Edge organisations as a response to Over The Top services for South African mobile network operators
Date
2018
Authors
Watermeyer, Brett William
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Abstract
The increased emergence of highly cost-effective, mobile OTT (Over the Top) products and
services in combination with the rapidly accelerating appetite for new technologies had by most
of today’s mobile user base, is leaving South Africa’s traditional MNO’s (Mobile Network
Operators) in an extremely vulnerable position.
There are certainly turbulent times ahead for South Africa’s MNO’s, as the new breed of
organisation leverage technology and next-generation thinking to develop smart, OTT products
and services, which are providing them with an edge in the market that is affording them with an
opportunity to rapidly gain both traction and market share. This process of building better, faster
and more convenient OTT products and services, through the implementation of new management
techniques and innovative think tanks, allow these organisations to explore previously uncharted
business principles and practices, all while leveraging, at an effective zero cost, infrastructure that
has traditionally been under the strict control of the MNO’s. Peter Diamandis, co-author of the 6
D’s of Technological Disruption (Diamandis, 2017) predicts that three billion minds will join the
global economy over the next 5 years – each of which will have an appetite for the latest generation
of internet-delivered applications and technologies, which in turn will encourage innovation at an
unprecedented rate. This will generate high levels of competition as companies strive to deliver
new, better and faster products and services to ensure long-term sustainability.
This consultancy report provides an overview of several essential characteristics of innovative
disruption that are faced by today’s markets. It thereafter seeks to ascertain the potential impact
that these OTT products and services are having on South Africa’s MNO’s, by assessing the South
African consumer's appetite for these products and services as opposed to traditional offerings.
The paper will furthermore seek to uncover the key characteristics of a sample population of the
mobile consumer market and the factors that will influence these consumers. The research
concludes by considering the concept of an Edge Organisation as a possible means for MNO’s to
mitigate their obsolescence and maintain their relevance in the face of a rapidly evolving industry.
Description
MBA Thesis
Keywords
Mobile communication systems -- South Africa. Technological innovations -- South Africa. Internet telephony -- South Africa.