'SMART' players - the new breed of vendors

By Jeremy Green, Practice Leader, Ovum | Jun 30, 2009

The value chain and the customer relationship will increasingly be dominated by the "SMART" player – an acronym that stands for Services, Management, Applications, Relationships and Technology, and which reflects the way in which these players take responsibility for the end-to-end customer experience. This role builds on, but radically extends, the way in which some device vendors such as Apple and Google began to provide a managed experience on the basis of Internet and cloud-based services.

There will be relatively few SMART players. Some will be device or consumer electronics vendors; others will be software or applications vendors, especially those with a strong web presence. A small number of them will be network operators.

SMART players will own the majority of customers through the provision of managed device platforms. This will enable them to dominate the content and applications markets through tightly controlled, semi-open “service hubs” combining the functions of applications stores, content stores, and device management.

What is the operator role?

• There will be more differentiation between mobile network operators, with several distinct roles emerging. There will primarily be:Operators that provide the SMART role themselves
• Operators that act as connectivity providers to the SMART vendors
• Operators selling low-cost voice and/or data and/or simple transaction-oriented Internet services directly to end users.