In its Top 7 trends shaping digital transformation in 2022 report, Mulesoft claimed the 2020s as the era of seamless digital experiences, enabled by modular software design. All more often, consumers are expecting the same quality of user experience (UX) from their service provider (SP) as they receive from tech providers like Amazon and Meta. Here, Hamish White, founder and CEO of telecoms SaaS solution provider Mobilise explains how a composable business model and a modular API-led architecture is an SP’s best friend.
Organisations that have adopted innovation must not just be able to use it, but use it well enough to deliver a seamless digital UX. Consumers expect the same highly engaging experience from every single brand they interact with, so smaller SPs must offer a UX that’s on a par with tech giants to remain competitive and keep their customers happy.
Offering digital services is essential in our modern digital society. A consistent, intuitive user interface is a core differentiator for SPs seeking a competitive edge, contributing to a positive CX and ultimately preventing churn. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Future of CX report, 32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they once loved after just one bad experience. So, a positive UX right from the start is crucial.
APIs enter the chat
In today’s digital society, data is king. But despite the widespread recognition of its power, most organisations don’t have a comprehensive data strategy in place. According to Capgemini’s Master the customer experience report just 21 per cent of brands have an integrated, holistic view of all customer information. For the others, data is scattered in silos in incompatible formats, and in some cases it’s not even captured and stored. But APIs help to solve these issues.
API-led connectivity links data to applications through application programming interfaces (APIs). It decouples data from the business logic and experience layer to create functions specifically with CX in mind. APIs are developed for specific purposes, but once created, they are reusable. So, adopting an API-led connectivity model allows an organisation to create ecosystems of applications that are modular, purposeful and reusable, enabling businesses to operate with more agility.
Elevating CX
Implementing API integrations, or an orchestration layer, into an organisation’s digital infrastructure supports digital CX in many ways. APIs enable the full integration of external systems and third-party services so that processes appear seamless. What is actually a sequence of several individual processes and triggers behind the scenes, enabled through applications from several vendors, can appear as single interaction to a customer.
For example, in telecoms, when onboarding a new customer through an in-app eSIM subscription, subscriber provisioning, stock management and Know Your Customer (KYC) is all handled by APIs. Yet for the customer, all that’s required is the tap of a button.
APIs also create a centralised architecture to unite data from various business systems and give one version of the truth for every corner of an organisation. Data orchestration is the process of taking siloed data from multiple storage locations, collating and organising it, and making it available for analysis. Data orchestration enables businesses to automate and streamline data-driven decision making, a necessary capability for organisations to succeed in a digital-first world.
Yet the largest benefit of adopting an API-led modular architecture is its impact on operational agility. SPs can become more flexible in their technical architecture and create a truly digital ecosystem. By adding new service offerings, like additional payment gateways, simply and quickly through reusable APIs, SPs can offer their customers a greater level of choice, constantly improving CX. What’s more, the modularity means that SPs can freely switch the technologies they integrate into their digital propositions without impacting functionality or needing extended periods of downtime this also avoiding vendor lock-in.
For smaller SPs, having the resources and expertise to successfully implementing a API-led digital architecture may seem an impossible task. Mobilise’s HERO is a digital BSS platform that enables SPs to deliver digital-first customer experience. Through its orchestration layer, which is fully compliant with the TM Forum Open API Specifications, there are over 60 APIs available to integrate into front and back-end systems, for functions including self-service, eSIM provisioning, payments, in-app push notifications, marketplace for cross selling, and user profiles maintenance.
Preventing churn, maintaining satisfied customers and elevating CX is essential to success in the ever more competitive telecoms space. Creating a consistent, intuitive digital ecosystem, powered by APIs gives SPs the ongoing flexibility to adapt and keep pace with innovation.
To learn more about HERO or to schedule a demo, please get in touch with Mobilise here.
The author is Hamish White, founder and CEO of telecoms SaaS solution provider Mobilise.
Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @VanillaPlus OR @jcvplus
