What Are the Key Digital Revenue Streams Emerging in the Middle East?

Capitalising on New Revenue Streams & Cross-Industry Partnerships

Following a successful 2023 Telecoms World Middle East, we met with Daniel Kjellander, VP Middle East at CSG to go into a little more detail on how regional communication service providers (CSPs) can capitalise on new revenue streams and reap the benefits of cross-industry partnerships.

What are the new digital revenue streams emerging in the Middle East?

Daniel Kjellander (DK): With a large portion of its population being under 25 years old, the Middle East is the world’s most youthful region. The younger generation is the fastest growing segment and also the most tech-savvy. Middle Eastern countries are global leaders in digital penetration levels: consumers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates use digital channels to interact with 4.5 industries on average, which means digital business models dominate. To successfully capture their share of this lucrative market segment, businesses should embrace a mobile-first approach and partner with CSPs to transform how they engage these young consumers.

To accommodate an increasing number of partners, however, CSPs need to manage digital marketplaces with large complex partner ecosystems. 5G is reinventing how digital services are created, delivered and consumed. Finding ways to differentiate B2C services in a complex commerce environment will unlock key new revenue streams for CSPs and will be central to their long-term success. With an interconnected ecosystem of enterprises, consumers and partners, CSPs can differentiate themselves and unlock the limitless possibility of 5G-enabled offerings that excite customers and monetise digital marketplaces.

How do CSPs address the needs of B2B customers across different verticals?

DK: CSPs can create and sustain cooperative and co-creative ecosystems where technology partners, industry experts and enterprise customers work together to ideate, develop and monetise solutions. Though managing diverse partnerships and growing ecosystems can be challenging, CSPs can ensure their success by developing and monetising highly customised bundled services quickly and at scale. By uniting the best of their capabilities with those of their partners and embracing B2B2X business models, CSPs can optimize both customer and partner experiences.

Access to real-time customer insights can empower their B2B customers to offer personalised services and seamless access to products and services. Doing so enables businesses across various industries to reap the benefits of customised recommendations, targeted advertising and tailored product offerings derived from these valuable insights. This is where digital marketplaces play a crucial role, enabling businesses to extend their market reach beyond physical boundaries and cater to end-customers in different regions. Businesses worldwide can leverage digital platforms and harness the power of 5G to address a wide range of needs.

What are the key challenges and opportunities that businesses encounter when capitalising on new working patterns and customers’ connectivity needs through cross-industry partnerships?

DK: Businesses may need to navigate regulatory and legal frameworks, ensuring compliance and addressing potential challenges associated with cross-industry collaborations. The establishment of cross-industry partnerships requires effective collaboration and integration of different business models, technologies and processes, which can be complex and time-consuming. Cultural integration also poses challenges in aligning workflows and ensuring seamless collaboration. Robust security measures are needed to maintain customer trust and mitigate risks while sharing customer data and sensitive information.

However, partnerships offer opportunities to leverage complementary expertise and technology, enabling innovation and differentiation. Businesses can tap into new customer segments, leading to increased market penetration and growth opportunities. Collaborating with diverse industries fosters knowledge sharing and encourages innovation through the exchange of ideas, expertise and best practices. By combining the strengths and resources of multiple industries, CSPs can create unique and value-added offerings that cater to evolving market needs, enhancing their competitive advantage.

Building Successful Digital Marketplaces with CSG Encompass

CSG Revenue Management & Monetization capabilities enable CSPs to stand out in a crowded market, gain market share and diversify with new B2B2X revenue streams. CSG’s cloud-native, catalog-driven monetisation platform offers the functionality, interoperability and scale necessary to create, control and monetise game-changing offers and services across any network for any customer.