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] 203

I

N THE

M

IDDLE

East, there is a revolution going on. We are

not talking about massive political change, or western

oligarchs taking over – we are talking about a change of

business and private lifestyle through the development of niche

opportunities and markets. The small niche suppliers that can

adapt quickly to the local markets are starting to gain momen-

tum. Some local telecoms companies are revolutionizing the

second tier telecommunications supplier landscape in the

Middle East region. Through a strategy of sourcing value-adding

service providers in Europe, Africa, Asia and America, impres-

sive portfolios of suppliers are being built that will change the

current telecommunications paradigm in the Middle East region.

The aim is to follow the European market in providing data

products to the mobile telecommunications operators across

the region.

The major difference between the European market and the

Middle East is simple – common language. From Morocco to

Oman, the common language is Arabic, compared with the

multilingual environment of Europe. This has a major impact

on the economies of scale that can be driven in the technology

and telecommunications world. If one looks at the value-added

services that are offered to mobile customers, the use of the same

applications can be replicated across the region with the same

technology deployed in many countries to multiple operators.

One strategy that has been adopted is to source leading edge

technology providers from the USA, Europe, Africa and Asia to

develop a portfolio of value-adding managed services across the

region. The key requirement for such a strategy is that the supplier

should be flexible enough to respond to the finer differences in

each market or each operator and be able to build services that

are tailored to meet their individual demands. In order to do this,

a thorough understanding of the local markets is essential, and

the only way to do this is through local partners.

Many companies have had their fingers burnt through enter-

ing markets without a clear comprehension of how to operate,

and this has led to expensive mistakes and has left a bitter taste

in the mouth. Over-promising and under-delivering is common

feedback from international players, and successful regional

players have decided to reverse the situation through such

mechanisms as a network of operational businesses reporting to

a single entity. The key to success is to retain highly experienced

managers from world-leading telecommunications companies,

who have a thirst for the dynamic interaction with small- and

medium-sized suppliers, but who can interact at authority and

large incumbent levels.

As competition sweeps through the Middle Eastern mobile

operator community, there are now at least two players in each

market. They could compete solely on price, but a better solu-

tion would be to find differentiators in order to build a more

competitive offering for the customers, be they consumers or

commercial clients.

Key areas are consumer content – the range of wallpapers,

logos and ring tones are wanted by young consumers worldwide,

and commercial applications which are easily managed over a

mobile device and are within the budgets of every size of business.

In addition, technology solutions can enable mobile users to enter

the semi-converged space.

Whilst many markets across the world are regulated with a light

touch, the Middle East is still heavily regulated. This is as a result

of the recent introduction of competition in many markets, where

a ‘referee’ is now required to manage the relationships between

the end customer and the multiple operators, and the operators

themselves. Before liberalization, the consumer had to live with

the prevailing conditions, whereas today they can make choices.

Regulators are giving incumbents, second and third operators the

chance to realign or build their businesses before the free market

flourishes, and so some of the technologies that are deployed

across mature markets would not succeed in the Middle East.

As the regional maturity of the mobile market is a few years

behind the markets in Europe, East Asia and the USA, the level

of technical expertise has yet to catch up with other regions. As

Bringing value added services to new markets

Sara Holding

The new paradigm in mobile retail experience – moving away from the

souk to the service orientated model