Founder & Executive Chairman, SYNCHRONOSS TECHNOLOGIES
Synchronoss Founder Stephen Waldis Speaks on Monetization at MWC 2017
Synchronoss Founder & Executive Chairman, Stephen Waldis, discusses data being at the heart of the digital transformation at ...
About Stephen Waldis
At the 2017 Mobile World Congress, Synchronoss founder and executive chairman Stephen Waldis discussed the company's work with mobile operators and the role of data in digital transformation. Waldis stated that Synchronoss had spent 15 years building software for mobile operators, including the activation software for the iPhone. He estimated that approximately $100 billion in revenues had disappeared for operators as messaging evolved, and described data as "really at the heart of the digital transformation." Waldis noted that outside of social networking, operator data is the "number two most qualified data source" for brands, representing a growth opportunity for Synchronoss's customers. Waldis highlighted several trends in customer engagement, including the growth of IP-based chat bots, which he said were growing at 55% and would "take off significantly" in the coming years. He described Synchronoss's cloud product as ingesting over 225 terabytes of data daily on a global basis and cited a deployment at Verizon with adoption rates exceeding 80% across devices. Waldis said that operators are focused on targeted analytics, data tagging, chat bots, and smart campaigns, and that the ability to turn self-service into an automated service environment would provide a "huge difference" to consumers.
Transcript (14 segments)
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Stephen Waldis0:02
Thank you very much again. I'm Stephen Waldis, the Executive Chairman and Founder of Synchronoss, and our company has spent the last 15 years building a lot of software applications and tools designed to help our mobile operator customers service their customers. We service the mobile operator market, the number one or number two player mostly in all markets today, and I'd like to share some insights about what we've seen in terms of managing that customer connected experience over the last few years.
One of the things we saw from the very beginning is in 2007, the evolution of the iPhone really changed that. We had a firsthand experience because we're the company that actually built the software that turned on the activation of the iPhones. You were able to plug it in the comfort of your home and activate the device. It was an amazing game changer because at that time engagement started to change very dramatically.
Not too many years ago, we went from a PC desktop to a mobile device, and quickly thereafter came apps, photos, information being shared. But most importantly, what we see today is just the mass of messaging and engagement that's happening. The whole experience with consumers and subscribers has really changed dramatically over the years.
The challenge our customers have is it's hard to keep up with the transformation. Think about where subscriber engagement was with SMS text messaging, dominant five or six years ago. Today, social media has a three-to-one advantage in terms of engagement. It's a situation all our operators and their customers really focus on to make sure they can provide that experience. The cost is a real number; we estimate roughly a hundred billion dollars of revenues disappeared for the operators over the years as messaging has changed.
What are the things we work on to help our operators and customers come together and provide that experience? It's really focused on one area: digital. We found when working with our customers today, providing digital applications and scenarios for their end subscribers, the difference can be pretty dramatic. In fact, we see through our customer base roughly a 33% improvement in NPS scores by engaging with their customers with real, valuable insights. It's something we've seen over the years that has come and gone in a very successful fashion.
We realize that when we go from desktops, the original way of communicating, to where it's gone over the years, if operators think of the store, the apps, SMS, and messaging, these are all opportunities that unfortunately have passed them by in some regards. But they hold very critical insight that they're leveraging significantly today: data. We'll show you some examples of great work we've done in that process.
We've had the opportunity to work with very innovative tier-one customers that have leveraged this. One customer is Verizon, where we deployed the largest and most successful consumer web-based cloud product. Think of a crowded product with all the over-the-top guys, yet we had adoption rates exceeding 80% in terms of customers that use it across devices, not just iPhone but Android. The ability for consumers to take a video of their son or daughter's soccer game on a Samsung Galaxy device and have it show up on their FiOS set-top box at home is a powerful experience Verizon has been able to bring to its customers.
We've had an opportunity to work with SoftBank and Masayoshi Son, a visionary in terms of how to make that data understandable. Think about the information that resides both in cloud and in messaging, what your customers are doing and how they're doing it. As you understand that engagement, you can provide even more valuable opportunities and solutions to your consumers.
We're also doing work with Flavio Rasi at T-Mobile, looking at the uncarrier mode today. How does data and the ability to manage that experience through the cloud and messaging platforms drive user engagement? These are examples where they're not just doing well, they're winning successfully, providing monetization opportunities in a market that is being squeezed.
Data, as I mentioned earlier, is really at the heart of digital transformation. Besides the different revenue streams, one of the most important things is the insight. Our cloud product ingests over 225 terabytes of data on a global basis inside our operators' cloud. Think about the information available on customers: their photos, SMS messaging, all the information they're storing and subscribing to. This provides an opportunity to manage customer experience in different ways, whether tagging customers, creating smart albums on the fly, or providing promotional items because of that tight connection with the operator. These are prime examples where operators are having tremendous success, and data has become the heart of digital transformation.
How valuable is the data? Outside of social networking, the number two most qualified data source comes from the operator's data. Brands rank number two in terms of the ability to monetize that data. It's a huge growth opportunity for our customers. As they think about more intelligence, some of the things we're working on next generation are also there: ‘there’s a bot for that.’ Working with all the operators and supporting applications in multiple ecosystems, from Android to iPhones to Windows, we get a good purview of where developers are heading. Right now, there are three times the developers focused on bots. This is a phenomenon not only coming but coming really fast, providing another level of customer engagement and automated self-service across the industry.
Other advantages we're seeing: SMS growth is about $70 billion a year, but only growing at 4%. That market's capabilities don't keep up with today's standards. IP-based A2P leading chat bots are growing at 55%. Though a small number, in a year or two these numbers will take off significantly. Our operator customers understand that managing that experience with their customers via cloud and messaging gives them a unique opportunity to drive better customer experience. As operators think about that, it creates conversations, the ability to leverage AI, and a whole set of ways customers can deal directly online with consumers. It's a powerful opportunity.
I close on a couple other thoughts. A2P is not new for operators. Most of you pay your bills online or look at your usage each month. You have an opportunity to provide basic self-service, but the true value is when operators have business-rule-driven dialogue and change it from a self-service environment to an automated service environment. That's a huge difference to consumers. They see a very easy experience, moving from basic implementations to anticipating what you need, engaging with you daily, and providing useful information. Those are the things that connect a consumer and provide information in real time, creating an automated experience that keeps a subscriber for life.
Ultimately, there are four areas that drive this. Most of our operator customers are focused on targeted analytics, targeted data tagging of the information we're collecting on their customers, chat bots, and creating smart campaigns to leverage that data. Experiences like app stores or messaging may have passed them by, but this is a great opportunity in the cloud analytics space. We see most every one of our operator customers taking the data we provide and transferring it to a whole different level. With that, I'll turn it over to the next speaker. Thank you very much.