BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
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C LOUD S TOR AGE Telecom and cable providers oper- ate in an environment defined by social interactions and digital content. It's im- perative for them to enable users to ac- cess and share photos, videos, music and other files on any device, anytime, lest they find themselves out of touch with users' current needs. LONG-TERM BENEFITS For an Apple iPod to download music, it must first sync with iTunes. Migrating from an iPod (or iPhone or iPad) to an- other device thus involves a tedious pro- cess of moving an entire iTunes library that was amassed over the years. Te same "stickiness" also applies to a cable operator: Offering a sync service not only increases the importance and reliability of its brand in customers' ev- eryday lives but also keeps subscribers entrenched within its service ecosystem. As connections become faster, the chal- lenge for operators is to determine how to fully utilize this speed and offer the greatest consumer experience. We are living in what is widely touted as the "post-PC era." However, according to Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner, "It isn't really about being 'after' the PC but rather about a new style of personal computing that frees individuals to use computing in fundamentally new ways to improve multiple aspects of their work and per- sonal lives." Te best way for an opera- tor to increase subscriber retention is to recognize that consumers appreciate the value of a true next-generation digital experience and then deliver a product that exceeds those expectations. STORAGE FOR ALL People are constantly documenting their lives with photos and video. Although they have many ways to share this con- tent, from email to social networks, they store much of this prized content on local hard drives and memory sticks. F-Secure's broadband survey found that users are storing their content locally to protect it from viruses, malware and other online threats. In fact, 77 per- cent of consumers said they felt their content to be more important than the device itself. Additionally, 76 percent OCTOBER 2012 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 81 of respondents were concerned about their privacy when they shared their life on social platforms. When asked about social networks and cloud stor- age solutions, 70 percent of respondents expressed a high concern about the pos- sibility of others accessing their content, such as photos, videos, documents and email. As many as 43 percent felt they would lose control of their content. As cable operators face growing pres- sure to reduce customer turnover, offer- ing a comprehensive online and content protection solution that simultaneously integrates a security component will fur- ther increase customer loyalty, as it will serve a demand that is clearly apparent. According to the recent Gartner re- port, "Te average storage per household will grow from 464 gigabytes in 2011 to 3.3 terabytes in 2016." Te sheer volume of data collected and created by consum- ers reveals an additional opportunity for operators to increase profitability. Content preservation is a high priority for customers. Internet service providers are the likely choice for consumers look- ing for online storage solutions because of the high level of confidence these companies instill – after all, customers already rely on them for TV, Internet, phone and even mobile services. Given the nature of the competitive ISP market, an inexpensive, entry-level package will appeal greatly to consum- ers; in fact, a best practice is to offer a free trial as a way to introduce custom- ers to these services. An intuitive user interface with ease-of-use functionality (such as integrated automated backup) is key to increasing customer retention and should not be neglected. Te bottom line is that consumers want to preserve their content at all costs while being able to access that material from anywhere at anytime so they can share it with ease. Now is the time for traditional ISPs to build strategic plat- forms that allow for the distribution of content to any devices that customers choose. Otherwise, ISPs are at risk of eventually losing these customers. Y