Lumen evolves from a traditional telco to a technology company

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The 2022 Lumen Global Analyst and Consultant Forum showcased Lumen Technologies’ (NYSE: LUMN) ambition to transform from a traditional telco to a technology company. Lumen’s capabilities in hybrid networking, edge computing, connected security, unified communications and more will help support clients’ transition to a distributed workforce while bolstering Industry 4.0 initiatives across multiple verticals.

“The Platform for Amazing Things” was the central theme of the forum and highlighted Lumen’s strategy of leveraging its vast global network footprint (450,000 global route miles of fiber and over 60 planned global edge computing nodes) and robust enterprise portfolio to serve as an enabler of digital transformation for clients.

Lumen will continue to face challenges such as diminishing demand for its legacy solutions, competition from 5G wireless providers, Comcast Business’ (Nasdaq: CMCSA) growing footing in the midmarket and international markets via its recent Masergy acquisition, and disruption from hyperscalers’ growing pursuit of private network opportunities. However, the vendor will benefit from its willingness to collaborate with the broader technology industry, including with hyperscalers and other telecom operators such as T-Mobile (NasdaqGS: TMUS), as well as its strengthening capabilities in consulting, implementation and managed services as Lumen becomes better versed in supporting IT solutions from a broader array of providers.

Impact and opportunities

Divesting its ILEC and Latin America assets will enable Lumen to fund its Industry 4.0 initiatives

Lumen will transition into a leaner and more profitable company over the next several years as it divests nonstrategic assets, including its Latin America business and ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) operations in 20 states. The divestments will enable Lumen to increase focus on its Industry 4.0 initiatives. Additionally, they will allow the company to concentrate on its more viable remaining ILEC operations in 16 states, which have higher fiber penetration, population density and enterprise demand than the pending divested markets. The divestments will also enable Lumen to target investments toward growth areas including fiber and enterprise portfolio expansion.

Business services revenue, which is experiencing persistent declines due to lower demand for legacy solutions and elongated sales cycles amid the pandemic, will account for a higher proportion of Lumen’s total revenue following the divestment of the company’s ILEC assets. To improve business services revenue, Lumen will increase investment in strategic IT solutions such as edge computing, security and managed services as clients modernize infrastructure and implement advanced use cases to improve operational efficiency.

Returning to top-line growth is a priority for Lumen, though the company expects revenue will continue to decline in 2022 despite growth in certain strategic services, such as edge computing. Lumen is targeting a return to revenue growth within two years as Industry 4.0 initiatives begin to offset legacy solution declines and Lumen’s consumer segment benefits from the expansion of its residential Quantum Fiber services to reach a total addressable market of 12 million locations over the next several years.

2022 Lumen Global Industry Analyst and Consultant Forum: A select group of industry analysts and consultants were invited to hear from Lumen Technologies leadership about the company’s business, technology and go-to-market strategies and goals. The event included sessions focused on technologies such as edge computing, cloud, SD-WAN and SASE, unified communications, and cybersecurity as well as customer case studies in verticals including manufacturing, the public sector, retail, education, food service and sports.

TBR releases exclusive webinar content from 2022 Prediction series

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Technology Business Research, Inc. (TBR) announces on-demand availability of all of our 2022 Predictions webinars. Predictions is an annual special series examining market trends and business changes in key markets, such as cloud, IT services, digital transformation and telecom.

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Inflation, cybersecurity and taxes: PwC’s update from Dubai

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What happens in Dubai … well, happens everywhere

On March 1, PwC Dubai hosted a LinkedIn webcast, “Transforming Our Region,” featuring commentary by Stephen Anderson, PwC Middle East markets leader; Richard Boxshall, PwC chief economist for the region; and Hanan Abboud, a partner in PwC’s International Tax & M&A practice. This latest episode of the webcast series, which started in the summer of 2020, included three main themes, two of which likely resonate strongly outside the Middle East region.

Global inflation can be a drag, but regionally not so bad

First, Anderson and Boxshall noted recent regional economic growth and an overall positive picture, particularly as the pandemic begins to wane, but cautioned about inflation as a damper in the near term, with a critical caveat: Many of the global inflationary pressures and trends have been more muted in the Middle East, particularly within the economies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Boxshall reported that inflation has been relatively low and well managed locally, at around 2% for the region, but varies widely across countries.

Like elsewhere, energy prices and supply chain snafus drive most of the inflationary concerns and effects in the Middle East, but high oil prices act as a double-edged sword for some of the most important regional economies, as more money flows into government coffers while demand is put at risk of being suppressed in the long run. Overall, PwC reported on the cautious sentiment in the region as the business leaders it surveyed see inflation elsewhere and hope for sustained smart economic stewardship to keep inflation low in the region.

Cybersecurity tops concerns

Investment and innovation comprised a second regional trend with global echoes, primarily because of the main concern about what could hold back growth: cybersecurity risks. According to Anderson, cybersecurity generated more worry among Middle East business leaders than geopolitical tensions or lingering pandemic-related healthcare risks. Notably, PwC’s survey did not factor in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which could bring geopolitics to the forefront. In TBR’s view, consultancies like PwC that can address clients’ cybersecurity concerns in concert with offerings around innovation, transformation and sustainability will continue to outpace cyber-centric or niche vendors as client leaders increasingly appreciate the business value of integrating cybersecurity into enterprisewide strategy.

Joining the global movement toward 15% tax rate

The last development PwC highlighted will have the greatest near-term effect in the UAE but bodes well for global economic growth and regional good governance. Anderson and his colleagues noted that the UAE became the first country in the region to announce plans to adhere to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines by instituting a 15% minimum corporate tax rate. With the country planning to implement the 15% tax rate effective June 1, 2023, and the local business corporate tax rate capped at 9%, PwC acknowledged plenty of unknowns and expects plenty of exemptions. But overall UAE is continuing its decades-long efforts to keep the country economically attractive and closely intertwined with the global economy.

Advising clients on adjustments to the new 15% tax rate, to include navigating free-trade-zone rules, will provide near-term opportunities in the UAE and longer-term revenues as other regional governments adopt similar tax structures. For PwC, a new UAE tax regime aligns perfectly with PwC’s The New Equation strategy and emphasis on trust, transparency and global interconnectedness. As TBR noted in November, “Globally, PwC partners were leaning into the trust and leadership components of The New Equation and finding clients receptive to, and even welcoming of, PwC’s efforts to ‘peek around the corner’ at trends, challenges and opportunities on the near and far horizons.”

Don’t bet against the Emirates

In TBR’s estimates, PwC’s 2021 management consulting revenues in the Middle East topped $670 million, roughly one-third of the firm’s APAC revenues but growing faster than any other PwC region. Inflation spikes and cybersecurity strikes may slow that growth, but a more likely scenario is that the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other regional economies will maintain their rapid growth as their booming talent pools and friendly tax and corporate governance structures continue to draw investments and continue to create opportunities for consultancies like PwC. I served in Dubai, UAE, as a foreign service officer for the State Department in the late 1990s and know it’s a fool’s bet to think the UAE won’t, eventually and sometimes in surprising ways, do exactly what they say they’re going to do.

Capgemini aims for growth in digital marketing services

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Building regional capabilities through acquisitions to disrupt the APAC market

In TBR’s most recent Digital Transformation: Digital Marketing Services Benchmark, my colleague Boz Hristov examined trends across different regions and wrote, “While regional nuances … compel vendors to build local resources to ensure they can tailor culturally aligned campaigns, the evolving nature of the DMS [digital marketing services] market is also creating country-specific openings. For example, the last three Olympic Games including PyeongChang (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan) and Beijing (China) have been driving investments and opportunities within Southeast Asia.” In covering Capgemini for more than a dozen years, I’ve seen how the company has been able to combine internal capabilities development and highly strategic acquisitions to stay on the leading edge of trends across the IT services space, including digital marketing services. At the same time, acquisitions enable Capgemini to diversify its geographic reach outside its home market of Europe, namely in North America and APAC.

 

Overall, APAC is becoming a region of acquisition focus as Capgemini strives to diversify global revenues and expand work with local clients in the region. APAC is a major global service delivery location, but activities with local clients are limited outside of Australia and New Zealand. Recent acquisitions in APAC that build on Capgemini’s local market reach include those of Empired in Australia, around digital and cloud; Acclimation in Australia, around SAP consulting and systems integration; Multibook’s SAP global services line in Japan; RXP Services in Australia, around digital, data and cloud; and WhiteSky Labs in Australia around MuleSoft consulting.

 

Capgemini’s innovation, design and transformation brand, Capgemini Invent, is rolling out its capabilities across APAC. Capgemini is establishing a new network around frog, the brand experience design consulting arm of Altran. During 2020 frog scaled from about 500 people in the U.S. and Europe to about 2,000 by absorbing Capgemini Invent’s customer experience team and employees from Capgemini’s acquisitions of global design studio Idean, innovation firm Fahrenheit 212, agency June 21 and customer engagement marketing firm LiquidHub. Frog initially had one studio in Shanghai but has expanded in APAC with studios in Singapore; Hong Kong; Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; and India. Frog’s APAC business emphasizes industrial and special design, tied with the new Capgemini Engineering brand experience and design-led transformation.

 

In some ways, this is a natural outcome of making related tuck-in acquisitions: Eventually, Capgemini creates scale to establish a new business unit or service line. Additionally, it is a way of retaining acquired talent by showing that employees will be part of a special group assembled from similar acquisitions.

Tuck-in acquisitions supported digital services establishment in North America, providing use cases and lessons learned

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, Capgemini made several acquisitions in North America to initially build out its digital services capabilities, some of which now reside in frog. Fahrenheit 212, which Capgemini acquired in February 2016, enhanced Capgemini’s business transformation consulting and digital customer experience solutions portfolio. Lyons Consulting Group, which Capgemini acquired in September 2017, strengthened the company’s position in digital commerce, specifically around integrating Salesforce Commerce Cloud solutions. Idean, which Capgemini acquired in February 2017, expanded Capgemini’s digital transformation consulting capabilities and added seven digital design studios worldwide.

 

The acquisition of LiquidHub in February 2018 further expanded Capgemini’s digital services, notably digital consulting capabilities in North America. With LiquidHub, Capgemini gained customer experience capabilities and improved its ability to capture digital opportunities with clients in the U.S. LiquidHub augmented Capgemini’s client base by adding logos, such as Wells Fargo, Chase, Godiva, Subaru, Microsoft and Amgen, and improved Capgemini’s relationships with clients’ CXOs.

APAC will become a larger revenue contributor in the long term

By making acquisitions, expanding its portfolio, keeping up with trends around digital marketing services, and even leaning on its core strengths around engineering services, Capgemini could become more disruptive in the APAC market in the very near term. The vendor’s combined revenue from APAC and LATAM accounted for 7.8% of total revenue in 2021 and increased 26.2% year-to-year as reported in euros, outpacing revenue growth in other regions.

 

TBR’s most recent report on Capgemini was published on March 7 and provides a detailed analysis of the company’s performance and investments in 4Q21 and 2021. Recent deals such as with Volvo Cars to enable digital transformation of the client’s operations in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation by implementing Salesforce solutions such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Experience Cloud and Configure Price Quote software exemplify Capgemini’s activities that are supported through investments in digital and cloud capabilities. APAC provides opportunities for Capgemini and might be even better suited to pave the way to growth now that the company’s home market of Europe might be disrupted by the war in Ukraine. The deal with Volvo Cars provides Capgemini with a good opportunity to expand into the emerging China market, as Volvo is a well-known European brand but is now managed out of China.

There are no guarantees in the metaverse, but Tech Mahindra bets on it anyway

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Tech Mahindra unveils a dedicated metaverse practice

On Feb. 28, 2022, Tech Mahindra announced the launch of its new practice, TechMVerse, a metaverse-oriented business unit that will focus on developing immersive and digital experiences for clients. According to the company’s press release, the practice will combine Tech Mahindra’s network and IT infrastructure expertise with AI, blockchain, 5G, augmented reality (AR)/VR and quantum computing capabilities to build metaverse use cases, such as DealerVerse (a metaverse-based car dealership), Middlemist (a non-fungible token [NFT] marketplace), Meta Bank (a virtual bank), and a gaming center. While currently at about 100 employees, according to The Economic Times, Tech Mahindra announced that it plans to train 1,000 engineers in the coming years to support the practice’s growth.

5G as the company’s backdrop 

Tech Mahindra’s historical strengths as a telecom-oriented IT services firm help guide its future path. Today’s Tech Mahindra was born from a 2013 merger with Mahindra Satyam, which helped the company diversify into new verticals outside of its core telecommunications market, such as banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI). As such, telecom infrastructure, network and IT services are Tech Mahindra’s bread and butter, accounting for approximately 40% of total revenue. And the company has continued to invest in 5G, network and software-defined architecture services, giving Tech Mahindra strong capabilities in the next-gen wireless technology that will help power many of the data-intensive metaverse use cases.


A recent example includes a collaboration with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) that will enable Tech Mahindra to leverage Nokia’s private wireless Digital Automation Cloud solution for customers and support 5G private wireless network automation and management through an “as a Service” model. Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) “H1DD3N” AR/VR treasure hunt in September 2021 to promote its 5G network across several large U.S. markets and Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) new iPhone lineup reflects 5G’s role in supporting metaverse use cases, and Tech Mahindra’s 5G private wireless network capabilities can make similar events and 5G speeds possible for its enterprise clients.

Tech Mahindra eyes 2 key areas of the metaverse 

Two components of Tech Mahindra’s investments related to the metaverse stand out to TBR, particularly around NFTs and gaming. As blockchain data and analysis firm Chainalysis stated in its 2021 NFT market report, “In 2021, users have sent at least $44.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency to … two types of Ethereum smart contracts associated with NFT marketplaces and collections.” Tech Mahindra is aiming to capitalize on the commercialization of new products related to this NFT spending. Specifically, the company plans to offer digital and professional experience services around design and content through TechMVerse and will also offer low-code NFT and blockchain platforms for enterprise clients.


We see this as a key opportunity for Tech Mahindra, as organizations increasingly devote resources to exploring the connection between NFTs and the metaverse — such as JPMorgan’s Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, where one can buy virtual land with NFTs — yet may lack the required IT infrastructure, skills or impetus to build their own use cases from scratch. Tech Mahindra is also planning to collaborate with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to offer digital collectibles that will be listed and offered for sale through Tech Mahindra’s NFT Marketplace platform.


At the same time, the gaming industry is arguably the pioneer of the metaverse. From The Sims to Fortnite, consumers continue to spend real dollars on virtual things in virtual worlds. Hence, the metaverse is not a new concept, rather one that has already been quietly and successfully adopted by gaming companies, as new data from the Entertainment Software Association found that spending on gaming content reached $51.7 billion in 2021. While noting that it plans to develop use cases, Tech Mahindra also announced it is launching a new Cloud Gaming as a Service solution for telecommunications, cable and OEM companies in partnership with Ludium Labs, a firm that offers cloud adoption and interactive streaming of applications.


According to the press release, the 5G-powered, low-latency gaming solution will have a library of 150-plus AAA games stored in the cloud and will help these firms improve their customers’ access to compute-intensive games on any device, thereby eliminating the need for consoles and high-speed internet. The service mirrors Microsoft’s efforts to transform the gaming industry by bringing in subscription-based business models with the 3Q20 launch of Project xCloud.


According to TBR’s 4Q21 Microsoft Cloud report: “While Project xCloud — now called Xbox Cloud Gaming — was not the first subscription-based gaming service to be offered in the industry, TBR felt at the time of the launch that Microsoft’s ability to differentiate would be supported by the company’s expertise in operating subscription-based businesses and guide its gaming go-to-market efforts.” Tech Mahindra’s Cloud Gaming as a Service solution can open up similar opportunities to its core communications client base and enable telecom companies, cable companies and OEMs to compete with gaming incumbents, further expanding Tech Mahindra’s addressable market in the metaverse.

Logicalis: The partner for helping with today’s problems and providing solutions for the future  

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In February 2022 TBR spoke with Logicalis Group Chief Operating Officer Michael Chanter and Chief Technology Officer Toby Alock for an update on the company’s strategy as well as an overview of the company’s new Global Services Organization (GSO), including its solutions portfolio and road map. The conversation, which contained specific details on strategy, was a continuation of the journey Logicalis embarked on nearly two years ago when it appointed Bob Bailkoski as CEO.  

In TBR’s special report Know-your-tech strategy could be invaluable as Logicalis aims to disrupt peers in cloud managed services, we wrote, “Logicalis’ efforts to optimize its legacy operations while doubling down on key growth areas such as cloud will largely depend on the company’s ability to develop integrated scale to ensure standardized service delivery.” The launch of Logicalis’ GSO highlighted these efforts and marked a new stage in the company’s ability to deploy practical solutions that build a foundation of trust with partners, employees and clients.  

Transforming into a modern managed services provider  

Logicalis Group’s executives understand the need to develop an ever-evolving strategy that allows the company to stay abreast of market trends. Pivoting from historically employing a regional focus to now building outcome-based solutions that are global in nature paves the way for Logicalis to build scale. Ensuring internal organizational silos are removed will be key, as clients expect vendors to deliver services locally through globally integrated operations.  

At the same time, Logicalis realizes the importance of nurturing local relationships, ensuring its consultants and professional services organization continue to operate as close to the customer as possible. Developing a “modern managed services organization,” as Chanter describes the company’s transformation, is not an easy task, especially when executed at scale.  

Accounting for the permeation of automation to drive efficiency and fine-tuning operations and business models to facilitate cloud-enabled sales, service delivery and support are among the key pillars of GSO. Continuing to provide existing clients with support also enables GSO to secure foundational revenues and maintain relevance, as often clients take time to move to the next phase of their digital transformation (DT) programs.  

When TBR asked about the change management that typically comes with such evolution, especially due to the increased use of automation in service delivery, Chanter provided a strong use case for how the company is handling it. Starting with the appointment of an executive dedicated to overseeing transformation, the main focus then has been teaching staff how to be agile while also considering new compensation models in connection with cloud-enabled service delivery.  

Providing support to external clients has been enabled by a three-part framework: Align, Transform, Scale. Logicalis first assesses where clients are in their DT journey compared to their desired outcome. The company then maps out the kind of support it can provide at different points in the journey, relying on its professional services organization to feed regional market nuances. With sales teams trained and certified before going to market, Logicalis also tries to align and close the feedback loop with staff at the Centers of Excellence (CoEs), which are typically responsible for the development and management of global solutions.  

As Logicalis Group aims to increase its share of the managed services market, we believe the company will continue to work toward striking the right balance between developing automation-enabled services P&L and achieving integrated scale. Previously, TBR wrote, “Logicalis has begun to identify areas across geos, industry verticals and horizontal areas that can support its goal of expanding share of highly profitable ‘as a Service’ managed service sales, which currently garner about 25% of its global revenues. … As Logicalis works out the details around managing its partner ecosystem, Bailkoski and [Chief Customer Experience and Service Transformation Officer Vincent] DeLuca are also increasing the company’s investments in internal portfolio offerings that will not simply standardize global service delivery but also pave the way for an innovative approach to engaging with clients. Launched in June, we believe Logicalis’ AI-enabled Digital Service Platform (DSP) will be the center node of Logicalis’ solutions and services ecosystem, similar to how iTunes has helped Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) build a community of die-hard brand followers.”  

Logicalis is on the right path to achieving its managed services goals, but like many of its peers, it needs to partner better and differently than it has in the past, especially as buyer expectations around managing partner ecosystems also evolve. Meanwhile, expanding its global footprint, similar to opening an engineering center in Portugal to house about 200 employees in support of the Agile, Transform, Scale framework, will continue to bolster Logicalis’ resource bench for building and delivering solutions at scale as clients seek support around migrating and transforming operations. Chanter noted that the new Portugal facility will “help transform clients quickly and help Logicalis transform.” TBR notes this dual-track approach has proved successful for other IT services vendors undergoing their own digital transformations.