A new global survey from TM Forum and advanced analytics software firm FICO shows that telecommunications providers are lagging in their use of predictive models, machine learning and artificial intelligence — and European CSPs (communications service providers) are behind the rest of the world. In critical areas such as fraud detection, collections and personalization, fewer European respondents are using advanced analytics to improve results than in other regions. The results were shared today at the 2nd Annual Telecoms Credit Risk meeting, hosted by FICO in London.
More information: Read the report — Smart Analytics Pays Dividends Across the Customer Lifecycle.
“Mobile operators are under pressure to become data-driven to improve their decision-making and profitability,” said Mark Newman, chief analyst at TM Forum. “As they start to explore artificial intelligence and machine learning, CSPs need to take a holistic approach and find opportunities and use cases across the customer lifecycle. This is how the battle for customer loyalty will be waged.”
These sample results show the disparity between CSPs in Europe and the entire survey group:
Use of Advanced Analytics | European CSPs | All CSPs Worldwide |
We collect and analyze data streams in near real-time, and make full operational use of data across every customer touchpoint. | 11% | 20% |
When recovering late payments, we deliver customer engagements that are tailored to their specific preferences and profiles of our customers. | 21% | 20% |
When detecting fraud at the point of account opening, we use adaptive models and continuous machine learning. | 21% | 27% |
When detecting fraud after account opening, we use self-learning customer profiles that flag up unusual behavior in near real-time. | 21% | 31% |
“This survey confirms that CSPs worldwide need to play catch up in their use of prescriptive analytics, machine learning and data driven approach,” said Anat Hoida, who oversees FICO’s telecommunications practice in EMEA. “FICO works with financial services providers worldwide, and the contrast is stark, particularly in Europe. It’s quite surprising to see that only one in five European CSPs is using the advanced fraud detection analytics that are nearly ubiquitous in the payment cards industry.”
The survey also found that:
- The biggest driver of advanced analytics investments for European CSPs in the next two years will be optimizing the customer experience (74 percent), followed by improving profitability (68 percent). The results were roughly the same for global CSPs.
- Nearly all CSPs in Europe and around the world use text messaging and call centers to communicate with customers, however fewer are doing so in a data-driven and predictive way. Only about 42 percent of European CSPs use web chat, and just 26 percent use chatbots
To learn more, download the Quick Insights report from TM Forum, Smart Analytics Pays Dividends Across the Customer Lifecycle. The report is based on a survey of 64 professionals from CSPs around the world.