Ops expected to spend $800mn on SDM by 2013

NEW YORK, USA: Although the global economic situation continues to constrain the capital expenditure (capex) budgets of telecom operators, spending on subscriber data management (SDM) solutions is expected to increase in the high double-digit percents annually for at least the next four years.

This is according to Infonetics Research's second edition of its 2009 Subscriber Data Management Software and Services market size and forecast report.

Shira Levine, directing analyst, next gen OSS and policy, Infonetics Research, said: "At this point, the primary challenge for operators in implementing subscriber data management strategies isn’t the available technology, but overcoming legacy mindset and opening up the data silos that exist within the organization, which requires a C-level mandate."

Market Highlights

Infonetics forecasts the worldwide total SDM market to grow to $789 million in 2013.

SDM solutions are increasingly being viewed as strategic tools that can help operators better monetize their existing assets by allowing them to extract, normalize, analyze, and pass on valuable subscriber information to their marketing teams.

Interest in 3G data offload is driving SDM investments in some markets, as operators look to seamlessly shift traffic onto their own or their partners’ WiFi networks while maintaining a consistent subscriber experience.

The machine-to-machine (M2M) market is driving SDM investment in Europe and will in North America in coming years, as operators implement solutions to better track data sent between mobile devices.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ successful 2008 acquisition of SDM player Apertio will likely drive further SDM merger and acquisition activity, with smaller vendors such as Xeround and Blueslice representing appealing targets for large players looking to round out their next generation Home Location Register (ngHLR) and Home Subscriber System (HSS) solutions.