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<ul><li>Technology and the role it plays in our lives is evolving everyday.</li><li>While we have come through the Google and <keyword id="1721621" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Social-Era">social era</keyword>, the next phase is going to be about getting things done through assistants. </li><li><keyword id="9921086" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="shane-mac">Shane Mac</keyword>, SVP of Marketing &amp; Partnerships, Conversocial &amp; <keyword id="9921084" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Avishai-Sharlin">Avishai Sharlin</keyword>, Division President of <keyword id="9921085" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="amdocs-technology">Amdocs Technology</keyword> write about the role technology will play in the future, to help build relationships.</li></ul>While we have been using technology from the past 20 years, the complete reformation is still to come. Till now we have been experiencing phases of technology. First, technology phase was to search for the ability to find anything in the world and organize that. That was the ‘Google Era’. Then it was the ‘Social Era’ that got us all on the social media platforms and people were able to connect with their old friends, relatives sitting at the other corner of the world. The next will be about getting things done, the ‘Assistant Era’ as the internet now has the power of predicting your action, habits, and therefore it can anticipate what consumers want. It can accordingly start doing things together with IoT and <keyword id="1096432" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="connected-devices">connected devices</keyword>. This is the biggest technology era that no-one had ever imagined, an era where the work would be done by devices. Artificial intelligence-based technology solutions like, Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant are pouring all their capital, as APIs have been building to expose them to mobile apps. With this, the future of mobile apps will be diminished, however, the digital infrastructure is being set to force every individual in the world to build API &amp; to expose all their systems. “As we are exposing all the systems in the world to Alexa, Google Assistant &amp; Siri, or the other voice assistants we haven't thought of yet, people can now talk to all those systems. While giving a voice command to these systems/devices, language is tying together all these systems in the world that don't talk to each other.” While we are becoming connected with devices and technologies, we are gradually disappearing from social connections. All that we are doing right now is staring at our devices all day, every day and not interacting with social beings. At dinner tables as well almost every family member from each segment of age groups is engrossed in their smartphones or watching TV rather than interacting with each other after the day-long activities they must have done individually, inside or outside homes. The next phase of technology will be built to ‘get us off technology’. Relationships can now be formed, grown and built through mediums online. And this is what exactly that has happened due to this pandemic. After being well equipped with devices and data, people still realized the need to step out of homes, interact with friends and family members. Family members who had in ages never spoken to each other took time to interact over social media, Zoom video calls celebrating birthday parties, anniversaries or usual day chats! Similarly, businesses will have to tweak the way they communicate with consumers. 90% of the time, people are using text messages/ chatting apps to communicate with their loved ones. And there have been rare times when people visit a company’s website seeking an answer to their query. However, many get irritated talking to the chatbots or dropping emails for their queries for which usually they get automated response only. For 95% of brands in the world, the website is irrelevant. The brand should intelligently add automation to certain use cases and integrate the systems to get the work done. It's this hybrid of bots and humans together that creates a messaging experience that is the single most channel that brand should use. Marketing is turning into creating a customer experience and care is turning into a retention metric, not a cost metric. Human behaviour studies suggest that the secret is people don't like human interaction in a business format that's transactional. Therefore, companies with the help of technologies need to build bots and technologies to provide customized &amp; emotion-based customer service. Disclaimer: The article is result of ‘Future of Tech’ podcast series organized by Amdocs.

The future of using technology to build relationships

<ul><li>The pandemic gave a huge boost to the streaming industry. The <keyword id="1245953" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ott" source="Orion">OTT</keyword> sector in India witnessed a 30% rise in the number of paid subscribers, from 22.2 million to 29.0 million between March and July 2020.</li><li>According to <keyword id="215381" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amdocs" source="Orion">Amdocs</keyword>’ India Streamer 2021 report, 76% of surveyed consumers are expected to add to their current number of subscriptions – the most likely being video streaming services, wellness and e-health, and eLearning services.</li><li>Here are a few changes we can expect from the industry in the near future, writes <keyword id="5626068" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="raman-abrol" source="Orion">Raman Abrol</keyword>, GM &amp; Chief Commercial Officer, <keyword id="12413885" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amdocs-media" source="Orion">Amdocs Media</keyword>.</li></ul>The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns saw public entertainment across India grind to a standstill. With theatres, cinemas, music concerts, shows and other events closed – and new releases and productions put on hold – consumers flocked to streaming services. 2020 redefined screen-watching for consumers and enabled them to watch their preferred content at their preferred time. A young, growing population with increasing digital skills and more affordable smartphones, growth in mobile and broadband subscriptions and increased time spent at home are among key drivers that have made Over-the-Top (OTT) services a go-to choice for many. As a result, the OTT sector in India witnessed a 30% rise in the number of paid subscribers, from 22.2 million to 29.0 million between March and July 2020. According to Amdocs’ India Streamer 2021 report, 76% of surveyed consumers are expected to add to their current number of subscriptions – the most likely being video streaming services, wellness and e-health, and eLearning services. What changes can we expect on the horizon? This data shows some major emerging trends in the OTT space, which will further transform the way content would be created in the years to come. Here are four areas where we might see traction. 1. Continued demand for personalized, mega-content bundles: Consumers are increasingly looking at options to create and pay for content packages limited to only the content they want to watch. They do not want to pay for the service provider’s entire content library. With schools, offices, and entertainment all coming together under one roof, entertainment services such as wellness, telehealth, e-learning are also becoming popular. However, managing multiple subscriptions across multiple providers is a major challenge that consumers are facing today. To deal with this, communications service providers (CSPs) are looking at offering consumers the ‘perfect bundle’. This would serve as a centralized space where they will be able to access their preferred media and entertainment subscriptions. The Amdocs survey shares that about 56% of the consumers would pay more to include on-demand binge-worthy TV series, 49% would prefer all games for one specific sporting team, 46% of the consumers would bundle up virtual classes/training, while 45% would prefer fitness classes with a “celebrity” trainer. 2. Growing popularity of localized content: The past year has seen a surge in demand for regional content. To cater to this rising demand by viewers for local language content, several regional OTT platforms have emerged in markets like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. <keyword id="12413884" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oho-gujarati" source="Orion">OHO Gujarati</keyword> (Gujarati), <keyword id="1723835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hoichoi" source="Orion">Hoichoi</keyword> (Bengali), and <keyword id="4660234" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sun-nxt" source="Orion">Sun NXT</keyword> (Malayalam) are some examples of popular regional OTT platforms. They have carved a niche space for themselves among the existing big players such as <keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> and <keyword id="2976376" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon-prime-video" source="Orion">Amazon Prime Video</keyword>, among others. These OTT platforms are catering to local tastes and preferences, offering content in regional and local languages, showcasing local cultures, traditions and lifestyles. An increasing number of viewers from tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns are also driving this growth. For example, since its launch in February 2020, Telugu service Aha Video has reached 1 million paid subscribers. With consumers looking for quality content, irrespective of the language, this trend is only expected to grow in the coming years. Regional language consumption on OTT platforms is expected to cross 50% of the total time spent by 2025, moving past Hindi at 45%, according to a FICCI-PwC report. 3. Rise in low-budget short-films production: Continued uncertainty around the pandemic has made the entertainment industry cautious about spending on big-budget productions. The growing demand by OTT subscribers for new, enthralling and diverse content is leading to an interesting trend gaining momentum – short stories and web series. These realistic, powerful, thought-provoking short films are sitting well with modern viewers. With consumers hungry for authentic, out-of-the box, realistic content, this trend for short, anthology-style films is expected to continue growing. 4. Immersive technology and 5G network will be game changers for Indian OTT players: The growing trend of streaming 4K videos requires enhanced internet bandwidth. With the accelerated pace of 5G technology adoption in the country, OTT providers are planning on providing their customers with seamless 4K video quality streaming solutions. 5G connectivity is expected to drive the growth of immersive entertainment experiences for users. Advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are increasingly proving to be transformative across different areas of the home entertainment industry. With the help of 5G 5 , consumers will be able to watch content using AR/VR gadgets, taking the entertainment experience to the next level. Way forward The OTT industry was experiencing slow and steady growth when Covid-19 acted as a catalyst for rapid transformation of this medium. From being on the curb to jumping onto the main street of entertainment, OTT has captured consumer eyeballs and hearts. Adoption of digital technologies, personalized bundling options, investments in original and locally relevant content, among others, will aid in furthering growth in the Indian OTT space.

How the pandemic has changed the streaming landscape for good

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On Thursday, Google Cloud announced a new strategy to go after telecommunications customers.</li><li>Google Cloud is partnering with telecommunications companies like AT&amp;T to build 5G products that can be used for retail, manufacturing, gaming, and other sectors.</li><li>It also announced a new product called Anthos for Telecom, which helps telecommunications companies run their applications on Google Cloud, private data centers, or even other clouds like Amazon's or Microsoft's.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>In the past year, Google Cloud focused on bringing one of its newest products to finance customers, winning over customers like KeyBank and HSBC. Now, it's tackling another big industry: telecommunications.About a year ago, Google Cloud <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-pushed-ahead-of-amazon-with-anthos-hybrid-cloud-offering-2019-4">announced Anthos</a>, which lets customers run their applications not only on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-cancels-next-conference-coronavirus-2020-3">Google Cloud</a>, but also in private data centers and in other rival clouds like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services.Now on Thursday, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-president-tariq-shaukat-leaving-role-reorganization-2020-2">Google Cloud</a> announced a new strategy specially made to help telecommunications companies. Google Cloud plans to work with telecommunications companies like AT&amp;T to build a set of 5G products and a cloud platform for developing network applications.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-thomas-kurian-looker-acquisitions-2020-2">Google Cloud</a> is also partnering with the IT companies Amdocs and Netcracker to help move telecommunications companies to its cloud. And finally, Google Cloud announced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-anthos-hybrid-cloud-william-blair-analysts-2019-7">Anthos</a> for Telecom, which allows telecommunications companies to run their applications on the cloud or in private data centers. "This is perfect timing for us on Google Cloud and Anthos to collaborate with telecom operators," Eyal Manor, vice president of engineering Google Cloud, told Business Insider.<h2>'They want to modernize'</h2>Manor says that although Google Cloud had been working with telecommunications companies for years, he heard from these customers that they wanted to modernize their technology and use the latest cloud services. It's in line with previous comments from Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-ceo-thomas-kurian-aws-microsoft-2020-2">has spoken about</a> a stronger focus on products and services specific for certain industries."[Telecom companies] want to modernize," Manor said. "They want to provide new differentiated services side by side with the 5G investment wave. They thought Anthos and containers were a good way to work together and bring those new experiences."Through its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-partner-sada-systems-500-million-agreement-2020-2">partnership</a> with AT&amp;T, customers can use Google Cloud's products, including its data and artificial intelligence features, along with AT&amp;T's network connectivity and 5G technology. That way, telecommunications companies can process and analyze data in real time and provide better customer service, the company says. "We strive to bring the best of cloud, fully managed to IT and anywhere," Manor said.Google Cloud is currently testing how its new product can be used for industries like retail, manufacturing, and transportation. For example, Manor says it can make it easier to stream mobile games, connect manufacturing machines over the Internet, and other uses that would benefit from a more efficient network connection. Anthos for Telecom is not yet generally available, but Manor says Google Cloud is working with its partners to launch it, and it will launch an exact timeline in the future. "We want to make sure we have the right solution for the customer and customer's customer in the coming months," Manor said.Do you work at Google Cloud? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at <a href="mailto:rmchan@businessinsider.com">rmchan@businessinsider.com</a>, Signal at 646.376.6106, Telegram at @rosaliechan, or Twitter DM at <a href="https://twitter.com/rosaliechan17">@rosaliechan17</a>. (PR pitches by email only, please.) Other types of secure messaging available upon request. You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6">contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/connectivity-and-tech-pro?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=5g&amp;itm_campaign=connectivity-and-tech-pro-2"></a>

Google's buzzy Anthos cloud technology is already being used by big banks - now it's going into the telecom industry with a new AT&T partnership

Edtech platform <keyword id="2900267" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="byju" source="Orion">BYJU</keyword>'s on Thursday announced that it has roped in two former <keyword id="18635" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> executives -- <keyword id="6395761" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sunil-sharma" source="Orion">Sunil Sharma</keyword> and Darshan <keyword id="238878" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bhandari" source="Orion">Bhandari</keyword> -- to further enhance its learning products and solutions. <keyword id="445" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sharma" source="Orion">Sharma</keyword> has been appointed as Vice President, Engineering - Student and Teacher Experience and Bhandari as Vice-President, Engineering - BYJU's Tuition Centre and Devices. "I am delighted to welcome <keyword id="6093" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sunil" source="Orion">Sunil</keyword> and Darshan as we continue to strengthen our tech foundation," Anil Goel, President - Technology, BYJU's, said in a statement. "While Sunil's expertise across technology, strategy, and execution will bolster BYJU's ongoing initiatives to optimally leverage technological solutions and improve the student experience, Darshan will play a key role in enhancing tech-led growth, providing support for improved front-end and back-end processes and helping us achieve our overarching digital and technology goals," he added. With a career spanning over 21 years, Sharma brings with him a proven track record of scaling technology teams across companies such as Amazon, Hewlett Packard, and AGT International. Meanwhile, Bhandari is a seasoned engineering leader and growth specialist with over 18 years of experience in technology innovation, building top talent and delivering world-class products across companies such as Amazon, <keyword id="1543410" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reliance-jio-infocomm" source="Orion">Reliance Jio Infocomm</keyword>, and Amdocs. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/lg-electronics-estimates-q2-operating-earnings-fall-by-12-on-weaker-demand/articleshow/92721180.cms">LG Electronics Q2 operating earnings fall by 12% on weaker demand</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/id-fresh-offers-stock-options-to-another-27-employees-aims-to-create-100-crorepatis-in-the-next-three-years/articleshow/92722488.cms">ID Fresh offers stock options to another 27 employees, aims to create 100 crorepatis in the next three years</a>

Edtech platform BYJU's brings in two ex-Amazon executives to enhance learning products and solutions

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This story was delivered to Business Insider Intelligence Connectivity &amp; Tech subscribers earlier this morning.</li><li><a href="https://store.businessinsider.com/products/connectivity-tech-pro-membership?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=briefing_post&amp;itm_content=top_text&amp;itm_term=bundle_subscription_text_link-telecoms-need-to-educate-consumers-on-benefits-of-5g-2020-2">To get this story plus others to your inbox each day, hours before they're published on Business Insider, click here.</a></li></ul>Telecom software and services company Amdocs <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW1kb2NzLmNvbS9ibG9nL25ldHdvcmstdGFsay9yZXNlYXJjaC13aGF0LWNvbnN1bWVycy1yZWFsbHktd2FudC01Zw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bdb1a6324" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surveyed</a> 2,000 UK and US consumers revealing insights into consumers' understanding of 5G. In particular, UK consumers are highly aware of 5G's existence, with 95% recognizing the term - which could be a result of a <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbnBvc3QuY29tL3dvcmxkL2V1cm9wZS9icml0YWluLXJlc2lzdGluZy11cy1wcmVzc3VyZS10by1hbGxvdy1zb21lLWh1YXdlaS1lcXVpcG1lbnQtaW4tNWctbmV0d29ya3MvMjAyMC8wMS8yOC81MmU3MDhiNC00MTQ1LTExZWEtOTljNy0xZGZkNDI0MWEyZmVfc3RvcnkuaHRtbA/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bb552208d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high-profile</a> national debate around Huawei's role in the country's 5G build-out.However, just over half (55%) of UK consumers say they're able to articulate the benefits of the next-generation networking technology. This awareness seems to be translating into 5G adoption, as 35% of UK consumers plan to purchase a 5G smartphone in 2020, <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly90ZWxlY29tcy5jb20vNTAyMTkzL2xvYWRzLW9mLWJyaXRzLXBsYW4tdG8tYnV5LTVnLXBob25lcy1idXQtdGhleXJlLW5vdC1zdXJlLXdoeS1hbWRvY3Mv/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B5a3d0c59" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per</a> Amdocs data cited by Telecoms.com. The bulk of 5G adoption will likely be driven by consumer upgrades to new smartphones equipped with 5G chips as standard, rather than consumers looking for 5G phones. In the latter half of 2020, most major smartphone brands running Android will <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9hbmRyb2lkLXBob25lcy0yMDIwLTVnLXN1cHBvcnQtc25hcGRyYWdvbi04NjUtMjAxOS0xMg/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B1a3551c1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">include</a> a 5G chipset in their upcoming flagship device models, and Apple is <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY25uLmNvbS8yMDE5LzEyLzAyL3RlY2gvYXBwbGUtNWctaXBob25lcy0yMDIwL2luZGV4Lmh0bWw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B365dedb5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to unveil up to four 5G iPhone models in late 2020.Additionally, 5G is expected to <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY25ldC5jb20vbmV3cy9tZWRpYXRlay1icmluZ3MtNWctdG8tbGVzcy1leHBlbnNpdmUtcGhvbmVzLXdpdGgtZGltZW5zaXR5LTgwMC1jaGlwcy8/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B4007ea15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">penetrate</a> lower-cost smartphones in 2020 as well. This proliferation of 5G among phone models means more consumers' next phone could be a 5G device - whether they intend it or not - as they buy the newest version of their current device. However, consumers are holding onto their phones for longer, meaning upgrades to 5G phones will likely be a slow process: In 2018, in EU countries including the UK, the consumer upgrade cycle increased to <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY25iYy5jb20vMjAxOS8wNS8xNy9zbWFydHBob25lLXVzZXJzLWFyZS13YWl0aW5nLWxvbmdlci1iZWZvcmUtdXBncmFkaW5nLWhlcmVzLXdoeS5odG1s/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bdc4b8c68" target="_blank" rel="noopener">26.2 months</a>, from 23.4 in 2016. To drive 5G upgrades, smartphone makers and carriers that sell devices need to extol the value of 5G phones. Two popular consumer 5G use cases they can emphasize are media streaming or cloud gaming: 74% of consumers would use a 5G handset to interact with streaming services and 27% would use their 5G devices for cloud gaming, <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY29tcHV0ZXJ3ZWVrbHkuY29tL25ld3MvMjUyNDc3ODEzL05vLTVHLXNpbHZlci1idWxsZXRzLW9uLWhvcml6b24tYnV0LWEtdGhpcmQtb2YtVUstY29uc3VtZXJzLXBsYW4tdG8tYnV5LTVHLWhhbmRzZXQtdGhpcy15ZWFy/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B69c3b68f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per</a> Computer Weekly.This can be done by giving consumers real-world examples of how 5G can affect their lives to illustrate value beyond network performance numbers. For example, users can download season 3 of Netflix's hit show Stranger Things in just a handful of <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmllcmNld2lyZWxlc3MuY29tLzVnLzVnLW5ldHdvcmtzLWRlbGl2ZXItc3VwZXItZmFzdC1zcGVlZHMtYnV0LW5ldy1uZXh0LWdlbmVyYXRpb24tc21hcnRwaG9uZXMtbmVlZC10by1jaGlsbC13c2o/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B3fbb1819" target="_blank" rel="noopener">minutes</a> with 5G, compared with almost an hour on a 4G network.To show consumers this speed in real time, carriers and smartphone manufacturers should set up pop-up stands in public areas, like malls or parks, to allow consumers to test a 4G device back-to-back with a 5G device. This will allow consumers to experience the difference for themselves and pass along the experience to friends and family - consumers are <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/19354263.3/aHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFpbnN0b3JlYWdlLmNvbS9uZXdzL3N0dWR5LXRoaXMtaXMtd2hvLWNvbnN1bWVycy10cnVzdC1tb3N0LWZvci1zaG9wcGluZy1yZWNvbW1lbmRhdGlvbnM/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bba20e1eb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twice</a> as likely to trust friends and family for shopping recommendations than any other source.Want to read more stories like this one? Here's how to get access: <ol><li>Sign up for Connectivity &amp; Tech Pro, Business Insider Intelligence's expert product suite keeping you up-to-date on the people, technologies, trends, and companies shaping the future of connectivity, delivered to your inbox 6x a week. &gt;&gt; <a href="https://store.businessinsider.com/products/connectivity-tech-pro-membership?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=briefing_post&amp;itm_content=get_started_text&amp;itm_term=bii_briefing_text_link-telecoms-need-to-educate-consumers-on-benefits-of-5g-2020-2&amp;vertical=connectivity-and-tech">Get Started</a></li><li>Check to see if you already have access to Business Insider Intelligence through your company, or inquire about access if you don't. &gt;&gt; <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/corporate-check?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=briefing_post&amp;itm_content=learn_more_text&amp;itm_term=enterprise_text_link-telecoms-need-to-educate-consumers-on-benefits-of-5g-2020-2">Check If You Have Enterprise Access</a></li><li>Explore related topics in more depth. &gt;&gt; <a href="https://store.businessinsider.com/collections/connectivity-tech?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=briefing_post&amp;itm_content=learn_more_text&amp;itm_term=enterprise_text_link-telecoms-need-to-educate-consumers-on-benefits-of-5g-2020-2">Visit Our Report Store</a></li><li>Current subscribers can log in to read the briefing <a href="https://intelligence.businessinsider.com/post/consumer-5g-knowledge-presents-a-hurdle-for-telecoms-changes-in-tech-leadership-hpes-new-cloud-security-acquisition-2020-2">here</a>.</li></ol><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/connectivity-and-tech-pro?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=5g&amp;itm_campaign=connectivity-and-tech-pro-2"></a>

Consumers' limited knowledge of 5G presents a hurdle for telecoms

<ul><li>Netflix, Disney+ <keyword id="2739840" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hotstar">Hotstar</keyword>, <keyword id="758541" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime">Amazon Prime</keyword> Video and other over-the-top (OTT) platforms are seeing more paid users come online than ever before.</li><li>The coronavirus pandemic may have been the trigger for people being willing to spend for entertainment, but it has led to a larger shift in user behaviours.</li><li>Indian consumers have been wooed by telecom bundling, new launches shifting online and annual subscriptions offering a bigger bang for the buck.</li></ul>Over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video have come out on top during the coronavirus pandemic. And their dominance is only set to grow further. The pandemic may have been the trigger, but sustainability is coming from other factors — with telecom bundling at the fore, users opting for annual subscriptions, and more people choosing to watch movies online rather than in theatres — according to a report by consulting firm RedSeer. It highlights that the number of unique paid users grew by more than 35% in February 2021 as compared to April 2020. The overall number of paid users now stands at a whopping 31 million. Subscriptions increased by 8% during the same period and each user is estimated to have 1.4 subscriptions to their name. Meanwhile, revenue from subscriptions jumped by a whopping 42% from $49 million to $68 million. <div type="image" title="Copy of NPA banks" msid="81757718" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Number of paid subscribers is increasing even as engagement on OTT platforms is seeing a dip in 2021&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Telecom bundling The COVID-19 lockdowns meant that more people were spending time at home. This meant watching more content on smartphones and the television. It also helped that theatres were shut down to prevent the spread of the infection, leaving users with no option but to sign on for services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar in order to catch the latest releases. A survey conducted by consultancy firm Ovum and software and services provider Amdocs revealed that 44% of Indian respondents were willing to spend more on their mobile and fixed broadband bills primarily due to bundling media services that were on offer. And more than half said they subscribed to more than one OTT platform in order to meet the varied requirements of different members within the family. New launches and the shift to online In July 2020, Dil Bechara starring Sushant Singh Rajput made the biggest opening ever on Disney+ Hotstar. This was just one of many success stories of web platforms last year. Ludo, Gulabo Sitabo and Choked were some other critically acclaimed films that made their debut on streaming platforms rather than in the theatres due to the lockdown. <div type="image" title="unnamed" msid="81757757" hostid="261"></div> RedSeer’s research shows that out of the 188 billion minutes users spend on OTT platforms, the highest proportion is geared towards daily soaps. “Over the past year, consumer behaviour has largely changed as they now heavily rely on OTT platforms for new content. This will inevitably accelerate the growth trajectory of the industry,” said the report. Longer term subscriptions The old conjecture that Indians are willing to shell out money changed drastically during the pandemic. Not only are they willing to spend, but the fact Indian users are budget conscious means that they are willing to sign on for longer term subscriptions since it gives them a bigger bang for their buck. According to a joint report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), people were willing to pay for longer subscriptions since out-of-home expenditure reduced during lockdowns. The excess was being redirected to spending on in-home services. This was helped by the fact that the coronavirus pandemic was not a short-term phenomenon, and more users recognised that. This meant that users were willing to opt for annual subscription packs, especially with the discounts and offers that were up for grabs from different players. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/the-ripple-effect-of-archegos-capitals-collapse-may-cost-global-banks-6-billion/articleshow/81754362.cms">SIMPLY PUT: The ripple effect of Archegos Capital's collapse may cost global banks $6 billion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/nazara-technologies-sees-a-blockbuster-listing-shares-list-at-80-premium-within-minutes-of-trading/articleshow/81753300.cms">Nazara Technologies sees a blockbuster listing – shares list at 81% premium</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-just-rebranded-itself-to-speak-to-millennials-while-still-betting-on-certainty/articleshow/81757143.cms">India’s biggest software exporter just got itself a millennial makeover after 15 years</a>

Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon Prime are seeing more paid users than ever before — here’s why

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">VlocityVlocity is finding success customizing Salesforce's service for companies in telecommunications and other industries, CEO David Schmaier said.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/vlocity">Vlocity</a> is one of the most successful developers on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/salesforce">Salesforce's</a> platform.</li><li>The San Francisco startup customizes Salesforce's service for companies in five industries, including telecommunications and health care.</li><li>Company CEO David Schmaier and his core team did something similar with great success at Siebel Systems in the 1990s and 2000s.</li><li>Investors are recognizing its promise; it recently secured a $60 million funding round that valued it at $1 billion that was co-led by Salesforce Ventures itself. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>When David Schmaier attended Salesforce's Dreamforce conference in fall 2013, he was hoping to find a startup to buy - not to found a company himself.At the time, Schmaier was on the board of a private equity firm, but he had a long history in the <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="enterprise">enterprise</keyword> software industry, and specifically in the customer relationship management part of it, which forms Salesforce's core market. Thirty years earlier, he had been one of the first employees at customer relationship management (CRM) software pioneer Siebel Systems, and had overseen its effort to customize its software for particular industries.With Salesforce's cloud-based service supplanting traditional CRM software, Schmaier was convinced there was an opportunity to repeat what he'd done decades before. In 2007, some of his former colleagues had formed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/veeva-systems">Veeva</a>, which was customizing Salesforce's CRM system for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Schmaier thought for sure six years later he'd find other startups at Dreamforce working on customizing Salesforce for other industries.But other than Veeva, he didn't find any.He realized "that there really was no company to buy, that you really had to start it yourself," Schmaier told Business Insider in a recent interview.<h2>A 'rocketship'</h2>Having done CRM customization before, he was convinced he was the best person to start a company that would focus on it for the future.So Schmaier got together with some of his former colleagues from Siebel and founded Vlocity. Instead of focusing narrowly, like Veeva did, or on more than 20 industries, like he had done with Siebel, Schmaier decided that Vlocity would customize Salesforce for a diverse but focused collection of some of the biggest industries around, including telecommunications, insurance, and healthcare.He may not intended to start a company originally, but his bet has paid off. San Francisco-based Vlocity now has 700 employees and counts among its customers a slew of household names and major corporations and organizations, including Verizon, Anthem, Allstate, the government of Canada, and the US Department of Agriculture. It's already hit $100 million in annual revenue. And, according to Schmaier, Vlocity is the fastest-growing company ever to be built on top of Salesforce's technology platform."The company's going great," he said. "It's really kind of a rocketship."Vlocity system essentially plugs into Salesforce's. Depending on the industry a customer participates in, Vlocity's service will add particular modules to its Salesforce dashboard. So, a telecommunications company might have a module that provides a graph their representatives can view that shows a customer's devices and service options. For insurance companies, Vlocity offers modules that allow them to add items such as customers' policies and coverages.<h2>Vlocity customizes Salesforce, saving clients time and effort</h2>Vlocity offers a standard set of modules across industries. Beyond the default batch, customers can pick and pay for which ones they need. But they can also customize the particular modules to match their workflows and business processes. The company's service is cloud-based, and the startup updates it monthly with new features.That's a big advantage for Vlocity and its customers, said Rebecca Wettemann, an analyst at Nucleus Research who covers the CRM market."The cloud model offers greater usability and greater flexibility, and the ability to change over time," she said.Although Vlocity has several competitors, including Amdocs and Zipari, many of them focus on just one or two industries. Some companies have chosen in the past to create bespoke CRM systems or customize generic ones, including Salesforce, by tapping their own developers or by hiring one of the big consulting firms.By offering CRM features that are industry specific, Vlocity can help such companies save the time and cost of creating such customized services as well as the ongoing cost of maintaining them, industry analysts said. As such, the company's service fills a critical niche for Salesforce in particular and for its customers, said Olive Huang, an analyst who focuses on the CRM industry for research firm Gartner. "Salesforce by itself without industry templates will cost the companies too much on customization, implementation will be too long and the total cost of ownership will not be competitive," Huang said.<h2>It's one of the latest tech unicorns</h2>While Vlocity isn't exactly a household name, it's already caught the attention of investors. The company has raised more than $160 million in venture funding to date.Salesforce Ventures, the cloud giant's investment arm, was an early backer of Vlocity. In March, Salesforce Ventures co-led Vlocity's <a href="https://vlocity.com/community/vlocity-raises-60-million-series-c-funding">latest funding round</a>, a $60 million Series C that gave the startup a valuation of more than $1 billion and made it one of Silicon Valley's latest unicorns.It's no wonder why, either. Services like those offered by Vlocity make the larger Salesforce platform more palatable to a wider swath of customers, broadening the potential audience for both companies. Its other backers include consulting behemoth Accenture, Sutter Hill Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and New York Life, which is one of Vlocity's key customers.When considering potential investments, Wildcat Venture Partners evaluates them on four key criteria, or pillars - their product, revenue, business systems, and executive team, said founding partner Bruce Cleveland <a href="https://medium.com/wildcat-venture-partners/why-we-invested-in-vlocity-da8b78247892">in a recent blog post</a>. Schmaier put together a team that's not only has deep experience in the industry but also with fast-paced growth, Cleveland said. And Vlocity is offering a product that's built on top of Salesforce's successful platform and offers an obvious value to its business customers."With all four pillars covered, it was hard to envision Vlocity not succeeding," Cleveland said.<h2>Schmaier is building a global company</h2>The company's biggest challenge going forward is a geographic one, said Gartner's Huang. Salesforce is expanding rapidly around the world and is going to want to be able to offer potential customers a service that's tailored for their businesses or industries.Vlocity could find it difficult to meet that demand, she said. Some of the industries for which it offers its service are covered by regulations that can vary from country to country, meaning that Vlocity may have to customize its offerings not just by industry but by locale as well."If they can't follow Salesforce [quickly] enough, Salesforce will not wait for the market to be taken by competition," Huang said. "So Salesforce will likely ... develop an industry cloud themselves, or give the business to a different ... partner."Read this: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sapphire-ventures-das-says-enterprise-software-will-see-consolidation-2019-3">This VC says a shakeout is coming to enterprise software because titans like Oracle and Salesforce have 'account control' that no startup can match</a>For his part, Schmaier doesn't seem worried about that. Vlocity is already offering its service in 20 countries around the world and counts among its customers some major international companies, including Sky Italia, France's Orange, and Canada's Rogers."This is an incredibly global company," he said.<h2>Salesforce is a key partner - and a potential competitor</h2>What's more, Salesforce is Vlocity's largest outside investor and has been supportive of what the company is doing, Schmaier said. The two companies' arrangement allows Salesforce to focus on building out its platform and Vlocity to focus on customizing for particular industries."Everybody does what their good at," he said. There's nothing to stop Salesforce from getting into Vlocity's market, he continued, "except for if we're good at it, and the customers are happy, and if we're driving value and revenue for them, and they're an investor, I think that's reason enough for them to work with us, versus the alternative."And the company plans to use some of its new funds to continue its global expansion, Schmaier said. Last year it set up shop in parts of Asia and Latin America, and it plans to fill out its sales teams in those areas.It also plans to use the new funds to continue to build out new modules and features for its service, he said. Its service collects more data for customers than does Salesforce alone, and Vlocity wants to help customers tap into Salesforce's artificial intelligence and data analysis capabilities to help make sense of it, he said. He thinks that's going to be important to Vlocity's customers."This is kind of the core operating system ... for each one of these industries," Schmaier said. "This is like the core DNA of how you run a telco, or how you run an insurance company."Got a tip about tech? Contact this reporter via email at twolverton@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/troywolv/">@troywolv</a>, or send him a secure message through Signal at 415.515.5594. You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6"> contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>.Read more about enterprise software and services:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-edge-computing-startup-pixeom-used-to-raise-15-million-2019-5" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Here's the pitch deck a Silicon Valley startup used to raise $15 million to promote its edge-computing service</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sapphire-ventures-jai-das-enterprise-software-ipo-good-bet-2019-4" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">A Silicon Valley VC says a group of tech companies are quietly blowing away expectations while the spotlight shines on splashy IPOs like Lyft and Pinterest</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-startup-kong-pitch-deck-raise-43-million-2019-4" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">This pitch deck helped raise $43 million for a startup with a new twist on the biggest trend in software development</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airtables-founders-wanted-to-build-a-lasting-company-not-a-product-2019-4" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">The CEO of billion-dollar startup Airtable explains why its founders decided on a corporate culture before they even had a product</a></li></ul> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lifelong-iphone-user-switches-android-samsung-galaxy-s10-2019-5">I've used iPhones for nearly a decade and switched to the Samsung Galaxy S10. Now I understand Android loyalty in a way I never understood before.</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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