INTERVIEW ARTICLE
KDDI America homes in on enterprise services
Interview: Executives from KDDI America offered pointers for operators looking to cash in on growing demand for enterprise services, highlighting the ways in which new technologies such as the IoT and RCS can be combined to deliver more valuable experiences.
Masatoshi Nobuhara, CEO of the Japanese operator's US subsidiary, told Mobile World Live it’s no longer enough for operators to provide enterprise clients with a telecom or data service. Now, he said, businesses are seeking “a total solution, total integration service, not only telecom but also cloud and applications”.
To that end, he noted KDDI America is working to become a digital integrator, running data centres to support cloud services while also offering value-added services such as messaging.
In its sights are applications to improve the customer experience, which are in high demand in light of the ongoing Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Matt Haynes, a consultant for KDDI America, explained: “It’s so important now to be able to provide a good customer experience based on the remoteness of everybody…Enterprise customers are clamouring to understand this”.
Interaction
The company debuted a new omni-channel messaging service last month, offering combined compatibility with SMS; RCS; chat applications including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Line; email; chatbots and other communication avenues.
Haynes said revenue from transactions conducted on its messaging platform will provide one source of income. But he added the company has additional opportunities in mind for enhanced services which add IoT insights and data analytics into the mix.
“The sweet spot’s going to be real-time interaction between IoT and customer experience. Because as the devices that are part of IoT multiply ten-, 20-, 30-, 100-fold, they’re gathering information and data that’s relevant to a transaction in real time.”
Haynes noted the ability to combine these insights with an enhanced messaging channel such as RCS will offer a “one-two punch” for enterprises looking to improve the customer experience. Examples of verticals where such a solution might prove valuable include travel and hospitality, he said.