The world is progressively changing with the emergence of innovative technologies that have a dramatic impact on our behavior. Today's end users are looking for a more personalized experience that caters to their needs. They have a louder voice as a result of their ability to share views and rate services. This confirms the well-known saying that the customer is king!
In order to achieve sustainable growth, the businesses today need to realize their customers' current and future demands and to transform themselves to become truly customer-centric companies. This process may require companies to reinvent the ways they work and to introduce core changes to the company's DNAs and mindsets. In today's arena, the agile wins over the big!
The future is today
Today, there is a need to create more synergies across the telecom industry stakeholders in order to garner future prosperity. The starting point is the reconsideration of the traditional business model and the initiation of a new regulatory framework that would respond and adopt innovation by offering creative charging schemes, the structuring of a hosting environment that welcomes new technologies and services and further encourages startups and entrepreneurs.
This shift of perspective reflects on the readiness of the whole ecosystem to quickly adapt and reinvent its operation models. We, at GBI, have recognized the need for adaptability, collaboration and co-competition. Having realized the challenges of the future, GBI has recently went through a full transformation that led to the adoption of a new structure, a totally reinvented process and the introduction of more intelligence to its network.
We are eager to share our journey of transforming a submarine network into a full-fledged managed services business with like-minded organizations that are equally destined to push the envelope of the communication landscape.
NO to silos in the value-focused vision
GBI's successful transformation was supported by the collaborative approach of the industry and the drive to deliver value to the regional economies. The connectivity industry brings enormous economic benefits when devised by public-private initiatives and policies in sync with the smart governments' vision of the future and regulators. In this new scenario, the role of regulators is critical as they encourage competition and promote innovation through deregulation and the opening of possibilities to new entrants. In essence, regulators serve as catalysts to growth.
On this note, I would like to take the opportunity and share a thought with the regulatory bodies across the Middle East: When it comes to IP transit, viewing the Middle East as a whole group of countries and a connectivity hub will deliver a holistic approach that benefits all stakeholders across the whole region.
The key for succeeding in this evolutionary approach is to consider IP transit corridors as being an open skies platform that share one regulatory framework. Supporting a single pan-regional IP transit corridors platform will bring value to all stakeholders and will create better business and investment opportunities. Companies that realize the need for similar new business models will win out.
We would like to invite all stakeholder across the industry to talk to us. Let's join our efforts to bring more value to our region, countries, communities and our companies, and shareholders.
By Amr Eid, CEO of GBI