aggregators have the tools they need to be successful.Each partner has access to a portal

315、 where it can review its sales performance and monitor the experience of its clients based on Net Promoter Score(NPS).Ideamarts operating costs include paying a small,full-time team to support content partners,plus the fees charged by the platforms public cloud provider.While the Axiata Digital Labs

316、 platform supports millions of API calls every day,the calls generate only modest,incremental costs beyond those associated with running core legacy and IT functions.Watch Axiatas Anthony Rodrigo discuss Ideamart:Focus on developersDialogs ability to learn from its early experiences engaging the dev

317、eloper community has contributed to its success.Taking a proactive approach to attracting developers has been key.For example,Dialog developed a go-to-market strategy for a small,select group of entrepreneurs,which helped the companies grow their customer bases.Then,Dialog showcased their stories to

318、 the rest of the Ideamart community.Awareness and education programs have also been helpful.Dialog conducted ideation sessions at schools and universities,plus more than 1,000 events and hackathons over the span of a decade.In addition,the company hosted thousands of walk-in discussions with an open

319、-door policy,and implemented hundreds of outreach programs at many rural schools.Dialog also continued to expand technology and tool offerings to developers.More than 70,000 developers are using Ideamart today,and 90,000 apps have been monetized.The vast majority of Ideamart developers are local com

320、panies operating in the markets where Ideamart is active:Sri Lanka,Bangladesh and Cambodia.Axiata works with a small number of developers to build new products and platforms.It gives them the opportunity to sell their content and services in other countries,but most do not choose to do so because it

321、 is difficult to source local content.Axiata is hoping to help its developers expand their businesses to new markets.Indeed,the ability for operators like Axiata to federate their platform businesses and launch services across each others networks is“one of the things the industry must solve”,accord

322、ing to Rodrigo.Axiatas platform ecosystem empowers developers37section 6:innovative examples of CSP platforms and marketplacesinform.tmforum.orgSouth-east Asian telecoms group,Singtel,describes Paragon as the industrys first all-in-one orchestration platform for 5G edge computing and cloud services.

323、Launched in February 2022,Paragon serves Singtel operating businesses in its home market,Singapore,and in selected overseas markets where the Singtel Groups associates operate.While many CSPs platform strategies focus on delivering new revenue streams that represent a diversification away from the c

324、ore business,Singtel Paragons is a commitment to and belief in the value of future connectivity that uses platform capabilities.Manoj Prasanna Kumar,Head of Technology 5G/IoT at Singtel Group Enterprise,identifies sets of capabilities relating to Paragon:“Everything that the customer does has to do

325、with connectivity,”he says.The platform tracks data consumption for each connection,with insights into usage of a whole range of corporate or personal applications(such as Facebook,for example).The platform also enables network slice management for enterprises.The second capability relates to edge c

326、omputing.Paragon is where Singtel exposes multi-access edge computing(MEC)infrastructure as-a-service and where the customer can,for example,deploy its applications and infrastructure at the edge.The third set of services or capabilities is effectively an app store for platform-as-a-service and soft

327、ware-as-a-service products provided by Singtels independent software vendor partners.Singtel aims to drive greater usage of 5G and MEC connectivity through this app store.Preview of slicingManoj is quick to dispel any impression that Paragon delivers today on the network slicing vision that has been

328、 widely publicized by both operators and vendors.Singtels approach is to identify a specific number of“parameters”relating to connectivity for example,uplink speed,downlink speed and bit-rate and to then give customers some flexibility in terms of what they consume within these parameters.Singtel is

329、 giving customers an early preview of the experience of a network slice while the market waits for the latest capabilities from Release 17 and Release 18 the next phases of the 5G standard as specified by 3GPP and for vendors to deploy those capabilities,before it can progress.Similarly,Manoj recogn

330、izes that concepts such as service assurance business models and connectivity delivered as-a-service are really experimental concepts today.The idea of purchasing a“network slice”is in the early stages of market maturity,he says.When it comes to edge computing,Singtel is taking what it describes as

331、a“hybrid MEC”approach.This involves several“pre-qualified”deployments for example,it has its own bare-metal MEC,but it also offers services from partners such as AWS and Microsoft.The Paragon capabilities described by Manoj are all exposed through APIs.“We are TM Forum-compliant,”he says.“We use TMF

332、641 Service Ordering API standards to harmonize our API language.”Furthermore,the use of APIs will be a growing requirement as Singtel offers new 5G functionalities and capabilities.“APIs are central to our strategy and will be central to any telco who wants to operate 5G in a digital fashion,”says

333、Manoj.“When you look at concepts such as slicing and service assurance,these are all combinations of hardware and software to enable a service.Without APIs this is not possible.”Singtel Paragon:a platform for future 5G connectivity solutionsSingtels Manoj Prasanna Kumar conducts a demonstration of Paragons network slicing capabilities in Sentosa(source:Singtel)38section 6:innovative examples of CS